Lil' October Pumpkins 2013

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I used to be a vet. Nurse at an animal hospital before I became a SAHM and I would have to say... if it was me, I wouldn't take the chance(and I didnt, I had a dog like that a while ago and gave her away). I have seen far to many cases of dogs attacking children (even when they are nice dogs!) At the end of the day, dogs don't think like humans, they think in a "pack" thought and everything is about getting to the top of the pack so they will on occasion challenge you... its not that they mean it or mean to do harm but its in there nature. It only takes that spit second and if something happened to my child I would never forgive myself.
My dh brother had to get almost 200 stitches on his head when he was a child because he went to go hug his dog but came up from behind and the dog didn't see him and got startled and turned around and bit him in the head.... it was really bad and you can still see all the scars from it today. The dog was a good dog, it was just his natural reaction thou...
I'm not saying that all dogs are bad, like others said they can be different once a baby comes along but I myself don't trust any dog to be around my child unless I am right there next to it(I even have a small dog)... :) but it is something you will have to decided on your own but don't feel guilty at all for the way you are feeling.

Btw I am sorry for your loss girl..
 
Thanks Junebugs. That is exactly how I'm feeling. She is an excellent dog and everyone just loves her but this is my baby we are talking about and I don't want to be one of those people who thought they could handle it and decided to risk their baby's safety or life. Goddess we would never send her to the pound or put her down, she means too much to us. We would be able to find a home for her. It's just if she is at my dad's she will be close by. When she was a puppy her owner had a two year old who would bop her on the head all the time and now that she is growling at kids, well, its easy to put 2 and 2 together. But I'm not sure, I'm very uneasy about the decision but if and when it comes down to it I will be on the side that keeps my child safe.
 
I know the feeling about pet decisions too. I have a 2 year pld persian. Shes very quiet and likes to keep to herself but any contact with a young child hasnt been the best with the hissing. However its not the behaviour that really bothers me its the litter. ie cat pooping and peeing in litter then walking about in the house and sofas. There is also the hair issue.

Im not sure what to do and i think half the problem is living in a small apartment, i guess when we move in December to a large penthouse it wont be so bad.

As for dogs i would be very wary and if i had doubts i would follow my instinct, u know best, no1 else knows ur dog like you do, i wouldnt take the risk of SEEING WHAT HAPPENS, what will u be waiting to happen??
 
I hope i never made you feel guilty Jbell..didnt mean it that way. I just feel that in a lot of cases so many people give up on their animals when it gets a bit tough.

Good to see it from your perspective JB.
 
Jbell, I can understand where you're coming from completely. Your kids should always come first. I would just be tempted to wait and see how your dog reacts to coming second to the baby.
My brother had to get rid of his beagle a few months ago after he went for one of the kids. He had already bitten my brother, who ended up with 14 stitches and needing all his shots. But had seemed okay with the kids, until one day he went for my niece. He'd already attacked their other dog. He wasn't always like that, until one day he just flipped. So I can understand your weariness.
 
Congrats Dream!

I am so sorry Girly! We went through a similar situation last year and I know it is hard. HUGS

As far as pets go-my parents are watching ours for the first two weeks just to make sure we can get situated then they will come back. Our dog is very sweet, but is a herding dog, so we were worried. We have been taking her to training and the trainer brings her kids and it has helped SO SO much. I would highly recommend obedience training as well as exposure to kids now. If you have a trainer in the area with kids even better. It has been wonderful to see her progress. She listens so well now.
 
Girly922 said:
Jbell, I can understand where you're coming from completely. Your kids should always come first. I would just be tempted to wait and see how your dog reacts to coming second to the baby.
My brother had to get rid of his beagle a few months ago after he went for one of the kids. He had already bitten my brother, who ended up with 14 stitches and needing all his shots. But had seemed okay with the kids, until one day he went for my niece. He'd already attacked their other dog. He wasn't always like that, until one day he just flipped. So I can understand your weariness.
Click to expand...

^----- see this is what i mean..... I find if they already show ANY SIGNS of aggression hat means they are not afraid to test those boundaries.... they could be great 99% of the time but it only takes one time.... i am almost 100% sure that if your dog has shown signs of aggression in the past towards a person/child, if it is put in a challenging position or if it is scared/startled it will show signs of aggression again (Not meaning it will bite but it could just growl as a warning, but children dont always know when to stop and if you are not around to stop it it doesnt take much.)

