Husbands pitbull becoming snappy in old age, and I’m pregnant

[Oliveover28]

It took me two years to convince my now husband to keep his pitbull dog with his mum for me to move into his house with my two small dogs. The reason for me not wanting my two dogs around his dog is his dog previously attacked and killed his mums small dog. Apparently he done this because the smaller dog kept snapping at him and the family seem to think it’s justified? Bear in mind this was a teacup senior dog. Awful.

anyway the agreement was the pitbull can come back once we buy a bigger house as I pushed for the can’t separate 3 dogs in a small house excuse. Anyway we are looking to buy a house this year, and husband is saying why wouldn’t his dog come back to live in the house he buys. Well, lately the dog has been snapping at people a little more, husband says oh it’s old age.

problem is, I’m now pregnant. I feel extremely uncomfortable around this dog, this dog around my dogs and now this dog around a defenseless baby? He says we will keep them separate, but that sounds like hell having a new born, and 3 dogs to keep separate whilst he’s at work all day. He said sometimes he will take him to work, and I could probably push for only having the dog at home on the weekends. But still, I just don’t know if I’ll be able to relax in my own home and I want to be in the best mindset possible to raise my first child. I want to feel relaxed at an already stressful time.

AIBU? Any suggestions on what to say to my husband as to why I don’t want his dog coming back. He is saying oh he only snaps at people he doesn’t know, not his own family. I will also add the dog only snaps at weak people (a senior with cancer, and a friend with MS) it’s like they can sense weakness. He fully believes this dog is going to see our baby as his family, but this dog is already ten years old.

You’ve been given great advice here but I get the impression you are asking for someone to give you the words to say to him that will magically turn him into a decent human being. There aren’t any.

Keeping a dog that kills other animals is disgraceful. It is a dog owner’s responsibility to ensure the dog can never kill something again and that can only be done by putting it down. It is obviously sad for the owner, but still their responsibility to do that. Why would you want to be with someone who thinks his dog killing smaller animals is ok? And to that dog your baby will just be a smaller animal.

I cannot believe you moved over OP. And now you’re pregnant. 😣 I also remember the old threads.

So what are you going to do, OP? I have a feeling you'll do nothing and then be back saying the dog growled at the baby - or worse. Your passivity is frightening.

You were well warned in your previous threads

Move back to the UK, now, before its too late

Bring to veg together. Speak up asking if the “senior” behavior is due to a brain tumor of other disease. Say to vet killing other dog, etc. Ask vet examine dog and ask vet questions.

Our Labrador started begin too protective and snapping & biting at age 5, too young to be senior but it was related to brain problem. He was having small seizures we didn’t notice because not looking. Seizures got worse snd he started being more “defending” vs other dogs.

Bring to vet or start “noticing” seizures.

Why wasn’t the pitbull put down after he had killed a small dog?

Do you see that?

A dangerous, on edge dog should be kept with a strict and experienced dog handler with proper exercise etc etc and away from family life.

The fact that you write a lengthy post to explain a very clear cut situation shows me that you need to work on your boundaries big time.

It’s you or the dog. Don’t put your baby’s life at risk. This is an accident waiting to happen.

Absolutely. The dog can’t come back. OP Your husband needs to prioritise the small baby he made. It’s you and the baby, or the dog. It’s that black and white.

This

you say „NO“

Think how you would feel if this dog kills your baby.
then decide to live anywhere else - rented house, council house! Who cares if this man buys the house, it won’t bring a potentially fatal attack back from the past

You say - ‘it’s me or the dog’.

it is entirely foreseeable that the dog is going to attack the baby. If you continue to live with the dog you will be negligent imho by placing the child in extreme danger.
You need to be prepared to walk away from this disaster that’s waiting to happen.

You say ‘if the dog comes home, the things that will be kept separate are me and the baby, and you and the dog. Permanently. I will not put my child anywhere near a dangerous animal. Don’t be ridiculous.’

Unfortunately I do agree here, whilst he may being saying it as tit for tat I don’t trust any dogs around babies

Do not have your baby anywhere near a pitbull. How can anyone even consider this?!

Goodbye.

There's a reason those dogs are banned in the UK …the number of people killed, owners included.

I love dogs, but I would not put them above a baby. Especially a terrier breed.

Sorry, but what on Earth is wrong with you? Why are you with this man and his aggressive dog? How many other men are there in the world that you could have chosen? You do NOT have to be with this man! Leave now and fly back to the U.K. Don’t tell him in advance. Make up some excuse if you want but get away from the US asap.

If I knew you in real life and knew you were taking a new born into a house with an unreliable pit bull with a history of aggression, I would report you to social services. Does that focus your mind about your priorities?

Well that's just silly.
A small or large well-trained dog ( that hasn't killed another dog before and doesn't snap at people is perfect with a family)

This ^ 100%

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/1-year-old-who-was-mauled-by-pit-bulls-dies-at-hospital-babysitter-charged-converse-texas-investigation-bexar-county-sheriff-baby-hospital-ambulance dead baby

https://people.com/6-month-old-baby-girl-dies-after-dog-attack-at-texas-apartment-complex-11708210 dead baby

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g7ydk492yo.amp dead baby...killed in under a second

You will be the mother behind the headlines if you dont act to protect your child

Get out now, especially if you're actually the OP of the previously linked post too. If you're in the US, you have to get out and back to the UK of wherever your home country is before your baby is born, otherwise you're going to be trapped there and unable to protect your child from a dog that has killed already.

Do whatever you need to do to get back to your home country. Leave with just your documents and the clothes on your back if you have to.

No chance would I have a pitbull in the house with a newborn. He shouldn’t even be considering it.

Tell him it will have to be muzzled inside. You have really got to stand up for yourself here and insist that the dog doesn't not come to your new house. If the dog has killed another dog it's not safe to be around a baby. It's a dangerous dog. The stress of that dog, a baby and two other dogs all in your house will be horrendous.

If you were in the uk and your health visitor got wind of this I’m guessing they’d report it to social services . You need to leave this situation op. Even if this dog dies of old age soon he will just get another one . Maybe more than one who knows . He sounds like an utter twat and his family who support this utter fuckery are twats too .

You say, “I’m not moving into the house with the dog. It’s dangerous and I don’t want to live with it. I am not risking my baby’s life for a killer dog.” End of story.