Dog driving me mad, bot sure whether I'm being U want him rehired

[ginplease83]

I am very bloody cross. I gave my 22 month old a mini milk this afternoon and sat her on the sofa in our open plan kitchen watching tv whilst I did some food prep. She's in the same room and easily accessible. Our dog was in his bed the other side of the room.

I turned to put something in the fridge and she started screaming. I turned around and our labrador who is obsessed with food, has half jumped on the sofa and is taking her ice cream. I jump on the dog and remove him and reassure her. He knows that this was wrong as soon as he saw me noticing, he sprung up.

I don't think he can be trusted around our kids anymore and want him gone. My DH thinks Im over reacting and that i don't give the dog enough attention. He's walked very regularly but i don't have time to sit there and stroke him. Theres nowhere else for him to go in the house apart from a large kitchen and family room area. If I put him in the garden he rams himself into the fence to try and get to a neighbour's dog or he makes every attempt he can to get into our bins.

[DiseasesOfTheSheep]

So why don't you have a crate to lock him in at meal times?

[WaitrosePigeon]

We all eat at the dinner table. So should your child.

[Sunshineonacloudyday]

I think its unfair of your husband to expect you to look after your child and a dog. Don't feel guilty about rehomeing him that is probably the most loving thing you can do if you don't want him no more.

[BentleyBelly]

I would consider crate training the dog so it can be put away when food is around. Our dog loved hers and happily went in her 'den' for some downtime. We now have a gate on the utility room which she considers to be her bedroom. I think it's important to have somewhere safe to put the dog away, there are often occasions when it's not suitable to have a dog running around.

[Sunshineonacloudyday]

A dog should dictate where you should eat. I heard it all now poor child can't sit on her favourite chair anymore.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Fuck off sunshine

[PoshPenny]

Make your daughter eat at the table in future. Until she's much older. The dog will find it much harder to steal her food that way. Very naughty dog, but I wouldn't say it's a rehoming offence. That should be for very serious misdemeanours such as biting the child so badly they need a hospital trip for stitches.

[SkydivingFerret]

Your dog doesn't think he's top dog that's a load of bollocks from a PP there. He's just greedy. If you do get him a crate you'll have to train him to accept being in there. Clicker training is great and works well for most dogs

[Missgraeme]

If u had the dog first then shouldn't u rehome the child?? Make sure kids eat at the table maybe?

[Waltermittythesequel]

You should rehome the dog for the dog's sake.

He dserves to be with someone who has time to give him the odd cuddle (which takes seconds.)

[Mommawoo]

poshpenny You would rehome a dog that bit a child so bad that the child needed stitches?

Shouldn't a dog be destroyed after that?

[Sunshineonacloudyday]

The dog cage sounds like a brilliant idea. That dog will cost you a fortune in vet bills with the way that he is eating and in behaviour psychologist. Labradors do calm down after a couple of years or so. Well done for getting a cage you sound very committed to keeping the dog now. Just remember they are not human they do carry deceases that is not good for humans.

[NeedACleverNN]

Sunshine you are aware this is a dog we are talking about...not a bat with rabies

[PansOnFire]

Your dog is bored and he's doing the only thing he knows to do to entertain himself. And he gets attention every time he goes after food, all attention is good to a dog who is feeling pushed out and insecure. Clearly, he gets enough exercise but he needs entertaining.

You need to set something up for him to do whilst DD is eating, preferably in another room but if its interesting enough for him then in the same room might work. If you get this worked up every time then he's figured out this gets your attention, as hard as it is you need to ignore it.

Labs are notorious for being energetic, our dog isn't a lab but I have to treat her like another child in order for her to behave appropriately. Have a look at the Victoria Stillwell 'Positively' methods - there are some helpful tips there to entertain lively dogs as well as the psychology behind how human reactions reinforce certain behaviours.

I toyed with re-homing our dog when it was difficult, but then I figured that I got the dog and gave her a home and that it was my responsibility to make her happy. There is no reason to think that this behaviour is permanent but it is going to take a lot of work. If you think you can give the time and effort to changing the dog's behaviour (and your own) then it can definitely be done but if not, re-homing might be kinder.

