Dogs and Touring
Comments
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We have a rather worrying situation which I would appreciate advice on........sorry that this is off topic.
Our daughter's in-laws have a rather large dog, cannot remember the breed, that is not that well trained and has turned out to be extremely jealous of " her Mummy and Daddy" having anything to do with the new grandson.
If her Daddy holds grandson she goes mad and barks incessantly. As a result, he cannot interact with his grandson.
If they put her in another room, or outside, she goes mad and scratches the doors to try to get back in.
We are going to be shaing grandparent duties with them come February when DD has to go back to work, so everyone is very worried about how they are going to cope.
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Sorry to say this, KJ, but it’s an extremely worrying situation.
I’m no animal behaviourist but I feel it’s a potentially dangerous situation. In my opinion, the dog should not be in close proximity to the child.
You say the dog isn’t well trained so, therefore, it doesn’t know what is expected of it and probably won’t respond to the usual commands used to control dogs. That’s such a shame and is not the dog’s fault.
In your shoes I would urge your daughter and sil to have a serious rethink of their plans because the dog is jealous and it’s a recipe for disaster. To leave the child in the dog’s territory with the two people it regards as hers, and hers alone, should never happen.
I’m sorry to be so blunt but common sense has to prevail as this is something that you all cannot afford to get wrong.
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A very difficult situation K. One that I had to a lesser extent when I took in my fathers German Shepherd bitch but in my case far easier to resolve. She was very jealous of my then 10 year old youngest daughter. No way could we leave them alone either inside the home or out in the garden.
In my view the problem was due to the dog not being confident enough in other people. The bitch was already bonded to me as a regular visitor to my dad's home and one who took her on regular walks as my father was unable to.
We were able to change the behavior fairly easily as we had an older Labrador who was very balanced but to which the GS deferred and so she was able to learn by example. We were also able to ensure that our 10 year old was the one who threw ball or put down food etc. We also trained/retrained the dog properly
In a different environment and with a baby rather than a 10 year old I would probably not have homed the dog but in less than 6 months my daughter and dog had bonded completely.
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1) the owners & Dog need to see a professional Dog/owner trainer, not a person round the corner who trains Dogs. The Dog has been allowed to decide it’s own boundaries, it needs those boundaries redefining. 2) the Dog needs rehoming. It’s a tragedy waiting to happen. I don’t have a crystal ball but-any Dog can maim & kill but 99% won’t. An untrained Dog-the odds are reversed. The fault lies with the owners but inevitably others & the Dog will pick up the tab☹️
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Thanks all, pretty much what we were thinking too, though we have minimal experience with dogs.
DD and family do visit them regularly, and if they are holding Callum themselves the dog is calmer, though still barks. She discourages visits by the dog to her place.
We will be looking after Callum at his own house and OH was just saying this weekend that the other Gran was asking her whether she thought they should do the same,which she agreed would be a good plan.
He will be at nursery every morning so we will need to work out a rota for the afternoons and for holidays
We will say to DD that she must insist they also look after him only at his own house. I think it will be the Gran who will mainly be doing the looking after, so that will leave Grandad to be home with the dog as required. However, they do live quite close by so we can see that they might be tempted to take Callum to their house on occasions.
He would certainly never be alone with the dog, but she is a big dog and I too worry about her even being in the same room as him. It is a shame for the other grandparents that they cannot properly enjoy playing with him when he visits, but his safety must come first.
They did take the dog to training classes when she was a puppy and she was initially very obedient, but I think they have let things slip as she seems to be getting worse the older she gets, I think she must be about 6 years old now and does appear to "rule the roost " at home. Hopefully they will now realise that they really do need to do something about the situation.
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Dogs are a pack animal and need to be treated as such ,the human in the house needs to be in charge (the Alpha) and the dog subservient to you ,too much freedom in the house can have a negative effect on the dog as it needs to have parameters
its not possible to advise as each case is different and the dog the situation will need a different approach
the only advice I would give is ,.... never leave a dog alone with a child and get expert advice
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Oh dear KJ, a very stressful situation. Some sound advice from others though. Having and living with a dog is an ongoing process, and if the reinforced training isn’t there then situations can deteriorate. It’s not the dogs fault, it can only respond as it is taught. A pup brought up in a child filled household would be different, but this sounds like a jealous adult dog unsure of relationships.
I hope that things work out. Professional advice is the key, and being prepared to work on that advice, never dropping your guard.
Retraining can be done. Our first dog was a traumatised 18 month Rottweiler, who had been left to guard a fruit warehouse and was petrol bombed in Mosside riots. OH spent long hours with her, retraining her, giving her the interaction and stimulation she so desperately needed. But for the rest of her life we never left her with children, she loathed anyone in a bike helmet (riot police were first thing she encountered on being rescued) she was terrified to the point of desperation every bonfire night, we had to get her sedated. But around us and family she was a loving obedient dog.
