Have to get rid of my dog.....

[kdubya]

My wife and I adopted our dog 4 years ago, and she is a sweet little pup. The trouble is we had a son a year and a half ago and the dog has never warmed up to him. Since he started walking it has been worse. She is very stressed by the baby and growls at him whenever he gets close. This weekend she snipped his hand. We can't have her in the house around him, she is too unpredictable, and she is just jumpy and on edge all the time.

She is not happy and it is not fare to our son to have her around.

All that said it still sucks.

The rescue we got her from will take her back and find her a new home.

I know this is the right thing to do, but it is still very hard.

[ChrisTheCop]

Wow, thats rough. :unsure:

At least you have a story to tell the kid when he's 6 and begging for a puppy.

But wait--any way of just separating the puppy from the kid?

[kdubya]

We tried to have an area for the dog and one for our son, but it doesn't work.

Wow, thats rough. :unsure:

At least you have a story to tell the kid when he's 6 and begging for a puppy.

But wait--any way of just separating the puppy from the kid?

[~Katja~]

sounds like the dog was exposed to kids before you adopted him and had a bad experience.

Can't the rescue give you some sort of advice on better dealing with it?
They usually take a lot of time getting rescued dogs back into shape and adjusted to be family dogs... I am sure they have some methods of helping the dog cope better.

If you kid just started walking, it is a rough time because they are so curious and love animals but don't know how to properly touch them and handle them.

[Freakshow]

sounds like the dog was exposed to kids before you adopted him and had a bad experience.

Can't the rescue give you some sort of advice on better dealing with it?
They usually take a lot of time getting rescued dogs back into shape and adjusted to be family dogs... I am sure they have some methods of helping the dog cope better.

If you kid just started walking, it is a rough time because they are so curious and love animals but don't know how to properly touch them and handle them.

If the group is willing to take the dog back I don't think there is much of an issue. There are plenty of adopters out there that don't have kids and will never have kids. Just give a nice donation when you return the dog.

[~Katja~]

it would be different if they just got the dog, its not easy to give a pet up that has become part of the family over the past 4 years... he is an "older" dog and I don't know how easy they are to be adopted again.
We are also missing the part about his history prior to his first adoption.

Of course, a kid and their safety comes first... but having kids AND dogs takes some patience and understanding of both, the dogs' and kid's mind.

http://www.poochcoach.com/kidsanddogs.pdf

[Freakshow]

With my group, it seems the senior dogs mostly get adopted by their fosters when they are returned (presuming this rescue is a foster-based group). Not every case, but it seems to happen 60 - 75 percent of the time. :)

[kdubya]

We tried to work with her, we even payed a dog trainer/behaviorlist to come out to our house.

It comes down to we are always on edge about the dog and our son, and I know that Pepper (the dog) hasn't been herself since he arrived.

The rescue will take her back and find her a new home with people without kids, and I am possitive she will be ok. It is just hard for me and my wife.

The place is Lost Dog Rescue in Va, they do some foster placement but also keep some dog at their dog ranch.

I am really not looking forward to the drive to the ranch to drop her off.

[terryc25]

What kind of dog? How big? Any pictures?

[kdubya]

Terrier mix, about 16 lbs, very sweet

[niciggy]

I teach a class of 3 year olds in preschool. One of my students was just bitten by her family dog. Took a big bite right out of her cheek. It is horrible. She is now really anxious, afraid of any animal, and will require further cosmetic surgery. She was a very happy, carefree kid; she is so sad right now it just breaks my heart.

Get the dog a kid free home fast. You'll all feel better.

[DarkHippie]

I teach a class of 3 year olds in preschool. One of my students was just bitten by her family dog. Took a big bite right out of her cheek. It is horrible. She is now really anxious, afraid of any animal, and will require further cosmetic surgery. She was a very happy, carefree kid; she is so sad right now it just breaks my heart.

Get the dog a kid free home fast. You'll all feel better.

You should teach that kid pilates.

[WampusCrandle]

wow, sorry to hear that. in the end, your kid's safety is obviously more important, but you knew that.

[~Katja~]

We tried to work with her, we even payed a dog trainer/behaviorlist to come out to our house.

It comes down to we are always on edge about the dog and our son, and I know that Pepper (the dog) hasn't been herself since he arrived.

The rescue will take her back and find her a new home with people without kids, and I am possitive she will be ok. It is just hard for me and my wife.

The place is Lost Dog Rescue in Va, they do some foster placement but also keep some dog at their dog ranch.

