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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

MIL's Rottweilers

50 replies

FurryScoob · 17/02/2014 15:29

MIL has 2 uncontrolable Rottweilers, they hardly ever get taken for a walk & distroy the house on a regular basis. As soon as you walk into the house they jump up or knock you over or shove their noses up your bum for a good sniff. I'm crap with dogs & being pinned to the wall by a big dog that's 'just pleased to see me' scares the shit out of me. DP's family don't see anything wrong with the way the dogs behave but I'm fed up of leaving every visit covered in scratches & bruises. AIBU to stop visiting or is there anything I can do to make these dogs behave?

OP posts:

rabbitlady · 17/02/2014 18:39

stop visiting. why wait until you've been hurt? and report them. you might save someone's life.

IdRatherPlayHereWithAllTheMadM · 17/02/2014 20:11

Wow, I would not mind being called an entitled,snotty stuck up cow of the highest order there is no way I would be going there....no way on this earth.

IdRatherPlayHereWithAllTheMadM · 17/02/2014 20:12

But your lucky in that your MIl has Rottweilers and isnt one herself.

lljkk · 17/02/2014 20:13

Rotties are the only breed I'm nervous of (sorry). I'd be very on their behalf for not being handled properly.

AdoraBell · 17/02/2014 20:17

YANBU

Those dogs could do a lot of damage, purely because of their size, with their behaviour. I'm not anti Rottweiler, btw, but the bigger and stronger the uncontrolled animal, the greater potential for serious injury.

If you have DCs please keep them away until or unless the entire family understand how to train and care for dogs.

My German shepherds don't jump on people now that they've been trained not to as puppies. It's not "just what dogs do".

MissBetseyTrotwood · 17/02/2014 20:19

Those dogs need out of there. Would your dog warden go round for a chat? Ours is great and offers lots of good advice and support.

I wouldn't go round either until she gets some help to look after them properly or they're gone.

MissBetseyTrotwood · 17/02/2014 20:21

And previous posters are right, it's not 'what dogs do'- I have a very large breed (bordering on giant I think, technically) and he certainly doesn't jump up. He'd have me down in a trice if he did!

TheScience · 17/02/2014 20:34

This reminds me of the woman whose dogs killed that teenage girl - her daughter's friend I think? She had several big mastiffs and bulldogs and never took them out, never trained them, kept them crated or in the back yard and they basically went nuts. I think she ended up being prosecuted for animal cruelty as they couldn't prosecute her for the child's death as it happened on private land.

falulahthecat · 18/02/2014 09:58

Why not suggest your MIL gets in touch with the Cinnamon Trust - it's a charity for people who are unable to walk their dogs through illness or disability. Oh, wait - you aren't ill or disabled? THEN WHY AREN'T YOU EXERCISING YOUR DOGS. ARRRGH.

TheFuzz · 18/02/2014 10:46

It's not the dog that it is the problem, it's the owner.

Don't go round and explain you are fed up of the injuries. Simple !

dippydaisy1 · 19/02/2014 13:20

Take a little bottle of water and give them a squirt in the face. See if that stops the scorriging at least. I would refuse to visit. Our own rottie bit my 2 year old in the face - 6 stitches later - we went off the breed somewhat.

TheGreatHunt · 19/02/2014 13:23

Yanbu

My mum had a dog like this (Different breed). I stopped visiting!

Xenadog · 19/02/2014 13:27

Don't visit and also report the dogs to the RSPCA, the Police and dog wardens. If the dogs are as vicious as you say then that needs to be logged and your MiL needs "advice" on how to care for them or have them take from her.

LifeIsBetterInFlipFlops · 19/02/2014 13:27

Lljkk...why are these the only dogs you are afraid of?

OP- I wouldn't go around there, no way. I'd be wary of a trained one, let alone untrained.

Cakebaker35 · 19/02/2014 13:32

Yanbu.

I've had a similar situation with my sil. She had two Staffordshire bull terriers that were just jumpy and mental (this is how other family members described them). So when she asked us about visiting I told her I wouldn't be able to visit as I've always been a bit nervous of dogs (having been bitten by a terrier as a child) and if they are jumpy then I couldn't go. I said it nicely, just a statement of fact, so if she wanted to say 'oh ok I'll keep them outside while you visit' then she could have offered, but she didn't. (For context, i have a good friend who is afraid of cats so i always shut mine out of the way when she comes round) So I didn't visit and neither did my DH (he was just glad to have an excuse as he can't stand her) and there is no chance I would have allowed my dc anywhere near.

