Pets MEGA Cats VS Dogs - POLL!

[alicat72]

one more thing...

harry keeps coming up to me wanting affection and all i can do is just be cold.

i do not know if this is appropriate....should i ignore him? i'm just so upset with him right now, but i feel like if i pay attention to him he will think his behaviour is okay.....

 

[Rogue Robot]

to be quite honest, i doubt he even remembers what he did. if anything, your cold shoulder may cause other unwanted behaviors.

 

[alicat72]

to be quite honest, i doubt he even remembers what he did. if anything, your cold shoulder may cause other unwanted behaviors.

i have to admit i agree, but it's very hard for me to pay him any attention right now... i do not know what behaviour on my part that may be appropriate....

 

[spork]

I'm going to repeat what other people have said and to have him checked out by a vet ASAP and to find a new home for him. I know it's difficult, but you don't really want to risk this happening to your baby again and the outcome to be possibly worse.

You can explain to potential owners what has happened, how he is usually obedient, and why you want your dog to be in a home with no children.

I think it is very possible that your dog saw your baby as a puppy and was roughhousing a bit. It just got a little bit out of hand. Thankfully you were nearby.

I know this is hard for you. Pets are like members of family and it's hard to let go of them, no matter what the circumstances are.

 

[getreal]

I wouldn't have to think twice, (as painful as it would be) to the decision I'd make.
Your daughters safety comes first.

Sorry if it sounds harsh but I would NOT be willing to take another chance.

 

[alicat72]

spork- i will make an appt asap. it may be a few days because i will be at the hospital with amelie, but it will happen.

i just keep going back to the thought of my charlie dog and the brain tumor.....i also wonder if dogs his age get dementia? i tried a google search and did not find anything......he's only 6.....

i suppose it could all just be unexplainable....he freaked for no reason....or for a very minor reason, yet he caused serious injury....

 

[IAMTHOUGHTS]

i am not a fan of animal cuelty, but i think as soon as it happened you should have beat the shit out of that dog. i mean beat it untill it was on the ground not moving.

the injuries he caused the baby could have been fatal. punishment at this stage will not be reconized as punishment for that specific event. dogs minds dont work like that. you have to aknowledge wrong behavior right away.

and the thing about seeing the baby as weak member of the "pack" I THINK, is the most reasonable explanation.
dogs want to establish them self as "pack leader" and since you have had the dog much much longer than you have had the baby, maybe the amount of attention the baby has "stolen" from the dog prompted it to establish dominance?!..

good chance! doggy jealousy...

 

[alicat72]

i am not a fan of animal cuelty, but i think as soon as it happened you should have beat the shit out of that dog. i mean beat it untill it was on the ground not moving.

the injuries he caused the baby could have been fatal. punishment at this stage will not be reconized as punishment for that specific event. dogs minds dont work like that. you have to aknowledge wrong behavior right away.

and the thing about seeing the baby as weak member of the "pack" I THINK, is the most reasonable explanation.
dogs want to establish them self as "pack leader" and since you have had the dog much much longer than you have had the baby, maybe the amount of attention the baby has "stolen" from the dog prompted it to establish dominance?!..

good chance! doggy jealousy...

dude. i seriously thought of beating the living fuck out of him. but amie was screaming so loud and i wanted to check her to see what wounds she may have. when i realized how badly she was bleeding, i decided that calling for help and soothing her was more important than beating him.

i'm glad i didn't tho. it would have been a rash decision and would have done not good. what i did do was to scream and pull him by the ruff of his neck away from the baby.....

you could def say that harry is jealous.....he has always been the 'baby'...spoiled, yet trained (if that makes sense)...he obeys, but he get a lot of snacks and a lot of love......

 

[alicat72]

I wouldn't have to think twice, (as painful as it would be) to the decision I'd make.
Your daughters safety comes first.

Sorry if it sounds harsh but I would NOT be willing to take another chance.

i fought with myself the whole time i was at the hospital.....

do i put him down????

i should put him down.

i don't wanna do it....

this is the reason why i ask your opinion.

even the first doctor we saw said there would be no discussing euthanization....it would be done......

i just cannot bring myself to do it to my own dog....

sadly, if it were the neighbors dog, i could easily call authorities....

that's so sad and selfish, but so true...

 

[spork]

I know my parents' first cat was incredibly jealous of me when I came along. He wouldn't allow me to come near him without swiping at me. I almost always had scratch marks from him and I would cry to my mom because Louie didn't like me. He never did come around either...

 

[pennywise]

I don't see any reason to blame the animal here. That's what it is, an animal. it's not vindictive or cruel or anything, it just acts on instinct. I think people have to resist the urge to anthropomorphize their pets.

