General Chat

When I got my PPI refund - not a lot, but enough for a splurge, I kept some (wedding coming up) and shared the rest between my daughters.
One is spending some of hers getting two 5 year old rescue cats,
The other, with 3 chldren aged 2, 4 and 10, was a bit quicker, and has already got herself a 2 year old Staffie rescue dog.
(when my mum asked her why? My daughter replied, it was either a dog or another baby!!)
I can't believe how amenable, well behaved and willing this dog is!!
Daughter had only had her one day.
Dog had a bone, put it on the picnic blanket, and I, (cat person) without thinking, just picked it up and removed it. She didn't bat an eyelid, or growl, just moved to where the bone was.

Grand daughter (aged 10) wants to teach her to 'dance' - I can think of nothing so impressive as an allegedly aggresive 'chav' dog doing a little dance on a walk .
4 year old wasn't very well and fell asleep on the sofa, daughter went to see how he was, and dog was lying on her back, head on cushion, fast asleep next to him (dog's second name is now 'chancer')

Betty was obviously well loved and looked after by her previous owners,

Maybe I have picked you up wrong.
But.... I would be a bit worried about leaving a 'new' dog alone with any kids.Even if is seems a well loved pet...I'd be very carefull.

Sorry rushing out but had to add.I'll look in later.

Marion

sounds like a she has a good dog, but as marion says be careful any dog can turn, especially one you dont know well,
some dogs in reacues are because elderly people have passed, and are well loved after dogs,

sadly some are there as they have been over bred ruied and not needed no more, or staffys especially used for fghting :(

its nice to see peole rescueing, expecally staffie's who often are over bred,
i hope betty has a long n wonderful life with your daughter and her children, shes very lucky to have a woderful new family, :-)

My cousin did a lot of work for dog rescue and would often have rescue dogs at home.

At the time the dangerous dogs law came about they had a 'boxer-cross' at home which quite evidently a pit-bull. she said he was one of the most loving and docile dogs she had ever taken home and he would give her his bone of she wanted it.

There are no dangerous breeds of dog as such but there are a few owners who might need the treatment and the microchip.

We have two friends who have staffies ,one a pup 10months old .he is playfull .but they do need training as any other dog .the other one is 14.he never goes out without a lead & is the most docile dog & loving .but if another dog or child winds him up .he will retaliate .they have powerfull jaws please be carefull .with your family .dont mean to interfere hope the dog has a long & happy life with you Barbra .

Thank you for your replies.
I was aware that it could be misconstrued as foolishness.

The dog was in the kitchen, the boy was in the living room, asleep.
Daughter finished what she was doing - and dog had sneaked ino the living room to be with the boy.
The rescue centre 'match up' dogs & new owners.
Betty had been brought up with children and extremely well trained - she's 2 years old, not a pup.

She was in the rehoming centre because the marriage split up, both my daughter & I feel for the family, having to give up such a gorgeous dog.

As Sharron said, there are no (or few) dangerous dogs - only bad owners.
There are lots of Staffies in rehoming centres. Some are bred by numpties and sold on as 'oik' status dogs - then given up as they don't conform to the media coverage - ie aren't vicious.

Neither my son in law, nor my daughter are dog 'novices'. SiL had a boxer in his youth. Daughter had a GSD/Collie cross - who was 9 years old when my daughter had her first child.

It's not just dogs that can be brought up wrong- without any manners. I have 3 cats, they've never bitten or (deliberately) scratched anyone - one has non-retractable claws, which can cause pain when he's paddling!
My sister has a cat that will attack you if you try to stroke her at the 'wrong' time - no-one knows when this 'wrong' time is.
She even 'stalked' my grandson once. Fortunately I spotted her behaviour and stepped in as she went for the attack!
My sister didn't think cats needed any form of behaviour training.

well done maggie for making a difference hope you all have lots of fun.

I agree about the way they are brought up has a lot to do with it.
I've not had a lot to do with dogs,but know they can be as good as you make them.Even good ones can change at the strangest thing.
My DIL was conviced all cats were baby smothering nasty vicious things that scratch and bite.I think her mother maybe had a bad experience with at cat and had her thinking the same way.
She soon changed her mind when she met mine.I'm on the second cat since my dil came on the scene and she shouts mine up to her knee.
Never left the grandkids alone with them and even now I keep an eye on my cat when the wee one is here.No cats likes to have a chunk of hair out of them or a big tight cuddle lol.

