Dogs?

[nataliemw]

I am about to become a first time mum in September I stay with my parents, my boyfriend has his own house and me and baby are supposed to be moving in. (No issues there) He has a Staffie that has never been around anyone else other than him his twin and his gran let alone babies. I am allergic and scared of dogs and I have never been around her. He said in the past 3 weeks she has ripped the couch apart torn up his hall carpet and she has bitten her bed and ruined it. Does anyone know why this could and how he can stop this? I don't want to move my stuff in and baby's stuff in for it to get ruined. He said he would get rid of her even though it would kill but he's had her 11 years and I do not want him to do this! PLEASE LEAD SOME ADVISE thank yous x

Sorry, I don’t think it’s appropriate for a newborn to be living with a poorly socialised dog. DP has had 11 years to socialise and train her properly and 6 months or so to be preparing her and ironing out any little quirks. The fact that he hasn’t done this means that unfortunately, a few weeks extra training now isn’t going to make her baby-ready.

I say this as someone who loves staffies and would have no problem at all having my baby around well trained dogs.

Hate it when people get rid of dogs for babies can't you try to take him/ her to some training classes? Some may specialise in that? I know many dogs that rip things up but are fine with babies, mine being one of them! Obviously you'd never leave a dog alone with a baby. I do feel for you as it's a tough situationI think I'd probably start by contacting some vets/ shelters and see if they know of any dog classes etc. Not really sure what to suggest x

Wow sounds like a recipe for disaster. I am a big dog fan and I love staffies, so am certainly not from the ‘oooh all Staffies are evil’ camp.
However this behaviour if usually a sign of boredom or distress. Is the dog alone a lot of the time. It is getting minimum of 2 walks at least an hour each. Lots of interaction and stimulation when at home. To be honest I would avoid moving in until the dog is happier, as a new baby will be stressful for the dog and it will pick up on any stress from you. It’s not really fare on an animal to have to live with someone who doesn’t really want it (which I understand due to allergic and behaviour of dog). I just don’t see how this will work without major input from your boyfriend.

She is properly trained that’s for sure. She’s not round many people cause that’s all the family has not because of any other reason! She’s not a bad dog she’s been brought up properly. I don’t want him to get rid of her cause she helped him when his parents passed away (that’s when he got her) She’s not left herself that long. When my boyfriend is at work his brother takes her out a good walk and then my boyfriend does a 2 hour walk after dinner with her but with the heat we have been getting in Scotland he’s not been doing that walk cause it’s simply too hot for dogs to be out that long. I wasn’t planning on moving in till after Christmas/Newyear. I’ve never had a pet so I can’t even suggest anything to him so I just feel helpless. X

If she's older, she might be getting dementia. It's quite common in older dogs. If it's new behaviour he should take her to the vet.

She could also be bored if there's been a change to routine and she's being left alone more.

OP you might want to post on The Doghouse section as well, a lot of the regulars are vets, vet nurses, animal behaviourists.

It sounds like she's bored if she's not having her regular walks. I'm also having this problem so lots of play in the garden and new toys are helping!

How come you have never been around her? Just curious

She does have regular walks and even after a walk she likes to sit out in the veranda. He's always playing with her so he doesn't understand why she's being like this. I've not been around her because I'm allergic to dogs even taking medication doesn't help still end up with puff eyes itchy skin the lot. And with being pregnant now the midwife and doctor told me it would be my own risk to take an antihistamine during pregnancy cause they don't recommended it so it's bad enough dealing with Hayfever never mind a dog as well.

NHS website on antihistamines (says hay fever but obviously it’s the same medication)-
www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/can-i-take-hay-fever-medicine-during-pregnancy/

Loratidine is considered safe. The only reason it is ‘at your own risk’ is that there isn’t enough studies on pregnant women, due to ethical considerations, to entirely support it.