Fast forward several months and one of the dogs has bitten a child that lives near them (not seriously but enough to scare the life out of the poor child) so they have decided to get rid of the dogs. Unfortunately my sil is a moron, it took this incident to happen before she would accept the dogs were out if control. I'm glad I stood my ground, you should too.

haveyourselfashandy · 19/02/2014 13:48

I adore Rottweilers and once my kids have grown up and left the house I want two.I don't know much about them yet I've just always loved them,but I'm already assuming they will be very hard work and need lots of exercise.Lots and lots of exercise!
Stop going round if your uncomfortable op,I wouldn't appreciate being pinned up to a wall by a very big dog.

MoominsYonisAreScary · 19/02/2014 13:48

Pil always had them when the dcs were younger, a well trained rott is a lovely animal, theres was always great with the dcs (although never left alone, wwouldn't leave dcs alone with any dog though)

He was huge, 16 stone 6 foot of lovely animal. An untrained rott would scare the shit out of me though due to the size. I would refuse to go round

mousmous · 19/02/2014 13:54

wouldn't hurt a fly

well, they hurt you just by jumping up. great big heavy dogs.

op yanbu at all

I hate hate hate irresponsible dog owners. ffs if you can't take care adequately get a stuffed toy one.

HelloBoys · 19/02/2014 13:59

Can't she get the dogs trained (training school) and if necessary walked - pay someone to walk the dogs?

give them a chance (the dogs) but stand your ground re visiting them and don't go until it's sorted imo.

OldBagWantsNewBag · 19/02/2014 14:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tabulahrasa · 19/02/2014 14:18

12 stone? 16 stone? Mine is 7...and pretty bang on a healthy weight.

For the record - while I wouldn't reccomend them with young children, that's just a size and exuberance thing.

Other than that for somebody willing to put in the exercise and training they make better pets than a lot of working breeds.

Yes they need exercise and mental stimulation or they will provide their own entertainment (usually by eating your house) but they're no more likely to suddenly turn than any other dog not getting the right socialisation, training and exercise.

The OP's situation is not good because they're large dogs who are not having their needs met and are allowed to behave in a way that will cause distress and squashing to visitors...but it's not especially dangerous because if their breed, just their size and circumstances.

phantomnamechanger · 19/02/2014 15:17

Our own rottie bit my 2 year old in the face - 6 stitches later - we went off the breed somewhat

sorry but I don't see why you would go off the breed - be more wary of dogs in general or decide not to own a dog I could understand, but not just go off that breed because of the incident. there must have been a person responsible for your dog/the child at the time of the incident and they are to blame for not acting with due caution and responsibility, not the breed of dog. same would apply whatever sort of dog it had been, poodle or lab, makes no difference. But given it was a big strong dog, you are very lucky it was only 6 stitches.

Marne · 19/02/2014 15:23

I don't think it has anything to do with what breed they are, it's down to training and what control the owner has over them. I have 2 dogs, they are walked every day, when they are out they are very well behaved but at home when we have visitors they go hyper and will jump up and try and lick people to death, we don't often get visitors so this makes it even harder ( as there are less overt unities to train them to be good when people come over and they are extra excited to see a new face in the house ), I do have a crate for the biggest dog and if he does start jumping up he goes in the cage. Some dogs do get very excited but their owners should not let them jump all over people ( it's easy enough to remove the dog from the room or hold on to it ).

MoominsYonisAreScary · 19/02/2014 15:42

The 16 stoner was a larger bread, there others have been smaller

whossauhnafuffafwayay · 19/02/2014 17:06

Untrained, neglected Rottydogs, who are associating with each other and think they are in charge, do bite people, I'm afraid. I am not being melodramatic about that, expect that their unmanaged pack is going to lead to teeth on someone at some point, if the situation does not change.

It is not their fault, they will not doing anything wrong, just acting in their nature without anyone bothering to channel that nature - but they will take the blame if it happens and be put down, and some poor sod will possibly get injured.

Get it fixed, do not expose your children or yourself to unmanaged Rottydogs who are able to form a naughty cabal and think they're boss.

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