Mothers chihuahua ate half of my babies grape

[Anonymous23458d]

Just as the title states.. I took my boys 1 and 3 years old to my mothers. She never makes the effort to visit us i see her every other week. She lives with my two other older siblings and my dad. Last year they've bought another chihuahua that is just crazy. They don't train it it bites my children and now my baby is crawling it bites his face and is vicious, it steals food and items and growls when I try and get them. They don't do anything to help just idolise this dog. They have about a 2 metre crate for it, which I have to put it in when it gets vicious with my children.
I went because my eldest loves my older sister who lives there and loves seeing her. I was feeding my one year old downstairs whilst the dog was upstairs. I didn't realise the dog ran down and at the same time my baby threw one half of a grape then another one and the dog ran and ate them up. My sister and mum started screaming and rang the vet who said they must rush her down. All the while so hostile and angry at me when I said I didn't realise and im sorry. I know dogs cant eat grapes but I have a baby and toddler and thought the dog was upstairs. It's hard to manage in basically a glass house with so many ornaments and crap everywhere. It's the opposite of baby proof which I don't expect it to be but she doesn't even help me one bit when I come round. My mum only has interest in her new dog not her grandchildren. She has now sent me the receipt for £105 she's had to pay to make the dog be sick at the vets. I am not paying it and for one don't have that money. AiBu?

The dog was bred for humans to be amused by. Only for that. A plaything.

It is aggressive and bites babies. Not much of a plaything then, not serving its purpose. Pointless dog, invented and created by humans. Not endangered, not rare, not special, not a bonus to society at all.

Don’t go there again and don’t put your kids in harms way, are you crazy. Did you read what you wrote? The dog bites your kids and the baby’s face? Are you for real?!?! Stay the hell away and she can pay her own bill.

I agree but a bite won’t make the news.
I was merely responding to a post that suggested the child would be killed by the dog and it would be news.

Many children are scarred by dogs and it never hits the news. chihuahuas aren’t ever in the news for biting. It’s reserved for those that actually kill. Bite force.

Dachshunds are hunters..I had several and they are not cuddly pets. Bred to kill. She should not have put her face within reach, but sympathies nonetheless. Everyone thinks, they’re small and lap dogs. They aren’t.
Chihuahuas are known to be biters. My only point was it is not likely to be fatal. Only because of the size of the dog. Bites are always nasty. She should not put her children back in the house with a dog that bit once.
I would not take my child to a house where the dog was prioritised over my child.

I haven't RTFT but I can't be the only one who read the thread title as a chihuahua eating half of the OP's baby(ies) and clicked.

I love dogs, but, if my little dog so much as growled at any child or even an adult it would be put in it's cage. I definitely would not let my children near that dog. As for vet bill, she's got pet insurance hasn't she so she would only pay excess? My advice would be to stay away, say they can visit you to see you and children (without the dog) but you think it's best not to have children and dog at same house. If they won't do that, their loss, kids safety is most important. I'd be reminding her if the dog bites it's not safe around anyone. Oh, and NO I would not pay vets bill nor would I go and visit again. Maybe she doesn't want you to visit, if she did she would control her dog. Sad fact but often true.

I can’t believe the thread title - it got me to click, but surely the real issue is ‘Mother’s chihuahua bit my baby’s face’.

It’s not always just a dog attack fatality that makes the news @DearDenimEagle

Dachshunds are hunters..I had several and they are not cuddly pets. Bred to kill.

Out of interest, what made you get the breed then?

This 100%

Before we knew grapes could be harmful to dogs we used to feed our little toy poodle them as treats!…she would have 3 or 4 at a time on occasion…
One grape would not harm a dog…. The toxins build up over time! Your mum totally overreacted!
Tell her you’re not paying the vet bill for her horrid little dog and stop visiting.
Your mum is an awful woman and in your shoes I wouldn’t be visiting! She shows you and your children no interest - stop going round!!
Your son will forget your sister and stop asking to see her after a while, what is it he likes about her? Get yourself to some toddler groups and meet other mums and get him playing with kids his age rather than go to what sounds like a very toxic house!!

As for the vet bill…
Text your mum and say ‘Sorry but I’m not paying the vet bill, you knew we were round and since you know your dog is dangerous it should have been crated or shut upstairs the minute we pulled up!’
You mum should be ensuring the fogs safety and her grandchildren’s safety by keeping this dog away when you visit!

Also what is the harm in inviting your sister and her bringing your mum along too? As long as the dog isn’t allowed in yours what’s the issue with sister and mother coming?

If these women can’t be bothered to make the effort with your children then please don’t hesitate or feel guilty for removing them from your children’s life!’

what does your partner make of all this?

Same reason people without sheep get border collies, beardies etc, people without guns get gun dogs, people who don’t hunt get terriers and sight hounds etc Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers. Dachs.