Marion

I had a lovely pup yrs ago,he was sort of a rescue dog as a stray bitch had given birth to a litter in a friends garden shed.
The mother was a lovely dog and so were the pups, I had one,and he was properly trained. When I got married he stayed with my parents as I was out all day.
He became dad's dog in the house he was always used to. Dad used to walk him and when I visited frequently I did too, But one day he bit dad for no apparent reason...dad had had dogs all his life, and it frightened him that the dog would change just like that. He didn't tell me for a few months,until he turned on my husband when he just stroked him. Mum was ill at the time (stroke) and I couldn't risk her being bitten, she would have had no defence.
He had never been mistreated,in fact probably the opposite, so I took him to the vets and a normally friendly dog went nuts at the vets. Vet managed to sedate him ,could see no physical reason for his behaviour and at a risk of him biting the hand that fed him again I decided I would have to have him put to sleep. Dad had told me that there had been more than one incident, of him being bitten and had to go to hosp for stiches and tetanus jab.
Something had flipped in his head and he couldn't be trusted ,so just be aware ,things can go wrong.
We had a lab cross later from the local rescue and he was brill with my children,he'd been mistreated ,I'm sure cos he was very wary of strange men, but you can never tell. .... humans can just flip for no apparent reason so can dogs !

Sandie, that's so sad about your/your fathr's dog, but animals. like humans, can suffer from mental health problems. As you say, both dogs & humans can just 'flip'.
We don't live our lives watching our nearest & dearest 'in case' - we start to watch them when their behaviour changes.

I allowed my daughter to persuade me into having a puppy belonging to a friend of hers and I relented which was silly because it was not well thought out. I should have chosen a dog which was suitable for our family. We got a 'lovely' puppy which was a mix of whippet, jack russel and sheep dog or something like that. Grew up to be a terrible dog. He did go to the local training classes but he was so dominant and bit.

I did notice that when he came back from the local kennels he was always well behaved. The fault was clearly in the way we handled him (with a bit of fear I suppose). He was sent off to a dog's borstal and came back a different dog but only because he had been 'broken' by tough love which made it a little easier for us to control him. Even the vet said he wondered why we kept such a dog when there were others much nicer who needed a good home. Not sure what he expected me to do with him.

I subsequently bought a book on dog psychology and was amazed at the reasons why dogs bite especially dogs that had previously been good.

You do have to be extra vigilent with dogs around children as children can make sudden movement and noises which can alarm dogs but your daughter's dog sounds a lovely animal Maggie so a good start there. Wished I had chosen better.

Vera

Well I have to say that, To think any Dog will never bite is where good? owners fail the animal,

All dogs are pack animals and as a pack animal it may at some point try to be top dog,

The problem is that most people don't recognise the signs when a dog decides its his turn to be the dominant one,

People if they decide they are going to keep a dog must always be on the lookout for this change of behaviour their are always signs that your dog is thinking its time to challenge for the dominant status within his pack/family

Owners need to recognise this and deal with it swiftly before it gets out of hand,

any one who does not no the signs or how to put the dog in his place needs to research that breed and gain advice from a reputable professional dog trainer,

There are other reasons a dog may suddenly bite including mental health but the main reasons are covered in the link below

http://dog-luv.com/2009/01/why-dogs-attack-people/

I was brought up around several breeds and have had German shepherds including ex police dogs most of my life and currently own a Japanese Akita and have only ever been bitten once,

My fault "we all had to learn sometime" :-(

Dogs are much like humans, They need to be loved and feel they belong to their family/pack and they will give their love and loyalty back ten fold but remember they are still a pack animal


Roy

Hi Vera, What a shame about your dog.
I had to lok after a Collie once - in the Shetland Isles.
He'd been brought up to the islands by our lodger, who went away to work. The poor dog had spent a while living in the back of a van.
The first day I was alone with him, he nearly went through a window trying to attack the landlords dog. His other problem was, he had a 'natural' and rather 'basic' herding instinct - he would chase sheep and bring them down! This is in the Shetlands.....where sheep roam freely. He either had to be trained or he would be shot. Lots of long, long walks, gentle persuasion and a period of isolation - when he attacked sheep I'd put him in an empty room on his own - and 6 weeks later he was a different (happy) dog!

Roy, yes dogs are pack animals. Betty's first response upon seeing my daughter and her family was to run up to them and roll on her back.A sure sign of a willing subserviant if ever I saw one!!

I've looked at the list of reasons why dogs attack - pretty basic.
I mentioned in a previous post that I forgot Betty was a 'new' dog and moved her bone - she did't emit event the slightest growl - just accepted it.
My daughter's previous dog had puppies - one of them would growl if food was removed, so the poor pup had to undergo a couple of days with people (anyone) randomly taking her food bowl from her - we provided it - it was ours.. She soon learnt this fact!!