Help!....My son wants a dog!

[Nicole01]

The dog is so new. He's very frightened in his new environment. He feels safe in the kennel, when your son tried removing him, he felt threatened. This is not the dogs fault. If you decide to keep this dog, your son must learn to respect him. This means not picking him up out of the kennel, not taking his food away, and respecting hisspace when grumpy, ect. The dog needs to build a trust between you and your family. Sometimes it takes time. It took a month for my Aussie to trust my husband. My husband would of been bitten if he tried to pet her. Now my husband is the Aussies favorite adult in the house.

This very well might not be a good match. Beagles often have poor temperaments. They are great hunting dogs.

Both my dogs are fear biters. I chose to keep them both. I taught my kids to respect both dogs. They do not ever put their face near theirs. It was very difficult the first year, but now the dogs have a great relationship with them. I had a behaviorist come out for my golden when she was a puppy. The behaviorist taught our family how to respect and train our dogs.

I do not trust ANY animal with my children. They all have a potential to bite. Even the happy go lucky animals get scared, hurt or grumpy. Owning dogs is a very huge responsibility. I train my dogs and I do refresher training a few times a year. They see me as the pack leader. I do not show them I'm boss, this would of backfired on me and made them aggressive. By being their trainer and feeding them, they see me as the "top dog".

One thing that will help any dog or puppy earn your trust is you hand feeding them. This worked wonders for Golden when she was a small puppy.

I probably will not bring home a bad temperament dog again. I will enroll in kindergarten classes to any new dogs in the future. It's a lot of work! Most dogs can be rehabilitated.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I would try NILF work or work with a trainer/another program for a week. If no improvement is seen, I'd be using that trial period for what it is meant for and returning the dog. Or, with a kid involved who may get more and more attached, I may just bring back now. That is not behavior I would want to see in a puppy either, especially if it was destined to be my kid's dog. How attached your son is though also is a strong consideration.

I'm all about training up dogs (our best dog in the world from the shelter took a lot of work to get her her to that point), but I am an adult. I would not recommend it for your situation as it involves your child.

This is exactly what the trial period is for...to see if the dog you bring home is the right match or not! There is absolutely nothing wrong with using it as intended. Remember, you are not in the market to save or rehabilitate a dog at this time. You are in the market for an even tempered dog who will be a companion for your young child.

 

[gg706]

Thank You all so much for the GREAT advice. I was on the roll of returning the dog because I am concerned for the safety of my son, as all mothers would be. So to add to the story I contacted the shelter and let them know I would be returning the dog today and want to consider others before requesting my money back. I pulled up in the drive and upon opening the van door our pup began to bark the "stay away from me bark" I had heard the day before...The "shelter" which is nothing more than a bunch of dogs in dirt pens, several of pens probably 6 pens at a woman's home. The pen we made our way to, to put the pup back into the shelter had the other 2 pups from the litter and 6 or 7 big dogs...german shepard, chow, pit etc. they were all picking, biting, jumping etc. on the pups as we approached the pen the pups were yelping and whimpering IT WAS AWFUL!!!......I understood WHY she was behaving the way she was....The big dogs were horrible to the pups she had been beaten up for an entire week before we got her. I made the decision to give her more time and apologized for making a hasty decision and for wasting the director's time and took the pup back home. She has been fine so far this evening.. I am going to make a go of it and hope it works out. IF in the 2 week trial there is another outburst she WILL be returned, as my son is more important.She is very friendly and has been socialized I believe at her birth home. I am thinking it is the chaotic environment she was thrown into and routine and training will get her to a good place. I have instructed my son to keep space between them as i don't trust her right now. I will be within arms reach of her when she and my son interact. I am hoping I made the right decision.

 

[gg706]

To add to my thoughts....I am thinking the pup was in survival mode at the shelter. I had forgotten as soon as we had gotten back from the "shelter" today after being in the pen with the big dogs for about 10 minutes. She again "went after" our other dog, she had been perfect all day...
I immediately reacted and "bit" her with my hand and said NO and she laid down and showed me her belly. Then she got up and came over and sat in front of me and I patted her. So I am thinking there is hope....Any thoughts???? Encouraging OR Not... is welcome.

