Not wanting a dog

missbiggles1

Rev wrote: »

And I think people get confused between a dog snapping and nipping someone because it's had enough/hurt/unwell and a dog attacking someone. The two are entirely different things.

Yet some don't seem to be able to see the difference.

Dogs shouldn't be expected to put up with constant harassment from anyone. I've yet to meet a parent who will take all their child's harassment and not on occasion snap. Yet dogs are supposed to happily wag their tail and put up with it. And if they don't they're immediately hung out to dry.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying you should allow dogs to bite children. That's 100% unacceptable. But as I said. The two are entirely different.

Totally agree - I've been talking about where a dog actually bit a child, not a warning nip.

tesuhoha

I had a dog forced on me once. My husband and I used to argue about getting a dog for the children. He wanted one and I didn't. He said it was unfair that I had had a dog as a child but it was my dad's dog. I have never been a fan of dogs having been bitten by one as a child.

I think it was on my daughter's 13th birthday that he brought home a Jack Russell puppy. I was completely and utterlly devastated by this and what made it worse was that because it was her birthday present I had to pretend I was pleased about the whole thing. However, I felt that a dirty trick had been played on me and I never stopped resenting the dog.

My husband had promised to train the dog, I wanted nothing to do with it but he was very busy at work so the dog didn't get trained. I attempted to housetrain it but I had no idea how to and the dog did its toilet on the floor all day and every day (usually the living room carpet) for the whole time we had it and it was always me who had to clean it up. I looked after it in that I fed it and took it for its injections but that is as far as it went. The children used to take it for a walk now and again but by no means regularly. It was a very destructive animall and tore apart furniture, clothes, books, toys, anything it could get its teeth into, even our Christmas tree was destroyed.

Eventually, I got a full time job and my husband realised that the dog would be on its own all day, so to my relief he decided to have it re-homed. I think he also took into consideration that no one could train it, and I did not want it. The day it went to the dogs rescue was terrible, the children were really upset and I felt really bad because the dogs eyes were so sad and frightened. I still feel bad thinking about it to this day. The children must have hated me for it. However, the dog was a year old, completely untrained and very unhappy with me.

We discovered later that the dog had found a new home in the country with a single lady whose Jack Russell had just died so our giving up the dog was probably the best thing we could do for it to be able to have a happy life. The dog is probably dead by now but I still feel guilt about it. I feel bad because I ruined the dog's life and gave it no affection.

We now have two cats who are loved and adored by all. I still don't want a dog and my husband would like one. Its not to do with the sofa or carpet because my tabby cat scratches those and I don't mind.

Person_one

tesuhoha wrote: »

I had a dog forced on me once. My husband and I used to argue about getting a dog for the children. He wanted one and I didn't. He said it was unfair that I had had a dog as a child but it was my dad's dog. I have never been a fan of dogs having been bitten by one as a child.

I think it was on my daughter's 13th birthday that he brought home a Jack Russell puppy. I was completely and utterlly devastated by this and what made it worse was that because it was her birthday present I had to pretend I was pleased about the whole thing. However, I felt that a dirty trick had been played on me and I never stopped resenting the dog.

My husband had promised to train the dog, I wanted nothing to do with it but he was very busy at work so the dog didn't get trained. I attempted to housetrain it but I had no idea how to and the dog did its toilet on the floor all day and every day (usually the living room carpet) for the whole time we had it and it was always me who had to clean it up. I looked after it in that I fed it and took it for its injections but that is as far as it went. The children used to take it for a walk now and again but by no means regularly. It was a very destructive animall and tore apart furniture, clothes, books, toys, anything it could get its teeth into, even our Christmas tree was destroyed.

Eventually, I got a full time job and my husband realised that the dog would be on its own all day, so to my relief he decided to have it re-homed. I think he also took into consideration that no one could train it, and I did not want it. The day it went to the dogs rescue was terrible, the children were really upset and I felt really bad because the dogs eyes were so sad and frightened. I still feel bad thinking about it to this day. The children must have hated me for it. However, the dog was a year old, completely untrained and very unhappy with me.

We discovered later that the dog had found a new home in the country with a single lady whose Jack Russell had just died so our giving up the dog was probably the best thing we could do for it to be able to have a happy life. The dog is probably dead by now but I still feel guilt about it. I feel bad because I ruined the dog's life and gave it no affection.

We now have two cats who are loved and adored by all. I still don't want a dog and my husband would like one. Its not to do with the sofa or carpet because my tabby cat scratches those and I don't mind.

What a shame that the dog and the children were so badly let down by the adults.

theoretica

Person_one wrote: »

So they are only ever inside if they are in the crates?

Sorry, but that doesn't sound like they're part of the family at all. Don't you want to bring them in and spend proper time with them?

Several of the most enthusiastic and happy seeming dogs I have met have been working dogs and not part of the family. Better treat a dog as a useful animal than as a child.

JIL

tesuhoha wrote: »

I had a dog forced on me once. My husband and I used to argue about getting a dog for the children. He wanted one and I didn't. He said it was unfair that I had had a dog as a child but it was my dad's dog. I have never been a fan of dogs having been bitten by one as a child.