Actually, I’ve 2 gun dogs now. I’ve had collies, but I did have sheep.

We get dogs because we like them, but we must never forget they work with body language, not verbal. We teach them words, but they are primarily body language readers and speakers. If you don’t speak dog, you can easily get bitten ..children more so

I’ve a dachshund rescue and didn’t have a clue what they were bred for - docile and soppy but never near children unless they want and always there to make sure all is good

I hope you’re ok OP? X

So… what is the “same reason”

”I want, so I get”?

I'm okay thank you @deekitch I won't be going back around to my mums again and I dont think they'll be bothered as none of them have reached out to me. It's my youngests 1st birthday coming up in the next two days and I can guarantee they won't see him for it. My main concern is keeping them safe and I know completely she won't crate the dog if I was to visit again shed say it's the dogs house not mine. So I'll just leave it in her court to visit without the dog. My sister is due to have a baby in the next few weeks too (her first) she is living with my mum and family so not sure how she's going to get on with that dog and a baby in the house.

You really are better off out of the situation, OP. It’ll be their loss if they don’t come and see your youngest on his 1st birthday. It was posted earlier in the thread that children do pick up on when their presence isn’t really wanted and is just being tolerated. I went through it with a set of grandparents, who made no effort when I was a child and weren’t exactly welcoming when we visited.

Your mother and sister have seen what could lie ahead having a reactive, untrained dog that has previously bitten and a baby living in the same house 24/7. It’s entirely on them to take appropriate steps. Your mother’s attitude in general stinks as far as I’m concerned. As long as your sister and her newborn are living in that house, she can’t really keep up this, “it’s the dog’s house” stance.
Let them get on with it.

Enjoy your son’s birthday!

Yes, usually…they like the breed…they watched Crufts obedience or agility, the saw the Dulux advert, they watched 101 Dalmatians , they see one in the park, on tv in a show. They see themselves with an adoring collie that doesn’t take its eyes off them and obeys instantly. Or some see it in a rescue, or an ad on gumtree and it looks cute. They don’t often wonder if they can give a dog what it needs, as in a collie. Bred to run 15 -20 miles a day, is a house pet with a half hour in the morning and at night and they wonder why it chews the place up. Luckily, most will adapt and will be cuddly, but you cannot depend on that with an unpredictable child that does not understand personal space, the pain a poke in the eye or a pull on the tail or ears can bring.
The point is, a dog has instincts, inbred behaviours that we can control, if our body language and behaviours are within a dog’s comprehension. Erratic behaviours can trigger instinctive responses. The dog will warn of its coming reaction with its own body language, be it submissive wagging tail or the tension of stance, flattened ears, or even a lip curl. Most people are not reading their dogs , especially for the reactions they do not want or expect.

Wrong quote

@DearDenimEagle So what drew you to get a dauschand given you say Dachshunds are hunters..I had several and they are not cuddly pets. Bred to kill.

you actively wanted a “not cuddly pet. Bred to kill”?”

My mother in law took hers to be bred and it had 3 pups, but got milk fever when they were 3 weeks old. I took the smallest one to hand rear and kept her. I already had a lab and half a dozen greyhounds, rescues and 2 Jack Russells and 3 collies, so another made no difference. She had heart, character. My first. I never wanted dogs that were …ohhh like King Charles spaniels …mild and insipid. But I lived on a farm, I could exercise all day and liked dogs with energy. Edited to remove apostrophe added by autowrong

So it wasn’t that your actively “wanted”

Your MIL is a breeder?

I didn’t actively want one, no. Most of my dogs sort of appeared back then. MiL bred one litter . She only had one dog. After that dog died, she moved on to Patterdale terriers…no idea why. I wasn’t speaking to her by then and moved out. I know she had pups off one of those but they kept them. It wasn’t a business breeding . When they wanted a new dog, maybe 4 times in the time I knew them, they bred a litter and kept a couple.

I didn’t know what dachshunds were like, other than they were small, so not for me. I was wrong. Big character.

Actually I bet living on a farm the Dach was brilliant. My cousin has 2 at her horse stables and they’re amazing ratters!
no idea why you’re getting grief for stating facts about dog breeds… majority of dog owners buy dogs (pets in general actually) without doing any research into temperament/health issues or what the breed is for… if people bothered to research some breeds would die out as pets completely.
Anyway this isn’t what the post was about so that’s all I shall say

@Anonymous23458d it is so sad that your mum doesn’t prioritise your sons.
I think your babies birthday will say everything you need to know!… if they don’t make any effort to see your son then I think you need to break away completely!
Do you have a partner? What does he/she think about all this?
please surround yourself with friends and adopt them as your children’s aunts and their children as cousins.