Your dog is not your babies 'brother'

[Thisandthatandthensome]

Watching ITV news tonight about XL bullies. The amount of money it's costing to Kennel prior to pts, £1000 per dog per month! Huge amount.

Anyway, this delusional owner has one with her 5 month old baby girl. She reckons she knows the dog so well that she knows he wouldn't hurt his 'sister' and that he knows he's her babies big brother.

I mean I like some dogs but aibu to think you're a big delusional if you call them brothers or sisters to your actual children.

Aibu? ynbu no they are like brother and sister

Yanbu these folk are out of touch they are dogs

Nothing justifies having a 5 month old in close proximity to an XL Bully. Not how kind some dogs are, not how vile some humans are.

Having empathy with animals can be a positive trait in people but those who claim to care only for animals and not their friends/family/neighbours/wider society have a really serious problem and it certainly doesn’t make them better quality people.

Imagine not being able to understand the vulnerability of a 5 month old and the pain and confusion they would go through if bitten by a dog.

YANBU to be concerned about a baby in the same house as an XL Bully and an owner who doesn't seem to realise the risk.

YABU to focus on the fact that she referred to them as siblings. Many people regard dogs as part of the family - I had canine 'brothers' and 'sisters' growing up and it was lovely. If that's not for you, then fine, but I don't see the harm in it.

I disagree with owning a pit pull with a child but it does not bother me in the slightest if you refer to your dogs as siblings to your child, it's just affectionate and a bit light hearted/ silly. People and children are aware there is a biological / social difference between the two in reality.

I had a video pop up of a small dog biting off a big chunk of a 12yo girl’s face. The girl going from calm shock to a blood curdling scream when she realised what happened was horrific. I wouldn’t even get a small dog after watching that.

I don’t have an issue with calling the dog ‘big brother’. I jokingly refer to our lab as our DC’s big brother. However, in this context I voted yanbu.

Our dog is extremely meek and has never shown a hint of aggression even when attacked by other dogs. I still never leave the children and the dog unsupervised together and have taught my DC not to push, yell or provoke the dog in any way. At the end of the day, dogs can be unpredictable and it only takes one incident.

To allow a dangerous breed so close to a baby is irresponsible.

I agree. For most people referring to pets as siblings is fine, but some of these dangerous dog owners seem to use this as a way to justify their irresponsible behaviour.

At least if it's a small dog you can stamp it to death if it injures your child, and prevent it from doing any more damage. With and XL bully you've got no chance

Oh dear. I’ve only been home an hour and already I’ve said to DCat:

’Hello my sweet boy, did you have a nice nap?’

’What do you want, my child?’

’Would you like some dinner, my son?’

She is BU to have a Bully though.

I don’t see it as a dog bashing thread? It’s an XL bully and thick owner / bad parent bashing thread, sure.

They don’t have the complexity to be labelled an arsehole. Even the ones who kill are considered blameless.

I realise that. My point still stands - people with partners and children can still be insufferable narcissist (and yes o do believe people who prefer dogs to humans are narcissist and a bit simple)

Yes I’ve never known a chihuahua to maul a grown man to death

Which is why I said the majority of dogs aren't 🙄

What makes a dog an arsehole??

Or they might have been treated badly by a lot of humans in their life, and feel safer with dogs?

I hate the personification of pets. It absolutely deludes some people that their animals will behave like animals if they just treat them like babies.

I’m not convinced. People IME who “prefer dogs” and claim “everyone is horrible to me” are usually extremely problematic people

Agreed, as terrifying as the dangerous dogs are, and as much as they need to be put down, it’s not their fault.

Yes, exactly, this is the difference. The reports of XL bullies being tazered more than once and still not stopping are absolutely terrifying. They're not controllable if/when they flip. They're massive, powerful and (in)bred for fighting.

Also the same people seem to think their dog loves them because of their sparkling personality and wit - whereas it’s basically because that’s the person who feeds and walks them. And the moment they’re rehomed they “love” the next walker and feeder.

Dont get me wrong I don’t have a problem with dogs, just OTT dog people

I prefer dogs to people because it is people who have treated me badly, and never a dog. I am ND, and my dog does not judge me whereas other people do. She is a great comfort.
But yes, that means I am a narcissist and "a bit simple".

You may be right. I don't actually know anyone who says that so can't judge, really. Was just pondering

The small dog in the video mauled the girl’s face pretty badly.

It’s unbelievably cruel to breed dogs that are bred purely to be aggressive. And then to modify their heads to make them look “hard” - these people should be in prison

I have a Jack Russell Terrier, 11inches from head to toe. They are not allowed, under any circumstances to interact with the children of my niece and nephew.

We got our much loved Jack Russell during the break in the first lock down, due to subsequent lockdown we didn't have any opportunities to socialise them much.

dog is now three, nearly four, and while they are as gentle as can be in the household, I wouldn't trust them near children. And I'm not prepared to use any child as a guinea pig, to see how our dog may react.

It's not the size of the dog, only. I'm pretty sure my 11 inch dog could do a lot of damage to a child.

It's not only the training, socialization or anything else, really. A dog is a dog, just like a child is a child. Both can be unpredictable but it's unlikely that a child is able to kill a dog.