Good luck and I hope things work out well.
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KJ, you know it makes sense not to let the baby go to the other G/P's house where the dog is. You’re thinking of ways round it but your daughter and sil have to be adamant in this.
Husky and Rocky are right in all they say.
I wish you good luck but luck shouldn’t come into it where a child is concerned. Be sure, be safe.
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Agree, take no risks.
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No, I am quite clear in my mind that Callum being at their house with the dog at all is a bad idea, and we will certainly be saying to DD and SIL that this is the case. From observation, we can see that DD knows this already as she visits them rather reluctantly, not so sure about SIL as he sometimes takes Callum round there at weekends on his own.
OH thinks that the other Gran has now realised the dog is jealous, so we will bring it up next time we see them. The fact that we will be looking after Callum mainly at his own house will help.
The dog can be left alone at home OK, so Grandad can come along too if he wants, but DD will as you say need to be very firm that there are to be no "unauthorised visits" to their house, and that the dog is not to be brought to her house either.
OH took Callum in to see them once or twice a few months back when she had him out in his pushchair and remarked then that she thought the dog was very jealous, and that there were only half hearted attempts at discipline, or to keep the dog completely away from the baby at that time. After that she has avoided walking him anywhere near their house.
This is their first grandchild, no doubt there will be more in the future as they also have 2 daughters, so this is the time to deal with the dog.
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I can sympathise KjellNN as my OH's parents have a little dog who is a bit unsure about my son (now 2). She's a lovely dog and it is by no means to the extent you describe. In fact she does seem to like him but I think she views him as the lowest member of the pack and would try and keep him in line if she could (especially when there's toys and balls around)! My son loves dogs but we never leave him alone with her and are all very aware of the situation. Fortunately childcare is not involved so that's not an issue.
There's been some great advice about this situation from members but can I ask if the conversation continues please can we start a new discussion in the Your Pets section, maybe an advice thread about introducing dogs to children, as we really need to keep this topic about dogs and touring. Many thanks and best of luck with the situation and also childminding. My parents look after my son 2 days a week and they love their time with him and he loves being with them too - they are rather tired at the end of the day though!!
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Found this lovely article about a new War Memorial currently being created in Scotland. Airedale’s are very close to our hearts, and we have never been to the part of Scotland mentioned, so will look out for completion, and possibly add this to a tour. Hope others enjoy....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-46700370
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That would be an interesting expedition, TDA.
Another good stop off to break the journey if travelling north on the A92 is Lunan Bay between Arbroath and Montrose. There’s a great beach to be explored by 2 legged and 4 legged friends and a good car park. I'd not recommend towing a caravan there though.
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That looks our kind of place!
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A great picnic spot and a typical Scottish beach. They do them so well. 👍🏻
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There's a couple of good CLs you could use en route, Fernlea at Errol and Pitrennie Mill at Laurencekirk.
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Thanks Nellie.
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I appreciate that dog owners who allow their dogs to poo anywhere on the site would not like the constant referral to this issue, but I agree with all the people who complain that this is not a small issue and should not be ignored. As you can see we had a bichon frise and at no time did my husband ever allow him to foul the site. He always carried a poo bag and a water bottle (which helps in the case of illness or an accident) and never used the site for the purpose of walking him. If my husband can do it then so can everyone else.
As much as I love dogs, I believe that irresponsible owners should be warned by the club, whether that be by the wardens or officially by the administrators, or, in severe cases, asked to leave. There are children playing on the sites and if this happened on the general highway if seen can be prosecuted. What is the difference?
Putting this issue on a "pet" site only will not necessarily reach the people targeted.
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I thought this thread was for sharing positive comments about holidaying with your dog(s) As stated by the CM above
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Yes, and as a 'responsible' dog owner, i get fed up with being lectured by all and sundry.
The type of people who let their dogs foul a site are the type who are not listening anyway. The only way is catch them, and fine them.
As it is I end up picking up other dogs mess, with my bags which are always attached to my dogs lead....perhaps fining dog walkers who cannot produce a poop bag, is the way forward?
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No way can people be fined on sites.
Isn't it good that the vast majority of people are responsible? A great shame though that the minority get everyone a bad name.
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There is one of those at the Clachan Site, although I suspect it's because it's run by a volunteer couple and they supply the bags themselves.
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A timely reminder- Lambing is taking place throughout the countryside. With Easter approaching please keep ALL dogs on leads in the countryside. We have seen a huge increase in sheep worrying,deaths and by inference losses to farmers over recent months. So much do that the police are now looking at changes to the law.
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