I am sorry, i dont mean to sound pessimistic or anything.... i have just done ALOT of courses on dog behavior and you can just never be 100% with dogs (even ones that have never shown any signs of aggression.) And even if you teach your child to give the dog space and to be genital, what if one of his friends comes over and doesnt understand/know how to be around a dog? Also your dog will not see his friend as one of the "pack", so will not be as nervous to challenge them.

I just want to give you all the information i can :) ... also, some people need to think about the dog.... like you said it looks like he/she had a stressful time with children before so it can be very stressful on them too :)

Like Lady said, go with your gut!!! That is the BEST advice i could give any momma!!! Mommas always know best and your gut will be right 99% of the time!
 
I would definitely be giving our old dog away to a new home if we hadn't done so already before I even got pregnant. He was a Labradoodle that was very hyper and behaved poorly. Ultimately the reason why we found a new home for him was that he snapped at me one day when I tried to train him to stay out of the bathroom trash. He was very stressed out after we moved and hated our new apartment. He acted out a lot and had no respect for me what so ever. I don't think we have anything to worry about the cats though. They are both friendly (at worst Jasmine is shy around new people until they've been over a few times) and they never scratch, bite, or hiss at anyone. Jasmine is already spayed and declawed, but we need to do the same with Phoebe before Liam gets here. I imagine that Jasmine will probably hide a lot after we have Liam, but she'll eventually get used to his presence and recognize him as part of the family. Both cats have also been exposed to children and seem to be fine around them. I even have a picture of Jasmine sitting on my youngest sister Bella's lap and letting her pet her from a couple of years ago (Bella is currently 4 years old).
 
I would like a dog one day but it sounds a bit scary. Have never had one. What breeds are supposedly better with kids?
 
We will be getting another dog once the baby's here. Probably sometime next year. But we will get a puppy rather than a rescue dog so he grows up used to children. Our dogs have always been mostly outside dogs anyway which I think helps teach them that we are the pack leaders. They're never allowed upstairs and only allowed in the house with permission. They have a big garden space and heated lean-to of their own so it's not like they're left out in the cold. They've always been rather spoilt. Lol.

Breed-wise you're always best to really do your research and if you can visit someone who already has that breed. I've got my heart set on an Australian shepherd. They're very intelligent and as a breed tend to love people. Saying that, I think there are a lot of breeds that have been given a bad name. Not because of how they are naturally, but often how people train them to be. Like staffy's. Theyre very affectionate but they do have a bad name because people have trained them to be aggressive.
 
If you have never owned a dog before i def. recommend doing dog obedience classes FORSURE! Also, like Girley said, i would get a puppy and not a rescue when you already have children, just because once they are older they have those bad habits already, and most of the time they are in a shelter because the owner "didnt have enough time for them" or didnt realize how hard it was to own a dog. Therefore they didnt have alot of training or rules set for them from day one..... i am not saying NEVER to get a dog from a shelter because many dogs need a home and you can find good dogs at a shelter... but if i had a child, again... i would just not take a risk.... if you wanted to rescue, i would look on Kijiji or Craigs list or something like that because most of the time those owners have put the time into there animals and have to give them away for other reasons then they "just dont have time".

Any breed of dog can have issues, just like humans (some have aggression, stress and so on)... it all depends on the dog.... when going to visit a dog... i would stay there for a bit and just sit back and watch.... just look as the personalty.. does the dog look at you or have its head down the whole time....? does it seem really stressed out? ... is it panting ALOT? There are alot of different signs... also, look how it behaves with other dogs... is the the one always jumping on top of the other dogs.... is he starting and winning all the "play fights"..... i know it just looks like playing right now but those are all signs that that dog has a dominant behavior(not always a bad thing) but it just means it is more likely to challenge in the future.... you want that dog that is just chill, but not "afraid to be touched or nervous of you"... you want him to still show interest in you and other dogs. I would say Golden Retrievers are normally the best with kids (although i have met some bad ones).. and honestly i would get a female dog.. they tend to be more "loyal" and less dominant.

