apology to dog owners/lovers!

[trixipaws]

i kno i hav previously stated on this forum that i think all dogs ought to be kept away from babies, including those ones that "wouldnt hurt a fly". im not a dog fan really and i didnt trust them- any breed! i didnt want any around melissa coz i didnt trust any not to "snap".

anyway, we went to visit my boyf's gran in anglesey today- iv met her just once before she's in her late 80's i think and lives with my boyf's uncle and his wife. last time i met them was in late 2006 when i was pregnant.

anyway i COMPLETELY forgot they had dogs! 2 of them one's an old male (im sorry i dont know what breed kind of a brown and white one looks like a farmers dog or something!) and the other a young female VERY fine looking "andrex" puppy (sorry! lol dont kno what they called!) both dogs were twice the size of melissa and she's bout 24lbs now and snugly fits into 12-18 month sleepsuits- and the young "andrex" one, tilly, was very bouncey and playful!

anyway, melissa was quite taken with them indeed, i must say! she was soooooooooooooooooo giggley and loving them! kept going to them for kisses, pointing at them, prodding them and playing ball with tilly!

anyway, at first i was inwardly ANXIOUS AS HELL lol i was thinking "i kno iv got to be polite so refrain from jumping out my seat if i think the dogs staring at her funny- i kno my boyf's relatives wont let my baby in danger i GOT to trust them and try to stay calm!"

i say it was quite nerve-racking at first.

BUT, i will admit now, after less than an hour i was FINE about millie, i was soon convinced that the nature of those dogs was NOT in any way a threat to my little girl! of course i wouldnt be so confident without the owners in the room who obviously kept dogs all their lives and so understand the nature and would recognise before me any warning signs that they need to be calmed down or anything, but i was genuinely relaxed by the end of the afternoon- and now i shan't blanket lecture ALL dog owners to keep their pets well away from their kids any more!

forgive me

 

[hennaly]

To be honest you are right to be cautious, i have 2 of the most stupid dogs around but will still always make sure they are never left unsupervised with the baby.
My brother in law came round the other week with their 9 month old son who was climbing all over the dogs and they really didnt care atall but i was there the whole time and wouldnt have left their sides for a second while he was near them.
You really can never be to carefull but it is nice to se you have seen how gentle a dog can be with a baby

 

[trixipaws]

oh goodness me, i still wouldnt leave melissa ALONE with one! but im not quite so uptight now i think i was a bit critical of dog owners who let their pets near their babies at all before. i didnt trust them at all but i can see i was overly paranoid now

 

[hennaly]

oh goodness me, i still wouldnt leave melissa ALONE with one! but im not quite so uptight now i think i was a bit critical of dog owners who let their pets near their babies at all before. i didnt trust them at all but i can see i was overly paranoid now

it must feel good for you to be able to relax a bit now

 

[kimmumof2]

yeh i think as you are not a dog owner you are right to be cautious, i ma cautious of other dogs i dont know being around my kids too but when they are your own most people can recognise signs. my dogs av both been brought up with babies (i have 2 staffy's) and they love both my kids and i worry more when people come int he house cus if the dogs think you are being to rough playing with the kids or if you talk aggressively to them then they will probably warn you off lol they are very protective. most cases you see in the paper about dog attacks are from dogs who are known by their owners to be aggressive and they usually make a big and very stupid ,mistake that leads to someone getting hurt or even killed in some of the child cases. thankfully there are twice as many people out there that are cautious and responsible with their dogs and children.

xxxx

 

[Sherlock]

I'm glad you were able to enjoy yourself and were able to relax a little There are some gentle dogs out there and of course, when supervised it can be a good thing.

FWIW I am a dog owner and my Whippet was present for most of my labour and back in the sitting room within half an hour or so of Galen being born. We only popped him out in the garden for the actual last push bit for obvious reasons. But I think he'd have been find on the sofa still

He is curious about Galen but has never shown any sign of nastiness toward him. All he wants to do is lick him We are teaching him to not lick hands and he has the idea now. We did a fair bit of hand washing until he learnt

He never bothers Galen when he is on his playmat or in his bouncer. He has learnt just to leave him be. Although I am sure once Galen is motoring round Eric will know no peace Galen is fascinated by Eric already and spends ages watching him play. And also when outside in the garden he loves to watch the chickens and Eric all potter around.

I really don't have any worries about Eric in the future. I'm sensible and responsible and also have a dog that is as soft as anything and just wants cuddles. Galen will be shown how to treat animals kindly and so on.

 

[Mildly]

I think it can work both ways, I really hate it when parents let their children run up to my dog whilst we are walking. My dog has no experience of children and is very interested in their little hands. I have to end up shouting at the kids to stay away as my dog may bite. Only then will a lot of parents tell their children to stay away (whilst giving me and my dog, who is on a lead, evil looks). I don't understand it - I would never let my child run up to a strange dog just as I wouldn't leave any kid unsupervised with a dog.

 

[lfc_sarah]

I had a pit bull before i became pregnant and gave her away straight away because of the nature of most of them
She was gorgeous and lovely to us but i know how they can turn

So i opted for a labrador instead
One of the loveliest breeds you can get really
He has the softest nature ever, bit hyper sometimes though
Id never leave him alone with Callum

 

[mrs_tommo22]

I have a rescue greyhound and shes the dosiest thing ive ever met and not a bit of malice in her, her and immy lay on the floor together and have cuddles and immy sneaks her dinner to her as well!

Its never been a case of leaving mia with the kids - she follows me whereever i go anyway!

 

[hennaly]

I had a pit bull before i became pregnant and gave her away straight away because of the nature of most of them
She was gorgeous and lovely to us but i know how they can turn

So i opted for a labrador instead
One of the loveliest breeds you can get really
He has the softest nature ever, bit hyper sometimes though
Id never leave him alone with Callum

How did you get away with having a pitbull and not having it destroyed
(im not antipitbull by the way as i know some are gorgeous dogs the same as all other breeds)

 

[mrs_tommo22]

I was wondering that, there banned in this country.

Was it a cross breed Sarah?

 

[Snuggle]

Well I could quite happily give my dog away today She is a Chinese Crested Powder Puff and is a gentle wee girl but she is NOT housetrained as stated by her last owner She keeps peeing and pooing all over the floor and had chewed through the cable for our Wii so we cant use it now I looked everywhere for a small gentle dog for Maddison but didnt want a puppy as I didnt want all the housetraining antics which is why we went for an older dog but would have been aswell just getting a puppy

Sorry to gatecrash the thread Trix, rant over

 

[mrs_tommo22]

Sounds a nightmare jools!!

 

[Snuggle]

When I have housetrained her she will be perfect but I'm just really annoyed that last owner told us she was fully housetrained and could have the run of the house. I have contacted the woman and told her what Lulu has been doing and she said 'if she needs to go to the toilet she just goes out the cat flap'. I dont have a bleeding cat flap and am not allowed to install one. Having a cat flap does not mean the dog is housetrained!! Anyway, they have obviously frightened her in the past, when she crouched to wee on the floor earlier, I shouted no (not scream it, just a firm loudish no) and she was so scared and lay down on the floor shaking so it looks like she is terrified when a loud voice is used Makes me think she has been shouted at a lot before