 

[leadwolf1]

Why in the world would the shelter have large dogs in with puppies??????? I am appalled to say the least! They are teaching those pups to be dog aggressive for their own safety. Can you call someone with your concerns? That is way, way out of line! I wouldn't have returned her either.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

What an unbelievable set up. I would definitely focus on proper dog socialization and trust building having seen that. Just...ergh!

 

[Gryphon]

It really sounds like they aren't even taking into account separating the dogs from each other for checking on illnesses, that's just...Not good at all.

It really sounds like she's been "taught" that big dogs will hurt her, so it's really no surprise she's reacting the way she is. You'll probably do well to desensitize her to your dog, and as she gets more comfortable she should relax a lot more and not be so reactive.

 

[HEChicken]

It doesn't sound like a very good shelter environment, I have to say, but....I wouldn't have picked a beagle for a child. Or a JRT for that matter either. Honestly, if this were me, I would probably feel I had no choice but to return the dog to the shelter, but perhaps talk to the woman running it first and explain what you saw and ask if there is any way she can separate the pups from the adult dogs ASAP before they are all turned into non-adoptable dogs.

I wouldn't have a biter in the house period. Fear biter or not, biting is biting. My very first dog I begged my parents to let me get when I was a young teenager. She was a very protective dog and when the doorbell rang, it took one person physically restraining her before another could open the door. Ultimately she did bite - the neighbor's 3YO. Because we had a good relationship with us, they gave us a choice, rather than immediately report our dog to the authorities. We had the choice that we put the dog to sleep or face a lawsuit. Honestly, I couldn't blame them - why should their young children live in fear of our dog? So we had to put the dog - then about 2YO - to sleep.

Keeping a biter in the house is only asking for trouble. If not your son, then one of his friends is going to get bitten, and then you may be facing legal issues in addition to the medical. I'm sorry I'm not giving more positive advice, but as a mom, and someone who has had dogs all my life, and having read every one of your posts, that is my gut feeling.

 

[mstricer]

To add to my thoughts....I am thinking the pup was in survival mode at the shelter. I had forgotten as soon as we had gotten back from the "shelter" today after being in the pen with the big dogs for about 10 minutes. She again "went after" our other dog, she had been perfect all day...
I immediately reacted and "bit" her with my hand and said NO and she laid down and showed me her belly. Then she got up and came over and sat in front of me and I patted her. So I am thinking there is hope....Any thoughts???? Encouraging OR Not... is welcome.

I think you made the right choose. You reacting immediately was great, you have a 3 second window to react and show her that you are the boss, don't stop, and enforce that same thing to your son, so he is above her too. If everyone in the house don't do the same thing, you will have what I have in our house,I follow those rules with our border mix but my BF does not, the dog is always barking at him right in is face, drives me insane. I than have to step in, and he listens to me, all I have to do is snap my finger and point to the ground, he immediately lays down. My BF just looks at me and asks how do you do that,I say he knows what I want, he never knows what you want, which makes me alpha b@!%*. With your supervision, your son is old enough to learn from you on how to react to bad behavior and good behavior. Enroll the two of them in training classes. I commend you for changing your mind and trying again and giving her another chance. Watch Dog Whisper

 

[gg706]

Why in the world would the shelter have large dogs in with puppies??????? I am appalled to say the least! They are teaching those pups to be dog aggressive for their own safety. Can you call someone with your concerns? That is way, way out of line! I wouldn't have returned her either.

I don't know why they have that set up like that. I was shocked!!!!! Around here you go to Pet Smart, and the shelters bring the dogs there. NOW I know why! I was trying to think of someone to call. I know the shelters work together so they all know each other, so filing a complaint probably won't go anywhere. I am going to send an email to the director of the shelter and ask her to consider a different arrangement as the pups will be unadoptable if it continues. I know the lady is probably doing the best she can, taking care of 30 plus dogs, but I feel if you are so crowded with dogs and can't keep them of sane mind until they are adopted....what is the point? The dogs are being done an injustice and would probably be better off being put to sleep.