I think it was on my daughter's 13th birthday that he brought home a Jack Russell puppy. I was completely and utterlly devastated by this and what made it worse was that because it was her birthday present I had to pretend I was pleased about the whole thing. However, I felt that a dirty trick had been played on me and I never stopped resenting the dog.

My husband had promised to train the dog, I wanted nothing to do with it but he was very busy at work so the dog didn't get trained. I attempted to housetrain it but I had no idea how to and the dog did its toilet on the floor all day and every day (usually the living room carpet) for the whole time we had it and it was always me who had to clean it up. I looked after it in that I fed it and took it for its injections but that is as far as it went. The children used to take it for a walk now and again but by no means regularly. It was a very destructive animall and tore apart furniture, clothes, books, toys, anything it could get its teeth into, even our Christmas tree was destroyed.

Eventually, I got a full time job and my husband realised that the dog would be on its own all day, so to my relief he decided to have it re-homed. I think he also took into consideration that no one could train it, and I did not want it. The day it went to the dogs rescue was terrible, the children were really upset and I felt really bad because the dogs eyes were so sad and frightened. I still feel bad thinking about it to this day. The children must have hated me for it. However, the dog was a year old, completely untrained and very unhappy with me.

We discovered later that the dog had found a new home in the country with a single lady whose Jack Russell had just died so our giving up the dog was probably the best thing we could do for it to be able to have a happy life. The dog is probably dead by now but I still feel guilt about it. I feel bad because I ruined the dog's life and gave it no affection.

We now have two cats who are loved and adored by all. I still don't want a dog and my husband would like one. Its not to do with the sofa or carpet because my tabby cat scratches those and I don't mind.

That is a very sad story and one which in one form or another gets sadly repeated all-over the country and perhaps accounts for why the re homing centres are so full.
I knew before I got my dog my life would change, I knew that ground rules would be needed and I was fully prepared.
I went to puppy classes, where for an hour each week I had one on one tuition on how to make my dog respond. It really helped and I would encourage anyone with a dog to invest time in things like this.Maybe the OP could get her family to do something like this with her dog? It would help them to realise they have to be responsible.
My husband who was never that keen on having a dog but because the dog walks properly on the lead and does as it's told, he happily takes it for long walks.

Person_one

theoretica wrote: »

Several of the most enthusiastic and happy seeming dogs I have met have been working dogs and not part of the family. Better treat a dog as a useful animal than as a child.

Its not either/or. Working dogs can also be part of the family, and often are.

missbiggles1

theoretica wrote: »

Several of the most enthusiastic and happy seeming dogs I have met have been working dogs and not part of the family. Better treat a dog as a useful animal than as a child.

But are the huskies working dogs though, I don't think that was mentioned.

The trouble with treating a dog as a "useful animal" is what do you do with it when it's no longer useful? In many countries where they have this philosophy and lots of dogs work, when they can no longer do so they're just dumped or put down. This can happen to hunting dogs, guard dogs and even lap dogs when an elderly owner dies.

Fortunately, in the UK we take a less utilitarian attitude to animals and there's many an elderly collie allowed to end its days sleeping in the sun or dozing by the Aga when its herding days are over.

(Not that we don't have problems of our own here but they're different problems and for different reasons, some of which are shown in this thread.)

seven-day-weekend

missbiggles1 wrote: »

But are the huskies working dogs though, I don't think that was mentioned.

The trouble with treating a dog as a "useful animal" is what do you do with it when it's no longer useful? In many countries where they have this philosophy and lots of dogs work, when they can no longer do so they're just dumped or put down. This can happen to hunting dogs, guard dogs and even lap dogs when an elderly owner dies.

Fortunately, in the UK we take a less utilitarian attitude to animals and there's many an elderly collie allowed to end its days sleeping in the sun or dozing by the Aga when its herding days are over.

(Not that we don't have problems of our own here but they're different problems and for different reasons, some of which are shown in this thread.)

Our greyhound that I mentioned in an earlier thread was only two years old and was going to be put down because she had stopped winning races That's why I took her, despite not really being in a position to have a dog at the time. I thought a less than ideal life with us was better than no life at all. Luckily, as I also said, a friend of ours took her and she went to live in leafy East Sussex for the rest of her days. A lucky girl indeed.

Feral_Moon

I think the clue is in the name! i.e. Husky "runner"

His dogs run in trials teams and competitions. They're doing what huskies are bred to do. And nothing wrong whatsoever in keeping them crated at night or during short periods home alone. Do you know how destructive a pack of huskies can be when left to their own devices :rotfl:

missbiggles1

Feral_Moon wrote: »

I think the clue is in the name! i.e. Husky "runner"

His dogs run in trials teams and competitions. They're doing what huskies are bred to do. And nothing wrong whatsoever in keeping them crated at night or during short periods home alone. Do you know how destructive a pack of huskies can be when left to their own devices :rotfl:

Fair enough. I've never heard the term and I expect that's true for many.