to ask SiL to pay kennel fees for our dog over Xmas?

[bex2011]

We have been invited to my PiL over Xmas along with DH's brother and his family. They have said they will only go if our dog goes into kennels. SiL has a real problem with the dog and her children being in the same house. We have FiL has said he will put a baby gate at the kitchen door and the dog can stay behind that. Dog and children wouldn't need to be in the same room at all. This isn't good enough. Dog shows no signs at all of agression. She is fine with my niece and nephew and has adapted really well to having a baby in the house. Everyone who knows the dog and the situation thinks it's ridiculous and there is no reason why dog and children can't be together.

They will be at inlaws from Xmas day lunchtime until boxing day evening. The kennels have said that dog would need to go in Xmas eve before lunch until day after boxing day, totalling 4 days of kennel fees.

AIBU to ask them to foot the bill for this? Part of me knows that I am, but they show no degree of compromise to find a situation that works.

you have never met a kitten have you, they are definatly not harmless in any way shape or form. and you cant train the buggers either.

You're not wrong there Ditavonteesed. My daughter has a 5 month old kitten at the moment and my hands and legs have been shredded by the little bugger. Freddy Krueger has nothing on Sally the cat.

Also laughing at the (apparently perfectly rational) fear that the beast may at any moment leap over the baby gate and savage the entire family

Yep that's pretty much what happened to me this summer - except the lovely gorgeous marvellous well-trained harmless staff didn't go for the entire family - just the 3 month old baby! Luckily I was right next to the baby and reacted very quickly and instinctively, and the owner was running behind his placid well trained dog and was able to grab him once dog halted (on top of baby).

Yes no harm was done, and I was really cool about it (most other guests were totally freaked out though) but when you talk about the PERCEPTION OF FEAR, that gorgeous well trained dog hardly helped the Staff reputation.

Dogs, SIL's AND Christmas
MN doesn't get much better than that!

This thread has made me think my SIL is actually OK:

She doesn't like dogs, has hyper hygiene issues, but still comes to stay even though I imagine it's quite hard for her.

We also go to hers even though we don't like putting the dogs in kennels we do.

Me and SIL are both much nicer than I ever gave us credit for.

Where's the OP?

Reading the thread, she's fucked off ages ago

Does it make any difference to you lot that the op has lost interest? I guess "no" is the answer there then eh?

Hopefully she has been muchly helped.

I think the crate is the way to go. The initail expense will be made up for as it will solve thenproblem FOREVER.

Although what if the dog managed to ondo then lock on the crate while they were all asleep and spread it's deadly doggie germs with gay abandon around the house??

I'm sure that must have happened to someone once on here. Or someone has a phobia about it happening. Or something.

So, crate and dog pants is the only solution.

I would love to see either my Staffie Cross or Westie leap their gate and savage the family, it'd happen shortly before hell froze over so I suspect we'd all have other things on our minds. The Staffie could certainly do so (we think she is half Collie) as she can leap 8ft walls, however she is also the best behaved, most obedient dog I've known.

The key here is the PILs have invited the dog. They know the dog, dogsit etc etc. The SIL has a problem, brought about through prejudice it seems, that has been rectified through a compromise. She is not prepared to accept this compromise...surely that makes this her problem?

dog pants? but someone might...gasp...touch the dog! And dog germs can jump on the table! Surely it should also be wrapped in cling film?

Hmm, well obviously you'd have to wear one of those white forensic type suits and face mask when dog pants had to be removed, and the suit and pants would require nuclear insinarator to destroy all germs that washing alone would never remove, and dog pants would need to be changed each time the beast went outside so that's a lot of pants a day...maybe it's not a goer.

but all those issues with bumholes, what is one to do?

Semi seriously, if dogs could have indoor pants, and maybe booties, it would be more hygienic and I'd maybe even let them on the beds. Why don't we this??

you can buy pants for them can't you?

jesus I can't believe I am entering into this conversation

but why would you want them to have pants on? they don't cause skids marks or anything and their sphincters close up better than human ones don't they as they don't have to wipe.....

Wow, wasn't expecting this level of response! Thanks everyone and yes, a good doggy debate is always good.

It's an awkward situation and unfortunately will not ever be resolved and no doubt we will behave the same dilema next year.

Stafies do have a bad reputation, but it is more to do with the owners and their training rather than the breed. It was a lab who body checked me and knocked me off my feet breaking my arm in two places.

Will we ask them to pay? No, but Fil may! Staying at home and being with my family is suddenly v appealing. My mums xmas dinner is far better than mil's.

I'll tell you why. Because the dog doesn't have thumbs. So when it needs to wee or poo, the pants would distress it enormously. It might even, if well trained, explode from trying to hold it all in. And that would be a bastard to clean up.

I just want to clarify - when I said many dogs could jump a gate, what I did NOT say was that many dogs WOULD jump a gate IN ORDER to savage a child, which I believe may have been extrapolated

Ive seen dogs in pants when they're in season. Man pants though, not dog pants

Man pants would fall off my dog. He'd need toddler pants, I reckon.

It's the MN parallel universe on dogs again. I have to say a dog/SIL/Christmas thread is just MN gold. Did SIL refuse to have the OP's children at her wedding as well? Please say it's so.

I have two dogs, love most breeds, but I can't bear staffies or boxers. A cross of the two would be my idea of a nightmare. I wouldn't spend Christmas in a house with that breed. And I would gladly leave my two in kennels for a couple of days over Christmas if visiting family who didn't want them there (and I include other guests' feelings in that) or if I had guests who weren't keen.

Yes, Davey, but how do you feel about dog pants?

But couldn't you take the pants off the dog whenever it went outside, and as it only poos outside (so much more hygienic than nasty humans polluting their houses with their faeces) it therefore wouldn't need thumbs.

Over thinking this but becoming a bit obsessed with the good sense that dog pants appear to be making is afternoon.

Are dogs sphincters more effective than humans? I guess they must be but never really considered it before now.

I wish someone would make some (I'm looking at you flopbot labrador).

I'll also add, darling dog could not jump a gate! She is the most un-agile dog I've ever met.

Bex, I imagine you're right about the breed thing. I love dogs. Love, love, love them and have one of my own but anything that looks like a Staffy / Boxer / Pitbull freaks me out just a little bit. They do look a bit menacing and even if yours is the loveliest dog on the planet it's very hard to get past their appearance. Not saying SIL is right but as the owner of a possibly menacing-looking dog I think you have to accept the fact that people are going to be more wary of them than say, a Spaniel (fwiw I had a Spaniel growing up that bit a visiting toddler).