to ban MIL's new rescued Rottweiler from the house?

[PaddlingMadly]

MIL and SIL came to stay with 5yr old Rottweier bitch from rescue centre, she'd been abandoned.

I have DD and DS both under 3, the dog growled at them a few times then properly snapped (but not an actual bite) after DD toddled too close on her way past. I whacked dog and got very cool treatment from MIL as a result. I now insist dog not welcome in our house.

MIL thinks dog's just "a bit grumpy" and I overreacted. Bearing in mind I am a long term dog owner, have an MSc in Animal Behaviour, will forgive dogs most things, (but not this) can anyone reassure me I'm not just another neurotic mum?! How on earth can I get MIL to understand?

NBU at all!

YANBU I dont think you can force her to understand she will just have to accept it.

Stick to young guns. We have and have always had dog and kids but I wouldnt let this dog near my kids or any others for that matter.

Did your Msc in animal behaviour really inform you to whack the dog though?

YANBU

am still slightly boggled as to why anyone would get a rottweiler TBH

YANBU - unknown quantity displaying agressive behaviour to small child. Cannot mix - ever - end of.

MIL is clearly a tit, quite frankly.

YANBU and very worrying for the futrue if your MIL thinks that sort of behaviour is acceptable. Doesn't sound like the right dog for her at all

YANBU I am much more paranoid and wouldnt let a rottweiler without knowing its background in my house anyway.

no of course ynbu.

Hmm, rottweilers, MILs and hitting animals all in your first post!

You're quite right! No it didn't but training deserted me when DD in danger!

YANBU

not even a tiny bit

Lovely grandma that wants to put her toddler grandchildren at risk by having them around a big powerful dog, whose temperament she doesn't know and that has shown signs of aggression

Why did you hit the dog?

In that situation I would have removed myself and the toddler from the vicinity rather than winding it up.

what do you think the OP should have done? got down on its level and had a chat about appropriate behaviour???

i don't think you are being unreasonable at all.

Email MIL the links to the two recent stories about toddlers being killed by dogs perhaps? I have a feeling both those poor little children were killed by their grandparents' dogs too.

Good grief, it's only a few weeks since that tragic story of the little 5yo boy in Merseyside who was mauled to death by a dog.

Ok that might well have been an "illegal" type but any dog is capable of causing great harm to a small child unless properly controlled. And as this is a new dog they surely don't know it well enough to be sure what it is capable of doing.

YANBU and your MIL is an idiot.

ImSonottelling - I hear you but put yourself in same scenario and I wonder what your immediate response would be? trust me, I'm an animal pacifist too when my children aren't involved!

I am shit scared of dogs so it wouldn't have anywhere near me or my children in the first place.

YANBU, you don't know the dog's history and you don't want your family to be on the news in one of those all too familiar "dog attacks children" stories.

I'm not sure how you get MiL to understand though, maybe find a quiet moment and say you're just worried because none of you know the background and dogs can be funny with kids? If she has them over to her house she needs to understand that she needs to be careful with the dog when the children are around.

I'm sure it was an instinctive reaction, but whacking the dog won't have helped the situation.

I can't believe you are getting about whacking the animal.

YANBU at all.

LittleSilver do you really think it's a good idea to physically attack a huge dog who is already snarling and whose temarement you don't know? It's not exactly the safest option!

My wasn't just about whacking the animal. See GhoolsAloud post above.

Plus a rescue gave a rottweiller with possible temperement problems to someone who is clearly an inexperienced dog owner?

Yanbu.

My BIL's idiot dog growled unprovoked at ds (3) the other day. I am not having it in my house again. He is terrified of it.
I am usually an animal loving veggie lentil weaver type, but if it had snapped, my gut reaction would have been to whack it too, in the heat of the moment. I love animals, but nowhere near as much as I love my kid. It is natural, though not always desrable to turn into a tigress when you feel your kid has been threatened.