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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

208 replies

ginplease83 · 06/08/2016 21:17

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.

OP posts:
PatMustardsBigTool · 06/08/2016 22:07

Poor dog sounds bored and frustrated (causing mayhem with nappies etc) along with being food-driven. Do you ever give him a filled Kong or a bone to chew? I'm finding it hard to give my lab the attention he deserves at the moment outside of his walks due to small child but it doesn't take much effort to give them a quick pat on the head or a belly rub as you walk past and then a bigger fuss when you can.
Agree with pps, sounds like you don't like him and you're looking for excuses. Up to you and your DH of course, but don't blame him for not being the dog you haven't trained him to be.

DiseasesOfTheSheep · 06/08/2016 22:07

coughs crossed posts before, OP, re-crate! But that is the obvious solution, provided you crate train him so it's his happy, safe place (not a punishment place!).

PansOnFire · 06/08/2016 22:07

When you use the crate please research how to introduce him to it so he doesn't feel punished and trapped, it really will make him feel worse. Crate training from a puppy is great but to a dog who has never used a crate before it is not as straight forward as putting him in it when you need him out of the way.

I'm starting to feel quite cross now, that poor dog. Please get clued up about how to treat the dog!

StillSmallVoiceOfCalm · 06/08/2016 22:07

Bollox.

NeedACleverNN · 06/08/2016 22:08

So what does your dh do that makes him the expert?

There are a few zoonotic things that can be passed between dogs and humans but it's incredibly rare.

As long as you take care of the animal and keep it healthy you have nothing to worry about

WanderingTrolley1 · 06/08/2016 22:09

Why have you not crate trained the dog before now?

needastrongone · 06/08/2016 22:09

And believe NOTHING about being a Top Dog or pack theory or being dominant and knowing his place in the packing order, long proven bullshit which I can link any amount of evidence to. He wants the food cos he's a greedy git Smile

Sunshineonacloudyday · 06/08/2016 22:10

Some people sleep with dogs and I have 4 children I have enough to clean up thank you very much. It will be me cleaning up after it. I will leave the thread I'm not a dog lover. Maybe when the kids have left home and I'm all alone maybe then.

Costacoffeeplease · 06/08/2016 22:10

You're not the only one pans - poor bloody dog, he didn't ask to go to such poor, inept excuses of owners Sad

pensivepolly · 06/08/2016 22:11

needastrongone has some great advice. "Wait" and "find it" is a great exercise, it makes the dog feel clever and it can be very useful too. Labs have a real need to chew - probably goes with the food drive. Try strong beef tendon chews (never rawhide) available in bulk online.

Costacoffeeplease · 06/08/2016 22:12

I will leave the thread I'm not a dog lover

Thank Christ for that, don't let the door hit your arse on the way out

Sunshineonacloudyday · 06/08/2016 22:13

You don't mean it really we have a special connection now.

NeedACleverNN · 06/08/2016 22:13

Is that the doggy door costa? Grin

NoTractorsAtTheTable · 06/08/2016 22:13

You can walk a dog loads, but they need mental stimulation to wear them out. If it's the same type/length of walk every day, it doesn't do much for the brain. It's like us going to the gym - it's pretty dull really.

Our Border Terrier is 16 (and has been with DH longer than I have) but she was never ever left alone with our DCs when they had food. Now they are at school, the rules have slackened a little, but we still separate her at meal times.

It means no stress for her (she sleeps in her bed), and no stress for us. Win win.

Sunshineonacloudyday · 06/08/2016 22:14

I hope not I'm to fat to fit.

pensivepolly · 06/08/2016 22:14

why would someone who doesn't like dogs even bother to post on a thread like this ffs???

UnicornPee · 06/08/2016 22:14

Labradors are very well known for being food obsessed.
Ours eats dead birds it's that bad.
You just need more training (well the dog does) our was at one point stealing food if kit was left on a table. We gave a 'scary voice- low tone' shout "bad boy" and eventually he got the host and does not touch food off humans.
We were told if you get a metal money box with a few coins in and shake it when the dog does some thing bad (give it a little scare) it will stop. But we didn't need to try that.

Sad that you might rehome the dog

PoshPenny · 06/08/2016 22:15

Momma - our vet refused to pts. Shock even though they knew he wasn't easy. I used to put on leather gardening gloves for vet examinations and they had castrated him as they had advised it might make him easier. So he went back to the rescue (I was one of their dog fosterers) with a very full and honest assessment/report of what he was like - to see if there was a chance of somebody else (without any children) being prepared to take him on and give him a chance. Such a couple did come forward for him, but he bit them and so there were no more chances after that. I collected his body from the other peoples vets deep freeze and he is buried in our garden. Poor little sod, it turned out when I showed his pedigree to someone else in the rescue society that it was his breeding that caused his unpredictability. I still think it was right to give him that final chance, but IF it ever happened again I would be personally insisting on a second opinion at the vets rather than delegating that duty to my husband. I can be very insistent too. You live and learn and I have learnt that you can't save them all.

DixieNormas · 06/08/2016 22:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DeltaSunrise · 06/08/2016 22:16

I've just ordered a dog cage he's going to have to stay in that whenever food is around until I can take him back to the dog behaviourist. He'll probably go mental in it but i can't see how else its going to work without protecting both of them.*

No he won't go mental in it if you train him properly, Google crate training, it's pretty easy with a clicker and a few treats, kikopup on YouTube is fab. Start with small amounts of time with dog in his crate and build up until he's happy to be in there with the door closed. A crate should be the dogs safe space not a punishment, you can train the dog to go to his crate himself whenever humans are eating. Our dog (also a lab) takes himself off to his crate regularly during the day if he wants a rest or a break from excitable children and has a bed in the lounge he goes to while we are all eating and doesn't move until he gets his release cue.

It will take some time and you'll probably have to put your dd somewhere else to eat until it is done but it'll be worth it for all of you.

Rehoming the dog for being a dog and not being properly trained isn't really fair.

PatMustardsBigTool · 06/08/2016 22:17

Also consider what you feed him. Lots of dog food is full of junk, sugar and cereals which could be affecting him. I fully recommend a raw diet if you don't already feed that anyway.

LoreleiGilmoreIsMyBFF · 06/08/2016 22:17

Rather than the dog crate, would a high chair mean your child was less 'accessible '? I think I've missed the post regarding what breed your dog is, but as the previous owner of a much-loved but rascally Springer Spaniel, I wouldn't bother comparing your hound to a Labrador. Labs are ridiculously well-behaved and truly the 'teachers' pets' of the doggy world.

kali110 · 06/08/2016 22:18

Poor dog.
Your dh takes him for walks and gives him attention when he's home from work, but what about you?
The whole day do you just ignore him till your dh gets home?
He's being a dog.

needastrongone yes my family, dh and i all managed to avoid these illnesses too Grin

BathshuaSpooner · 06/08/2016 22:18

Feel terribly sorry for this dog :(. Best to rehome with a loving, dog knowledgeable family. Sunshine, you would faint dead away in our home. Currently three cats heaped on bed with me. I have three children and as far as I can tell we have experienced no cross species illness, although a friend and her bad tempered peekapoo gave us fleas once.

Costacoffeeplease · 06/08/2016 22:19

Much fairer than staying where he is though, at least he's got a chance of getting a good owner next time

he's going to have to stay in that whenever food is around until I can take him back to the dog behaviourist

Poor bloody dog