Even after all this info, it depends and how you raise them after.... that is so important from day one... you need to show them who is the boss... ( NOT BY HITTING THEM :) ) heheheh but you need to be firm.. if you dont want them on the couch then BE STERN with it, because if you let them that one time.... its all over.. to them, they have "won" one step up if you know what i mean
 
Excellent tips there June bugs. It won't be for a few years before I even think about it and our cat needs to not be around anymore so who knows how long that will be. She is 14 now. She would not be happy with another pet in the house and now in her elderly years its not fair to upset her anymore...2 kids and a new baby soon will be more than enough.
 
I was actually going to suggest a golden retriever Junebugs. :haha:

My mother has one that we raised from a puppy and she was always great around us and especially the babies (Bella and Reese). She LOVES babies (human and animal alike) and constantly tries to mother them and show her affection for them. My mother's cat also loves children (he loves everybody though, he's a very relaxed cat) and anytime that the babies would cry he would walk over to them and nuzzle them, trying to comfort them.

When it comes to dogs I would recommend either getting an older female that you know has been raised around children and is comfortable with them or getting a puppy. A female puppy will mostly likely challenge you for alpha female status at first, but once you've displayed your dominance and shown her that you are the true queen of the house she will never challenge you again. A female dog probably will do better with children, but that's not to say that a male dog wouldn't be an excellent choice as well. If you do get a male, I would recommend one that does have more of a submissive and gentle personality.
 
Love golden retreivers they are lovely dogs..what about red setters are they known to be good for kids..not even sure if they are in North America never seen one.
 
We had to give away our puppy this year. So puppies are definitely not always a sure-thing. In fact, my cousin who works at the humane society recommended not getting a puppy simply because it can be hard to gauge their personality whereas most shelters (around here anyway) have an extensive screening and matching process for dogs and families. They will never give you a dog that would be a risk to children if you have them.

We got a beautiful little mini-beagle just before Sophie turned 1. I thought, like you, that him being around children and toddlers growing up would make him a great family dog. Heck beagles are supposed to be great family dogs (although I did see on here a story about a beagle attacking family members, it still is not the common thought. They are seen as a bit stupid at times, and loud, but aren't generally an aggressive breed.) Unfortunately, despite several private and group obedience classes and almost a year of trying, he wouldn't stop biting. He eventually got too big for the biting to be manageable and with Sophie being short and an easy target he had to go.

We gave him to a family friend whose beagle had just died, they didn't have any kids and are more or less a retired couple. He has been in heaven! So it was definitely the best option for him as well.

It isn't just dogs and cats though, I have heard so many horror stories involving pets like snakes or even larger birds! While I do think we have to show some responsibility toward our pets, I feel, personally, in situations when it comes to a child's safety that responsibility ends at finding our animals a good home. I think it is just terrible when an animal gets surrendered simply because there is a baby on the way, although even then... if you're out of options there is not much you can do. It simply bothers me when a pet owner doesn't first *try* to rehome on their own.
 
No offense or anything Maze but i would have to disagree with you on the beagles being a good family dog.... i would have to say in my 15 years of working at an animal hospital i have been bit the most times by beagles.... they are very nice dogs but also know what they want and if they dont like something they are not afraid to challenge or bite. They were ALWAYS the ones that I would muzzle NO MATTER WHAT because they would NEVER give me any warning, if they didnt like something they would just make that large VERY LOUD howl and turn around and bite! They are nice dogs thou! They just know how to tell you off if they dont like something!! LOL

As for the puppy thing, like i was saying you are never 100% with any dog.. thats why i gave that list to look out for (there is alot more to that list aswell.) The only thing with a puppy is you are setting your rules right from the start so they dont know any different. But if you get a really dominant one from the start (like you did :( ) it is so hard.... i would say those ones are best with a couple or a single person....
 
I'm sorry, this is really off topic but I wanted to whinge for a minute! Lol. I have leaky boobs!! Already!! I was under the impression this didn't come til a lot later with first baby. Someone lied! Lol. *sulks*
 
I have heard of it starting as early as 18 weeks girl.... not fun thou.. :( maybe buy some breast pads?
 
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