I am really not looking forward to the drive to the ranch to drop her off.

sorry, I didn't mean to imply you didn't try everything first. Especially after having him for 4 years I completely understand it must be a hard decision.
Will you be able to visit him until he does find a new home?

[GreatAmericanZero]

i want a dog

[kdubya]

I don't think I would want to visit. It would be too heart breaking.


sorry, I didn't mean to imply you didn't try everything first. Especially after having him for 4 years I completely understand it must be a hard decision.
Will you be able to visit him until he does find a new home?

[paulisded]

Actually, I got my dog under similar circumstances. My son and I were visiting the local Humane Society and fell in love with Sam. He was four years old, but the original family was forced to give him up because he was just too hyperactive around their new baby. The nice thing was that his first family was informed that he had a new home, and we kept the vet that originally gave him his shots.

This was around 12 years ago, and I'm probably going to have to put him down soon.

[WillfulBoy]

She is very stressed by the baby and growls at him whenever he gets close.

I'm guessing the dog was given a lot more attention before the baby was born.

Try to think about it from her viewpoint. Here this couple rescued her and gave her what was probably her first good home, and all of the sudden, after two years of getting used to finally being loved and cared for, some little whiny baby shows up and now some of that love she was getting is gone. Of course she's gonna feel resentful toward that baby.


You gotta do what you gotta do to protect your baby, but I hope you'll try something else before getting rid of the dog. At this point in a rescues life it would really fuck the dog up.

[Dan 'Hampton]

I'm guessing the dog was given a lot more attention before the baby was born.

Try to think about it from her viewpoint. Here this couple rescued her and gave her what was probably her first good home, and all of the sudden, after two years of getting used to finally being loved and cared for, some little whiny baby shows up and now some of that love she was getting is gone. Of course she's gonna feel resentful toward that baby.
Wasn't this the story line to Lady and the Tramp?

[niciggy]

You should teach that kid pilates.

you sir...your recall, and ability to put posts together scares me. I also teach quilting, work in a library part time, and take an amazing cocktail of drugs. Oh, I also think Stugots is hotter in person. Now, you should be up to date on all things niciggy!
However, some deep breathing did work with that preschooler, so no mocking!:bye:

[MacVittie]

You should just send him to a farm out in the country. That's what happened to my dog when he got old. He had plenty of room to run around and chase rabbits.

[Dingbat_Charlie]

I am really not looking forward to the drive to the ranch to drop her off.

ah man, that's rough. sorry bud.

[Ogre]

The place is Lost Dog Rescue in Va, they do some foster placement but also keep some dog at their dog ranch.

I am really not looking forward to the drive to the ranch to drop her off.

If this is the same organization (http://www.lostdogcafe.com/), these are really really nice people. I had the pleasure of having them as one of my accounts when I was in the beer biz. Peeps in Northern VA should check this place out and support it. The food is pretty amazing too. Huge import beer and nice wine selection too. The place is decked out all dog.

I have 4 dogs myself and they are all hard luck case adoptions. They are like family. Just believe your dog will be in good hands and it will find a new home. It sucks, it is for the best, but still sucks.

[kdubya]

Dropped her off this morning. The people there were very nice and sympathetic. The drive was hard, and saying good bye was heart breaking.

Ogre, They are connected to Lost dog cafe in Arlington.

thanks everyone for your posts.

We are planning to get another dog in the spring, any thoughts on breeds that are good with kids.

[~Katja~]

Dropped her off this morning. The people there were very nice and sympathetic. The drive was hard, and saying good bye was heart breaking.

Ogre, They are connected to Lost dog cafe in Arlington.

thanks everyone for your posts.

We are planning to get another dog in the spring, any thoughts on breeds that are good with kids.


I don't know about getting a dog while your baby is so young. Maybe you should wait until he understands handling pets better as well. Toddlers are scary people (at least mine is and thankfully our cat is a saint around him)
If you do I would go with a puppy so he can get used to the baby from the start and does not have any prior issues. If you do get an older one I know from experience that greyhounds are very patient with kids... and very loving dogs.
But every dog is different and you may want to take the baby along when picking one out to see how the dog behaves around him.

[Badinia]

You should just send him to a farm out in the country. That's what happened to my dog when he got old. He had plenty of room to run around and chase rabbits.

I know, and he's like forty years old now! That's 'cos the country air is so good for dogs!

[Farmer Dave]

Glad you took your responsibility to both your family and your dog seriously. I've had several dogs show up on my door step that someone didn't want anymore so they dumped them in the country. Good luck with your next one.

[Farmer Dave]

<---I might add, my demon eyed doberman is great with our kids but she grew up with them.