Dog really hates toddler DS

[TheHolyGruel]

I have posted about this before. I have two dogs (staffs) and a toddler DS who is 20mo.

My older dog (male) really dislikes my DS. He growls at him constantly and it is just getting worse. We had problems with this dog being dog aggressive but this has been overcome somewhat by walking him on a muzzle and walking the dogs separately. The dog has been checked by a vet, other than a recent worm problem (now sorted) there is nothing wrong.

We sought advice from a dog trainer/rescue person who we had a couple of sessions with. His advice re the toddler/dog situation was to put the dog down, as if something did go wrong then not only would it be a dreadful situation for us, but dreadful for staffies everywhere (another story for the papers etc, another crack in the BSL nonsense defence - I fully believe that BSL is bollocks and that the problem is not because he's a staff, but I'll talk about that in a moment). But I don't feel I can do it. In the meantime, any attempts to unite dog and DS are failing. DS is instructed to offer dog treats, to sit nicely and pet nicely, not to run up to dog, not to touch anything belonging to dog, etc. I make an effort for the dogs to be in the same room as DS as often as possible, but I am becoming worried for DS safety, as dog is really sounding at the end of his rope.

I honestly believe it is because the dog has been usurped from his position of 'first born'. The other dog displays no such issues, and is very fond of DS. The problem dog has always been the established top dog.

DH works away from home sometimes and has his biggest stint of the year coming up next month. He is away for a month, and I am petrified of how I will cope with this situation alone. It is so stressful.

In the first instance, does anyone know of a way in which I could find a foster carer for my dog, initially for this upcoming period, or is this unrealistic? He is fine with dogs smaller than himself and with older children (all children aside from DS it seems, in fact).

Can anyone offer any other advice or solutions? I think ultimately he will need rehoming, but I also know it's not that simple...

"he is never left unsupervised with the children" "interact with them under supervision"-your words say it all really.

I will say it again-I am not some horrible dog hater who wants to see all dogs put down-cats on the other hand....

I love dogs-was bitten by a dog as a child and still didnt put me off. I dont take the op having her dog put down as something to be happy about-but in this instance I really think that it is looking as if that is really the best option.

""he is never left unsupervised with the children" "interact with them under supervision"-your words say it all really."

Thats good sense Goranis, and what every responsible dog owner should do. You say the above as if this is a bad thing and

I'm glad the dog is muzzled OP. It should still be kept seperate from the dc.
I hope you're able to rehome very quickly.

Do you have any 'nearly snarling' at very small children in your home?

Lemrach, I am not gunning for anything and I don't care in the least about being taken 'seriously' by the so called doghouse experts. I don't take them seriously and think they are as bonkers as conkers. Loonies living in the boonies, in my book with 4 to 8 dogs for 'company' (surely there must be a law on how many dogs you can have in a home in an urban community?)

All I care about, is that Op's child and other innocent children who may come in to contact with the dog are safe.

Maybe it is because I have seen the number of times children have made unsolicited contact with my dogs. Just today, a boy came up to my dogs and starting running, encouraging them to chase him. They did, and stopped when he did. Sat when he asked them to, and wagged their tails furiously for his approval. This is normal dog behaviour. Hand on my heart, I can say my dogs will not attack a child. I will willingly bet my house on it. It may happen as No creature is infallible, but it is no more likely than my atheist dh turning into Jehovah's witness.

Btw if you are on medication for your PND it seems to be working as you sound totally fine to me.

Tulips, What a thing to say! How on earth can you tell if the OP is 'fine' from a few posts on an internet forum. PND can cause a range of symptoms and quite often the person suffering from it seems 'fine' to outsiders, family members or whoever else. I have a friend who suffers from depression. She seems 'fine' to everyone. In fact, I've seen her one evening and she's seemed 'fine' and upbeat and then the next morning she'd been admitted to a psychiatric unit later the evening before. So obviously all was not fine.

You have been awful to the OP, who is suffering from PND.

OP glad you have got the dog muzzled, I missed that bit earlier, sorry. Obviously this is the sensible thing to do, but it seems even muzzling isn't good enough for some people.... It seems for some, the only solution that would make them happy is if you'd whisked the dog off to the vets to be killed first thing this morning.

Yes, Flatbread. Kids are always running up to my dog. It surprises me how many parents don't teach their kids to ask the owner if it's okay. The parents often nearly pass out in terror so I get him to lie down to look less threatening.

Suprising how quickly people call their kids away from/avoid your dog if it's wearing a muzzle....

Not really. It's a clear sign that the dog has agressive tendencies. They have sensible instincts.

I know, I am turning into a bit of a crazy dog lady myself. I just need 3 or more cats to balance the look.

i don't allow unsolicited contact with my dog

Unsolicited means you don't get a choice to 'allow' it. Unless you have your dog sitting inside your handbag on your lap, someone or the other will pet/reach out to it. And sod's law is that it will be the most unsuitable person.

Jesus some proper spiteful comments here now. Seriously read back what you are writing. Digs about pnd ffs knock it off and Google those dead dogs to get your kicks instead. Or I'm sure theres someone on Relationships who could do with a good kicking

Not really. Lots of people with sighthounds choose to muzzle them in public.

However, that doesn't change the fact that if a dog is muzzled in public, it's not going to bite anyone, no matter how quickly they run up to it, does it?

I have no idea what your point is, other than to point out the minutiae of dog muzzling. They wouldn't know that. They would see a muzzle and therefore a dog that wants to bite. It's a reasonable assumption.

Lemarch, you don't need to compete with Midori. I'm sure you know a lot too.

We're not talking about people in the doghouse Lemarch.

The point is, there's no need to worry abou the OP's child or any other child. The dog is being muzzled.

It's still a ticking time bomb. And the dog isn't going to be rehomed quickly, if at all. Not if the OP is honest with prospective rehomers.