I've been dealing with 3 owner surrenders this week - all saying the dog bites their kid or the kid is too rough with the dog... WELL DUH! What did the KID DO TO DESERVE TO BE BITTEN?? One person said the dog "nipped at our daughter and although we love him very much, we, as good parents, must take seriously the safety of our daughter first......." WELL TEACH THE KID TO RESPECT THE DOG....... dog's normally don't just to up to kids to bite them without being provoked.............. ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Threatening to take dump them them at a shelter........... PEOPLE ARE REALLY PEEVING ME OFF THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a reflection of todays society.  No one can take the blame theirselves.  It is always someone elses faullt/problems.  There are so many "medical conditions" that exist, just so that people can blame the disease and not their actions.

 Makes me mad too. They act so pompous. Like they are so much smarter. Nope.....dumber is more like it. Yaz has bit my kids plenty of times. She's an animal. They bite. She has never just gone up and bit them. It's always been because they don't respect her space or they get too wound up or the like. It's just like people that say they don't like cats because they scratch.

Also, people are just so lazy.  They expect a perfectly behaving dog right out of the box.  And when the dog starts acting like a dog, they just dispose of it.  God forbid they put just a little time and effort into molding a well behaved family member.  Just another reason that I don't like people much.

Thank you. Totally agree.

My dogs and cats bit my daughter when she was growing up..heck she had ponies bite her!  I never once considered getting rid of the animals as they weren't vicious, just defending themselves or playing.  And I was bitten as a child....mostly by the cats as I like to dress them up and our tom cats didn't care for that.

Children need to learn there are consequences to actions, they need to learn to get along with other entities, they do NOT need to learn that animals are disposable.

This is a topic that is one of my pet peeves.  I'm a horse trainer and have taught many a student to ride....some parents (of the preppie/yuppy persuasion) have taught their children to get a horse expecting the horse to do it all for them - and blame the horse when they aren't telepathic!  Duh, what are the lessons for? TO TEACH THEM TO RIDE/CONTROL the horse! 

EyeDr.,

I'm in Albany, NY - and one of the dogs I'm taking is Prince - here is his pix and info... are you interested?  I'm with Ratbone Rescues, a Rat Terrier rescue organization, and I'm getting Prince this Saturday...I've read you're looking for a local Rattie...

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL797/75226/1060318/43710941.jpg

Here is what his owners say about him:

Prince is a very sweet dog, well behaved, loves to snuggle on the
couch, and go bounding through the woods after squirrels. He loves
to play ball and is very affectionate. We took him to a dog
training class and he he enjoyed learning the basic commands. He will
go crazy off-leash but never strays far and will always return when
called. We have another Rat Terrier who he is best friends with and
they play very well together, swimming, wrestling, chase, and fetch.

 It seems he was mistreated by his original owners and it
has made him pretty fearful, particularly of men and strangers. He
is dog aggressive with new dogs but once familiar he can become
friendly (he has a dog-walking group he goes with 4 times a week and
he is fine with all of the other dogs). He really doesn't like big
dogs or puppies. Although we have two cats he has never been
comfortable with them especially when they do cat things i.e. hide
under the couch, hack-up hair balls, play. Obviously he is fearful
of children and their unpredictability. He is easily startled by
anyone coming up behind him. He has skin allergies and is on a
special diet (IVD limited ingredient Duck and Potato). He has anal-
gland issues for which we add pumpkin to his dinner. Otherwise he is
healthy and will be getting a dental this coming week.

Thanks,

Sue in NY

I just don't understand this.

Dogs give many warning sign that the feel threatened or that they want someone to back off before they bite. i have been around many dogs in my life, and none of them has ever bitten a child when unprovoked. I was bitten by our german shepard once as a child, but I deserved it. I was little and chomped down on his ear and he did it right back to me. I think I ended up getting into more trouble than the dog. My mother would never have even thought about getting rid of our dog (she might have thought about trading me in though a couple of times though...)

This is why so many people grow up thinking that dogs are disposable things. They aren;t they are members of your family and there are so many people that just don't understand the responsibility of owning a pet.

