Dog I don’t want and never asked for that I’m scared of

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Basicallly I don’t know what to do with a dog that I’m scared of and don’t want in my house.
My partner got the dog without asking because his friends dog had puppies. I’ve never owned a dog in my life and first as it was young it was fine.

then the dog got older and it’s a large dog, I don’t want to say the breed, but it’s big. I’m more of a cat person although I don’t have cats atm.
anyway my partner works away. Often I’m alone with the dog and my 3 youngest kids.

My eldest boys don’t live away but they’re often out wirh friends especially at the weekend.
They do come home in the evening obviously as they’re only 14 and 12. But then home they do the dog care because I am scared of the dog. They do the feed and walk etc. but weekends from around 11am to 11pm it’s all on me.

The dog isn’t super aggressive but he’s had his moments. I’m rambling I’m so sorry I’m just not sure what to do and where I can go. Partner doesn’t listen, my eldest kids like the dogs, youngest 3 are scared but may be because they’ve picked it up from me.
i don’t want the dog to be put to spew he’s only bitten twice within the family. No where will take him when I ask and say theyre full.
please can someone give advice and options I asked on FB groups and got bad things said and even mocking of my account photos and children which were just day to day photos and really unjustified thabjs

Or Nicole Morley who also sadly died.

Good luck OP. You’re right to act.

You seem to be wilfully ignoring that he will probably just get another dog and that he has no respect for you or your children. I hope for your childrens sake you step up here and this isn't another tragedy in the making.

It sounds as though it’s a banned breed or could be mistaken for one - ‘like a Staffy in the face’ screams Pit Bull to me.

OP and the partner are both playing fast and loose with the lives of the children in their care. There was another killing of a human by a dog this past week - they are depressingly frequent, and lack of training is a huge factor. It’s also clear that this dog hasn’t been trained properly, if at all, so it’s a time bomb.

OP - you know what has to happen here, for the sake of your children. Ring the police and ask how to surrender a dog from a banned breed.

who owns the dog?

TaKe it to the vets under the guise of worrying it is in pain and explain, and ask for their advice. They will tell you to PTS. Then ring your partner and say the vets say it is too dangerous and may kill one of your children and needs to be PTS.

It's sadly roo late for that poor dog now. It needed training, exercise, boundaries, behaviour work long before it first bit a child.

I don't understand how parents can willfully keep an untrained aggressive dog with a bite history in the house with children.

Honestly you need to stand up to your dp and protect your children and tell him either the dog goes or him and the dog goes together.

First comment has it - one bite is one bite too many. Just get rid of the dog or have it pts

Actually op of you're scared to stand up to your dp, this is a great solution.

Obviously it's not

I am sorry but the dog goes out or the husband goes out with his dog. This is not a game of playing family. You are the other adult partner who takes decisions also

What?

I work in a vets and if we are presented with a dog that has bitten then we will put to sleep.
Most vets would not be reluctant to pts a dog like this with a bite history , this situation has too much potential for catastrophe for us to suggest re homing as an alternative.
Be truthful , there is no need to exaggerate.
If this dog is an xl bully without registration ,insurance etc it is a criminal offence.

I’m afraid I would not hesitate to talk to a vet and have the dog put to sleep.

This is really important OP.
I'm so relieved that you're taking this seriously. But I'm really worried that you seem unable to stand up to your partner over this.
It really boils down to this - can you face your partner's disapproval in order to protect your kids? On repeat if he brings another psycho dog home.
And btw, he's not a good partner if he brings home a dog like that then buggers off to work leaving you to deal with the dog and protect the kids on your own. He's put himself at the top of the pecking order, with the dog second.
You are way down.

I know my breed rescue won't take any dog that has bitten, so it's quite likely she's tried.
Poor dog, brought into a house where he wasn't wanted, and not looked after. If he's never been looked after or trained properly, it's not his fault he is like this, any more than it's a child's fault if they do something wrong if they've not been cared for.
OP, please do not ask about him on social media. Many dog fight organisers try to get dogs on there, and going to a place like that would be worse for him than being PTS.
Ask advice from a reputable breed rescue organisation, and tell your partner clearly that he must never bring any dog in your house again, as he clearly doesn't look after them.

Your instincts are correct OP - the dog does need to be put to sleep. He's a biter and you've been fortunate so far that your children were not badly injured. Will your DH be angry if you call the dog warden, or will he see sense if someone else backs you up that the dog is dangerous? I do think dog warden is the best approach as it takes the problem/solution out of your hands.

I wouldn't let my children within a mile of a dog that'd had a go at one of them, let alone two of them! There's not a chance I'd go within a mile of it myself either.

45 years of vet nursing here. As you are at an impasse, get a Baskerville muzzle for the dog. They can drink, vomit, pant and be given treats through it and at least you know that if it goes to bite it can't.

The other problem with a child walking a dog is that there are other dogs around, and they are not all friendly or predictable. For example, my friend had a rescue Jack Russell that got off the lead and got into a fight with an on-lead Rottweiler. What would happen if your child had to be on the other end of the lead in a dog fight? How would your child know how to deal with another fearful dog lunging at or attacking your dog?

Even if they're not aggressive, dogs are work. It's not ok to just get a dog and leave a partner to look it while you're away, when they haven't agreed. Tell dp to re-home it. If you have to, push the damn dog out the door with him when he's going to work and tell him you won't be letting him back in if the dog is still with him. He had no right to do this - even if it wasn't endangering your kids.

I'm not sure the police will take a dog unless it is a banned type, or unless they have evidence that it is a danger.

So I imagine you will have to tell them about the bites if you want them to remove it.

If you aren't prepared to do this (or, actually, even if you are prepared to do this), a better solution might be asking your vet to euthanise the dog. Your family is instantly safer, and the dog is spared the suffering of being in a kennels for possibly weeks.

Either way, I suspect your partner is going to be the main obstacle here.

Yes, but you can't just whack a muzzle on a dog who hasn't been conditioned to wear one. Firstly, that is likely to cause them massive stress and make them more likely to react badly when the muzzle is off (look up 'trigger stacking in dogs' and 'the canine ladder of aggression'), second, dogs can remove muzzles if they hate them. There are some good Blue Cross videos about how to condition a dog to accept and even like a muzzle - but again, like all dog training, this takes time, commitment and respecting the dog as a living creature you are responsible for, which OP (especially her DH) does not seem to be capable of. It will likely be a couple of months before the dog is happy wearing a muzzle out and about.