Tell me I'm not mad... Please!

[trufflesbum]

As the title says, please tell me I'm not mad! I'm 33 weeks pregnant with my first baby, and have two large dogs - A staffy/lab and GSD cross. Both are rescue dogs, both are nuts. Both came with issues that we've spent months and months (and a small fortune!) working on.

The Charlie, the GSD, is dog and people aggressive and no amount of training (positive, reward based) has done any good. It's clearly fear-based. We wonder whether he has some sort of brain injury as he's had a few siezures while he's been with us - he finds it almost impossible to learn new things. The staffy is a typical staffy - gorgeous, but nuts!

Neither can be walked off lead - Charlie because he's so mean, and Noodle because her recall is terrible! They're both walked on 8m flexi leads, which has worked well for months.

To keep Charlie away from people and other dogs, we walk them twice a day in a wood a few miles from the house. This usually works well - They get a good run and we rarely see other people. We do, however, see the odd rabbit which sends Charlie into a spin!

Anyway, as DH works I'm hoping to do much of the dog walking when he goes back after his 2 weeks off. The woods I walk in aren't suitable for any sort of buggy so baby would need to be in a sling. DH is fab and has said he'll walk them when I need him to, but he's out from 8am until 6:30pm so does a long enough day anyway. We have a lovely dog sitter/walker who knows the dogs very well who will help out in the short time if I need more than 2 weeks recovery, but it isn't a long term solution.

Am I mad to think I can walk two crazed (but wonderful and much loved!) dogs through woods twice a day with a newborn baby?? Any advice gretly received!

Not at all! I'v done similar things... 2 dogs, a 2 week old, a toddler, just had a caesarean section, no car, husband walked out on us... you kinda resign yourself to it and adapt. Babies are very portable and spend much of their time sleeping anyway. :)

As a HUGE advocate of rescuing I admire you tremendously and, before the unimaginative uninitiated come along and start ranting that all rescue dogs being a problem will continue to assert that this is usually far from the case and state that your situation is unusual (and presumably of your chosing).

WRT your GSD cross having had seizures, what does your vet say? I'm asking as added to my Lab cross I have two GSDs, one of whom is epileptic and I understand that the condition is seen more often in Sheps than most breeds. My epi GSD is actually a long-term foster dog and I help out at the rescue from which he comes. They have something of a reputation for its work with epi dogs - the boss there has a lot of knowledge and the forum has several links to resources for the condition - it even has its own topic section on the forum, come to that - so you might like to come over and have a peek - PFK

Wishing you good luck and good health - as I said, it can be done, don't panic. If you hit a problem do shout as there are enough of us here with contacts in the doggy world/rescue and we should be able to find someone to help out between us. :)

Sorry - "They have something of a reputation for their work with epi dogs".

Thanks, Val. Good to know it can be done! Yes, they are certainly of our choosing! We knew they had problems when we took them on. Noodle isn't so bad, just a little mad. Charlie, however, had spent over a year in rescue. He hadn't coped with kennels very well and had lost a lot of weight and fur. Coupled with his behavioural issues no one wanted him. And crazy lovely people that we are, we couldn't resist.

He is massively improved. He lets people in the house (though often keeps his distance) and has learned to play with toys. He can also walk on a lead (without distractions!!) which is a massive step (instead of the blind panic he'd go into when faced with the big wide world!).

I have every faith that both of them will be fab with the baby but want to be sure that I can still give them as much time as they both need. It would be good to know if it weren't doable so we could start to think of a plan B. They've found their 'forever' home, and all this hard work will not be undone by a baby!!

We don't know too much about his siezures. He's had four in the two years he's been with us and they vet isn't overly concerned. We wonder though whether they've been triggered by epilepsy, or a brain injury of some sort as he really struggles to learn new things or understand new situation. In two years (and a year of professional 1:1 training) he's learned 'paw' and 'down'. Noodle on the other hand has a huge repertiore of tricks and loves to learn new ones. Will have a look at that link.

Thanks for your help, and the reassurance that it's possible!

Been there done that too if it helps. I had twins so used a sling for a shorter time but babies are great and the fresh air is good for them too!

I did spend a bit on a All terrain buggy that did pretty much go over any ground.

I must say the house was a mess though but I loved the exercise , the dogs and DC were happy.

I am studying at the moment the relationship between "aggressive" I would prefer to use the term "reactive" dogs and their owners. It does appear that most reactive dogs are the most loyal and loving dogs with the people they know well. It is almost as if they overcompensate on the relationships they feel happy with.

You can do this!