When people's children bite other children (I worked summer camp many moons ago and there are so many kid biters) people don't give their kids up. They usually punnish them and TEACH them why it is bad and not to provoke other people. They should try and use the same tactics with their animals and their children, and maybe their would be less pets being surrendered.

I could go on my soapbox for years but I will spare everyone.

Without having kids I never realized how 'in your face" kids are with dogs til this weekend. I posted Monday how I was proud of my dogs because those kids would not leave either one of the dogs alone. Even AFTER we told them. I was ready to bite the pottymouth kids myself. I am not saying kids are horrible but I have to side with the dogs on this one. Parents really need to teach their kids manners and how to treat animals. These dogs can't talk and say "can you please leave me alone now" all they can communicate by is through biting and growling or bowing and playing. It's all about reading the body language. Shame on these parents, and these will be the same kids that grow up afraid of dogs. I applaud all you parents out there who have worked throught the dog/kid issue, kept your dogs and taught your kids how to respect animals. I hope you are the society of the future.

Now they would just sue the summer camp for allowing it to happen. Like MB said, their children are not to blame.

This is reason number one I could never breed dogs. You just KNOW that some of the dogs you sell are going to end up as turn-ins or worse. You can deny it but it's true. Unless you're Sara, and all your pups are on rt.com.

Happy Spay Day USA.

More info on Prince:

     I think Prince could be a wonderful dog for a couple with no children who can spend time with him, give him lots of love and attention and exercise!  And I'm sure if he got to share a home with another RT he would be very happy.  

Tracey,

What a great thing to do. When I was working with the Hawaiian Humane Society as their Education Director, that is what we did or al least a part of what we did. We had 3 acres and just under 2 of those was a "bird park". It also held turtles, tortises, etc.

We had tons of school kids coming to us for tours. They would start in my ed room and we did all sorts of programs. One of the first lessons was on a dog's body language and  what it meant and also dog's growls. Some of the points, if you see a loose dog, DO NOT run. Stand still and then slowly walk back to your group or your parent, etc. running tends to trigger the prey drive and of course the dog will chase.

if you see a dog on a leash with its human, always talk to the human first to ASK PERMISSION to speak to, greet, pet etc the dog.

We then taught how to curl our fingers under to make a paw with our hands, SLOWLY bring it up from our sides (never down towards a dogs head) and let the dog come to the paw to sniff it. We talked about what to do if the dog sniffed, wagged it tail and moved its head under your paw (ie enjoy giving some pets and loving) AND what to do if the pet sniffed but didn't approach or growled or anything that would denote a 'leave me alone' message. To simple back away slowly and allow the dog SPACE!! Cause even dogs have days when they don't feel like talking to anyone!!

We worked on what it means to be a responsible Pet Owner (although I have had some folks not like that term since they didn't feel they owned the animal) but my response is with "ownership" comes responsibility so to 'own' a dog in this sense means to take care of it properly, treat it humanely and meet its needs. IT DOES NOT mean tossing the dog out, getting mad when the dog doesn't understand, etc.

Sadly our humane society was and is a kill shelter. We simply had more animals than we had homes. So we talked alot about spay/neuter and what it means to  take on the responsibility of the pet for its ENTIRE life. I hope we made some in roads. I wish there was more humane education out there. I wish a lot of things I guess.

When my youngest cousin's kids were born, they were taught very early that a growl from a dog meant STOP, Move away, leave me alone, etc. And yeppers they got nipped a time or two until they learned that the growl meant business. You have to teach your kids. You have to teach your dogs.

Several folks have made the statement about people wanting the "perfect" well trained dog like they see on TV, but what they don't see is the hours, days, weeks and even years of work that goes into those perfectly trained animals. And even those animals have off days and aren't perfect.

I agree Sue that it is tiring to hear the same excuses over and over again. I had a lady turn in her two Siamese cats because they didn't fit her new decor. She had gotten them when she had decorated her house in an Asian theme!! eee gads. I wanted to throttle her but that was frowned upon at work!!

