To get rid of puppy?

[chubbychipmonk]

Posting this on behalf on friend who doesn't know what to do.

She has a 4 yr old DD & 8 year old DS, is also in a relationship with DP who has 8 year old DD who stays at the house regularly.

She bought a Dalmatian puppy at Xmas who up until now has been playful & boisterous. She has been taking him to puppy classes & he seems to be training well. Last night however she was in the kitchen, heard a scream & found the dog had jumped up on DD & bitten her behind the ear whilst trying to retrieve a toy. Resulted in a hospital visit, tetanus jag & stitches.

Her DP (as well as his ex) now understandably don't want the dog round their daughter. My opinion is also that she should get rid of the dog as its too big a risk. However she has spoken to otherswho advise that the dog is merely being playful & she should persevere. Basically she just wants to see what the common consensus is, it's already causing arguments between her & DP. My opinion is she's being unreasonable to keep the puppy but what do others think?

[Pinot]

Theo!

OP IGNORE THAT please!

[biff23]

Puppies bite, your friend shouldn't have got one if she didn't expect that to happen. She obviously doesn't know much about dogs.

[5hounds]

I hate people that 'get rid' of there dogs. People like me have to pick up the pieces, I currently have 5 dogs here from rescue backgrounds.
Research and commit to that dog for its life. Or don't get one.
Puppys chew, they mouth, it hurts, there puppys

[twinklesparkles]

Why was her daughter in another room with a dog??

I'm assuming they were alone...

rolls eyes

I don't know what your friend expected .. She got no common sense??

[chubbychipmonk]

She was in the kitchen with the door open & DD & dog were in living room (straight through from kitchen).

Her DPs ex has now said that THEIR (DP & ex) daughter is not allowed to stay at the house anymore unless the dog goes. . . .

[akaemmafrost]

KILL a puppy? Only 4 months old? Take it's life because it got a bit overexcited?

Are you willing to push the injection Theo?

[coffeeinbed]

Well, her DP is a twat.

[maddiemostmerry]

Get her to rehome it responsibly, then never any of them get a dog/puppy again.

[akaemmafrost]

I'd be tempted to dump the DP. I couldn't find someone so ignorant and inflexible at all attractive I am afraid.

[RarelyAGobshite]

You're trying to 'train' children

You're trying to 'train' a puppy

Leave them both together and the training fails.

They are both young, with little understanding of action/reaction. Puppy needs training and dc need guidelines on what to do/not do with pup.

Another pup bought without everything thought through by the sounds of it.

Most dogs are fantastic when trained.

Untrained-they don't know how to behave. Christ! I struggle understanding some humans and I'm in my 30's! For a pup it must be very confusing.

[chubbychipmonk]

That's a great input Theo. . . Thanks for those very 'helpful' words of wisdom!!

[RarelyAGobshite]

Sorry-not you, you're friend.

Also, puppies nip. I have one, she nips and she's over a year old. (No cutting skin, just over excited)

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

To be honest your friend is being unreasonable if she thinks a puppy will not bite ever.

There is a world of difference between an aggressive dog biting or a puppy. It is just part of a puppies development and an owners responsibility to teach the puppy that humans don't like being treated like another pup and being nipped in play.

A puppy biting is no indicator of an aggressive dog. My 6 month old puppy very rarely nips even accidently now so it is a short lived phase if you are consistant.

[Iteotwawki]

My puppy (retradoodle, 5 months old) jumps and used to bite. Still does when he gets very excited.

But we have house rules and he is slowly learning to obey them. When he's well behaved he gets lots of fuss and treats, the boys (5&6) are never left unsupervised with him and my husband is a sahd so DDog has company all day. Completely agree that she'll get out what she puts in with regard to puppy behaviour.

Whether or not to rehome depends on other family dynamics I would guess. I would not consider rehoming DDog for biting in play (would consider more training of dog, children and me though!) but my DH is very supportive of us having a family dog.

Rehoming now at least gives Pup a chance. When he's older with bad habits it may be a lot harder.

[quoteunquote]

Dalmatian puppy, what a surprise.

they are carriage dogs, breed to run beside fire engines, before that border guard dogs, they need a serious amount of exercise to have their needs met,

If she bought if of a decent breeder then the breeder will of made a commitment to the dog for life, and will take it back, do not expect any money back, if she bought it from a dodgy breeder then,

contact these people to insure that the next owner meets it needs properly they really know what the breed requires, and will properly oversea a forever home.

is it deaf?

[SpicyPear]

Did she consult with DP's ex before getting the dog? Because even though I love dogs, it is reasonable in my opinion not to want your child to stay in a house with a dog you don't know and an owner that can't be trusted to supervise properly. Just another issue that sounds as if it wasn't properly thought through.

[spiritedaway]

Either learn about dogs and never leave little one and trusted pet alone. . or rehome- but YANBU to rehome your pup if you choose to. I mean she. :)

[ilovesooty]

If the owner lives with the puppy at home and walks it 3 times a day and the dog walker only once a day, why did the dog walker have to advise the owner that the puppy might be deaf? Surely if this person is an experienced dog owner, she might have realised if something wasn't right?

[TheRatsTheRats]

They are crap owners and irresponsible parents (on this occasion) as a child and a small puppy should never be unsupervised. Puppies play bite and with small razor sharp teeth it can easily cut. Some people should not be allowed pets. If they are thinking of rehoming because of this (their stupid mistake) they shouldn't be dog owners and should rehome asap before the poor thing is rehomed at a later date any way.

Poor child. Poor dog. Daft friend and DP.

[maninawomansworld]

NEVER leave dogs with kids unsupervised (even if you're in the next room with the door open), doesn't matter whether it's a doberman or a shitsu!
Accidents can and do happen - the dog may have seen in at boysterous play, or the DC may have just gotten in the way at the last moment as the dog went for the toy.

WHen they're being annoyed, a little nip is a dogs way of saying 'oi, cut that out' when it's ear / tail / fur is being pulled by some over unthusiastic 5 year old who's trying to 'play horsey' with the dog.
Most dogs will repeatedly move away from a child who is annoying them but there's only so many times one will move before it thinks 'christ , I've had enough of this' and in it's own way tells the child to bugger off.

Anyone getting a dog should take the time to LEARN ABOUT CANINE BEHAVIOUR and then SUPERVISE THE CHILDREN PROPERLY abound them. It's not rocket science. There are no such things a bad dogs, just bad owners!

In answer to the question, I wouldn't get rid of the puppy in this stuation, I'd supervise the kids properly and attend some doggy training classes to help give me an understanding of their behaviour.
If your friend is unwilling to do something like this then maybe they should get rid of the pup and send it to a home where it will be understood and it's needs properly met by a responsible owner.

[BinarySolo]

I think op's friend has learnt the supervision lesson the hard way. I think really she has 2 options open to her:

1. Rehome the dog
   
2. Rehome dp
   

I'm in favour of option 2.

Joking aside, I do think he needs to be on board with keeping and looking after a dog for it to work. Reading between the lines, I'm guessing the dog was more something your friend wanted than him - it bit her dd, but this was still reported back to his ex.

It seems your friend should have researched better with regard to suitable breeds and reputable breeders, but if she is prepared to put the work in (and it sounds like she is) she can still make things right. I do honestly worry about the dp not wanting the dog and having an 'attitude' towards it that mat influence the children's behaviour.

[LittleMissStupid]

You friend is a complete TWAT. I hope she never gets another pet again, as she doesnt sound like she is intelligent enough to look after a flea nevermind a pet.

Poor poor dog.

[VoiceofUnreason]

I know it's been said, but I want to say it too.

Your friend and her partner are complete twats.