I'm not going to give you a hard time here, I know what its like and dogs can be frustrating when they're being difficult. But don't be resentful towards the dog, he'll sense it and things will get worse.

[Veterinari]

FFS good = food

And no the fact that you got the dog before you had your daughter makes no difference - dogs don't have a pecking order and he's not trying to be 'top dog' He's doing what any dog would do - scoffing an ice cream when he gets the chance - the only way to stop him is to supervise responsibly or remove the opportunity

[Sunshineonacloudyday]

Costacoffee I know dedicated dog owners who care and love there dogs. They teach them where there place is in the family home. From what you have posted you can't be serious. I'm sorry I have to be straight with you.

[CuntyPotato]

Well aren't you a fucking delight. Poor bloody dog.

[Shizzlestix]

Crates are great, but please don't treat it like a prison where he goes when he's not being walked. It should only be for times you/DC is eating. Re smacking into the fence, you seriously need to train him out of that, your neighbours must get pissed off.

If he stays on his bed temporarily when told, reinforce this, fill up a Kong with low calorie food-I squish in bits of raw carrot and the normal food, makes it hard to get out, he'll be distracted and ignore whatever DC is eating.

Look at what you're feeding him: he sounds a bit hyper. Most foods available in the supermarket are frankly crap and he may simply be hungry, although labs are notorious for being food obsessed. You need to put some training in place.

[Dragongirl10]

Erm, he is just being a dog.
l had a very large breed energetic dog when my 2 dc came along 16 months apart, l had a really big play pen in living room for the Dcs to seperate them for safety, child gates for the dog in every doorway and Dcs always ate at the table in highchairs.

Also why can you not walk him? l took my double buggy out to walk our dog for an hour first thing every day till they started school, Dcs loved it and l got fit on the hills!

My dog would steal food given half a chance most will. A gentle dog adds so much fun and companionship to a young childs life, think carefully before rehoming him just for stealing an ice cream.

[pensivepolly]

I would never have left our Labradors alone with our small children when they were eating. Even the best trained Labrador is overwhelmingly motivated by food (probably trained using food!). If you don't like your dog, don't want to take the time to train your dog, and don't otherwise want to put in the effort to supervise your dog around your children, you should rehome him. It sounds as if you don't like or understand your dog or the breed and that he isn't a priority for you.

[Sunshineonacloudyday]

Needaclever I grew up with a dog until I met dp and the things he says about dogs has turned me off. I used to be a dog lover. I won't go into what he told me.

[Costacoffeeplease]

You know fuck all sunshine so butt out

[needastrongone]

We have 2 dogs, so far, we have managed to avoid these diseases Sunshine is afraid of, using basic hygiene...

OP, you will need to crate train the dog, not just stick him in it and hope he likes it. Using a crate can be an really useful asset at times, but they need to enjoy the crate and see it as a safe, welcoming place for it to be useful otherwise you will cause more distress than you already think you have.

You can buy raw, meaty bones, full packaged from a company called Natural Instinct, a lab would chew one for hours out in the garden, safe for your DC and dog.

Kongs work well too.

I scatter grated cheese on the garden for my two spaniels, takes them ages to hoover up the bits, and me seconds to grate some cheese. Teach them to 'wait' before they 'find it', teaches restraint.

Leave it is an excellent command, and easy to teach for a food orientated dog. Google it.

Your dog is doing nothing wrong at all you know....

[Botanicbaby]

oh FGS now you're saying he's DH's dog. Er…isn't the dog part of your family?

Clearly you don't see it that way. I feel sorry for the poor dog. It doesn't sound as if he is getting the love and attention that he needs Please consider what a PP said about the impact a new baby can have on the dog, he is probably reacting to that and to your indifferent treatment of him.

If you cannot give the dog the love and attention he needs then you are not the right family for him. Why are you leaving a young child unsupervised with food in the same room as the dog anyway - for that YABU!!