We got a call once that a vicious bird was coming in. I had visions of giant macaws who can take off a finger with their beaks. In came a person carrying a shoe box taped shut!! Inside was a very ticked off little budgy and yes he would bite but he had never been trained or socialized around people. I fell for the little brat and he became one of our education assistants.

He loved noise and car rides. he would stick his head under his bell and bang his head back and forth under the bell and just cackle. In the car he would get on his highest perch in his travel cage and lean forward and make zooming sounds!! He was a riot!!  But yet, was turned in cause he was vicious! good grief.

People can really get on your last nerve when it comes to this can't they?

Hang in there Sue and bless you for what you do!!

Hang in there Sue

It is frustrating. I used to see this kindof attitude at the animal hospital. The kid would get bit, the owners would want some quick fix, or worse put the dog down. Somehow they thought that by coming to the vet and trying to get us to put them down instead of the shelter, would ease their conscience. It used to burn my gizzard!

It's laziness like the rest have said. Alot of people don't want to correct their kids and teach 'em how to act. My two girls were brought up with dogs, cats, birds, etc., and were taught how to treat animals. If they got growled, hissed or bit at, it was their own doing and they learned the hard way. All of our pets have been great and not aggresive, but even they have a tolerance point.

My 4yo grandson is learning these very things. He knows not to play rough, but occasionally he does and my younger male, Buddy has growled and snapped at him a couple of times. And, it was my grandson's fault. Even my daughter (his mom) tells him-"well, when he bites you, you'll learn"!

Anyway, just thought I would blow off some steam on this subject also.

I hope the little fella finds a good forever home that appreciates him.

Hang in there Sue! Of all the apps I worked on this was right up there with the boyfirend thing. The boyfriend one pissed me off the most.

You take care

hugs

Jeff

It's sad to say, but many people these days think they live in a Disposeable Society.  Dont like something?  Get rid of it.  Dont get along with your spouse anymore?  Get a divorce.  Cant get the dog to just sit quietly and let the kids pull, prod, tease, and scream at it?  GET RID OF IT.  It embarrasses me sometimes to be called a human being.

HUGS HUGS AND HUGS JEFF!!  LTNS... hope you are doing well.  And thanks

Thanks, everybody.  I was so extremely frustrated yesterday...3 dogs in 1 week with all the same issue of why they were being dumped... it was just too much.... but we have places for all 3 dogs, and they'll be adopted into safe and loving homes, and that's what matters...

I will get Prince this weekend - and then I'll be getting Mickey #2 next Saturday and then Connie from LI (who frequents this site and has become a fostermom... YAY!) will be getting the third dog, Cleo.

A - M - E - N !!!!

Sarah, here's what the owner said about Mickey #2.  I'll be getting him the Saturday after this coming one, and I'll get more pix for you   

Mickey is a lovable, cuddly boy who wants nothing more than to sit next
to you. He is incredibly strong, fast and healthy. He is, by far, the
most handsome Rat Terrier we've ever encountered. We've tried private
adoption to no avail. Rather than bring him to a dog pound, we wanted to
give a Rat Terrier lover the opportunity to adopt this beautiful little
dog.

He is neutered. He is not aggressive. In fact, due to his behavior, I'd
assume he was the runt of the litter. He exhibits clear cut omega
behavior. Please contact me through this email address if you can help.

Sleeps in the house? Yes

Sleeps on bed or furniture? No bed, yes furniture.

Gets along with other dogs? Yes

Gets along with cats? Never tested

Does tricks? Basic If so, what ones:  Sit, Come, Down, Shake, “Get in your bed.”, “Go get it!”

Chews inappropriately? No

Rides well in car? Yes (Although a bit ‘whiney.&rsquo

Behavior with children is Good/Enthusiastic.

Attacked another animal? NO

Attempted to bite another animal? NO

Bitten a person: NO

      If yes, toddler or adult:

Attempted to bite a person: NO  

Housebroken: Yes*  

Crate trained: Yes

Leash trained: Yes but NOT enforced/used  

Barker: No

Dog aggressive: No 

Digs: No   

Jumps/climbs fence: Can jump very high, does not climb fences.

Obedience trained: Somewhat – responsive to commands. Respectful.