I know you didn't think of it this way, and I'm not saying anyone is to blame, but if anyone is responsible...it's the person who is capable of being rational, being responsible, and making decisions. I know you think that your dog is sweet and nice and good natured, and that may even be true to some extent, but you have to realize that it's a carnivorous animal. It doesn't have a mouthful of sharp teeth for chewing "kibbles n' bits". You have to realize that you can't assume any animal capable of hurting your kid is ever safe. Would you let your kid play near an escalator with your back turned? The responsibility isn't on the animal any more than it's on the child. It's on you.

I know it's easy for me to say that given that I don't have any kids, and I don't mean to blame you or make you sound like the bad guy. There is no bad guy here. Not the dog, and not you. It was an accident. No one deserves to suffer or be punished, especially not the dog. It doesn't mean the dog is evil or any more "dangerous" than any other dog is. Like others have said, if you are really looking for a cause for the dog's behavior, look for an outside factor that would make the dog react like that, like an injury or illness. Dog's usually act aggressively because someone or something causes them to. They're almost like a biological machine, they just react to the inputs that they have. That's why you can train a dog to be violent. It has to learn that, or have other cause to have that evolutionary trait expressed. Like an illness. Like an injury. Don't blame the dog. As fucked up as it sounds, it's people who are more capable of evil intent. Dog's just aren't that smart.

 

[IAMTHOUGHTS]

i fought with myself the whole time i was at the hospital.....

do i put him down????

i should put him down.

i don't wanna do it....

this is the reason why i ask your opinion.

even the first doctor we saw said there would be no discussing euthanization....it would be done......

i just cannot bring myself to do it to my own dog....

sadly, if it were the neighbors dog, i could easily call authorities....

that's so sad and selfish, but so true...

no because a dog is family! you cant kill him. the most rash thing you should do is give him away. list the dog in the paper or online as "great dog", "not child friendly".

thats the most i would do. its not a person, they just cant make choices as well as we can, they make mistakes more often. its just a mistake on his part. the sad thing is he doesnt even know how bad of a mistake it was.

AND YOU CAN NEVER TELL HIM.

so thats where it stands, its up to you to protect your baby by, segregating your house, or moving the dog out of your home completely.

its like, if a 1 year old drowned anouther 1 year old in the bath tub. its a big mistake. but the baby wouldnt go to jail. the parent would.

so its up to you to protect the baby, like a parents job to watch the bathtub.

 

[alicat72]

pennywise-

i agree to some extent.

i have certainly thought of all possible reasons why he would have done this. (check my post about charlie dogs brain tumor)....when animals are in pain, they have no way to express it but thru whining and/or aggression.....he ha not had any apparent injuries lately...he has been going on a lot more walks tho....3- 2 mile walks a week......maybe he has pain from this? or maybe he feels more agressive because of his expanding territory?

harry will have a check up as soon as amie is out of the hospital and things have settled a bit...i am so freaking stretched to my maximum limit right now....

 

[alicat72]

i am so glad to have some objective views here....

its hard when you're right in the middle of all this love for babies and doggies

 

[DarthMom]

everyone has collectively given you fabulous advice, so i have nothing to say except you would be negligent in keeping that dog in the home. as someone who has a heart very close to rescue, but first and foremost, the children in the home come first...you do everything you can to find Harry a home.

 

[alicat72]

this is why i worry about what i should do....

we call her amelie and we call him 'the buddha'

 

[IAMTHOUGHTS]

like i said before.
for now,untill he gets checked out, get an expandable gate for your doorways. keep the dog in a diff room so you baby can crawl around freely without contacting the dog. see how the dog reacts from the other side of the fence. watch to see if he wants to go to the other side and get the baby.

since you have a lab(medium/large dog), you may have to place the gate about 1 foot off the ground or so creating a space to small to crawl under, but increasing the hight of the gate to about 4 feet.
i think they are only about 3 feet tall (one meter) so raising it a bit will help keep him from jumping over.

they are plastic/wood, see through, light weight, and easy to use/ move from doorway to doorway.

thats my final suggestion for now, thats what i would do....

 

[alicat72]

IAMTHOUGHTS-

i def am going to keep them separated....

i do have a baby gate, but the doorway between my family room and living room is quite wide.....i will have to go find another one that will fit that particular doorway.....

your suggestions are appreciated....

one major problem i have is that the room amie and i play in is the pathway to harry's yard....in order for him to access it, he will have to be allowed thru our play area.....not really a huge issue, but it will take a lot of effort....

 

[spork]

^Perhaps you could change playrooms temporarily?

 

[IAMTHOUGHTS]

one major problem i have is that the room amie and i play in is the pathway to harry's yard....in order for him to access it, he will have to be allowed thru our play area.....not really a huge issue, but it will take a lot of effort....

"harry's yard"?

its your yard. and to bad for harry, he now has limited access to "his" yard and you let him pass when you want, and when the baby is secure.

im sorry to say but your dog lost his freedom and privileges for the yard when he bit your babies head.

your gonna have to control where he is from now on if your going to keep him.

also from the photos, he does not look like a lab, he looks like a rottwieler mix.