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Wow another thread about clueless owners who want a fancy breed and are put out that the breed shows the characteristics for which they have been selectively bred! Whoda thunk a dog bred for protection and killing wild boar would be a little cranky around a small child??? It's simply a shocker!
The dog will be the one to suffer because the humans need some designer accessory to signal how tough yet exotic they are. So very tired of these threads
THIS ^^^^ X 1000
CLUELESS selfish owners. Much like apartment dwellers who get Border Collies and Aus Sheps and crate them for 12hr/day.
I've been active in dog rescue since 1984; the amount of folks who purchase dogs (usually puppies and often on impulse) without any consideration to the breed's innate tendencies/overall needs is a huge number in my experience. Then these dogs end up in rescue when the owners have kids/change jobs/cannot handle the demands of the dog and the dog is the one to suffer for humans' lack of due diligence.
Growling is indeed a way to communicate; in the hands of experienced, mindful owners such as Dashdog's example, the dog herein in question would be likely able to remain in the home; with these parents better off removed to a home with an owner who understands canine behavior and is able to work with it in a reasonable manner minus panic/fear/dramatics over a warning growl.
"XYZ" Breed Rescue League. It doesn't have to be local. When 'rare' breeds are involved, breeders across the nation tend to know one another. Phone one...any one...and explain your story. Chances are they can call someone who knows someone who can connect with you and take the dog in while a permanent home is found. Many times when people are looking for a dog in that breed, they reverse the situation and start calling LOOKING for a dog.
I had the exact same situation with one of my terriers. Met a woman who picked up the dog, created a good home for it, and everyone was happy.
I wouldn't keep a dog that growled at my young child. There are plenty of dogs that are tolerant of children, or even adore children. Some of them are homeless and would love a chance to have their own family and baby. Let someone without children take the growling dog.
My baby grew up with a German Shepherd, who took one look at the baby and vowed he would lay down his life to protect that child. The dog adored my son. But I spent a lot of time teaching the baby how to handle the dog so he didn't hurt the dog. The dog was thoroughly trained with excellent bite inhibition. Babies and dogs must be supervised and managed.
It doesn't matter why the dog growled at the child. If the child provoked it, the dog should still be rehomed because the parents aren't competent to supervise the baby and dog together.
I agree with Otto on this one. A Dogo would not be my choice for a dog to live with a small child. If the other existing dog is good with the child, then there is no reason to rehome the non-growling dog, but all interaction between the dog and child should be supervised. No matter how good natured a dog, you don't leave a tiny child and a dog alone together. Even a tiny dog can put a child in a hospital and a dogo could kill a child with just one snap.
To be fair to my son. He had this dog for 8 years before he had a child. Both dogs are well socialized and have always been comfortable in public places. It would be nice if everyone had a crystal ball but they don’t. The dogs are well suited to his and his wife’s lifestyle, which is very outdoorsy, hunty, fishy, and the dogs have been very suitable for their lifestyle until the one presented this problem.
His outdoorsy hunty fishy lifestyle has just been dealt a major meteroric blow with the addition of a child. And where I come from a dog is a permanent addition to the home: not a conditional "practice kid" until the real one comes along. OP, you stated that you are in the habit of bailing him out for poor decisions so add this to the history of this pattern. If kids were a possibility, he should have been more careful with his choice of canine family member.and not just gotten what his social circle was bragging about to fit in. Again it's the dog that suffers. I am sure he will be interested in moving on to the next bad idea after she's gone.
This breed is on landlords' insurances' prohibited dogs list. There are a number of Dogo Argentino rescue organizations across the country. They should give the dog to a rescue organization to re-home. These organizations carefully screen the homes where the dogs would be placed, to make sure that they are suitable. Someone will be very happy to have her, in a house that doesn't have any children.
This needs to happen pronto. The child is in danger.
And where I come from a dog is a permanent addition to the home: not a conditional "practice kid" until the real one comes along.
That thinking is dangerous. While I agree that the OP should have considered another breed given that he was planning for kids in the future, there's absolutely no way to 100% guarantee that any particular dog will be kid-safe. Even "family-friendly" breeds like Golden Retrievers produce some dogs who dislike children, and sometimes a dog who was fine with kids when young may change and become intolerant of children as it ages. Dogs aren't throwaway possessions, but they aren't people, either; in the case of a serious issue (whether it's aggression or severe allergies), the child's welfare must always come first. REAL babies always, always come before "fur-babies"!
The OP's son is doing the right thing rehoming this dog before a tragic incident happens. Since the dog has not (yet) bitten anyone and is otherwise well-mannered, a suitable home shouldn't be too hard to come by.
That thinking is dangerous. While I agree that the OP should have considered another breed given that he was planning for kids in the future, there's absolutely no way to 100% guarantee that any particular dog will be kid-safe. Even "family-friendly" breeds like Golden Retrievers produce some dogs who dislike children, and sometimes a dog who was fine with kids when young may change and become intolerant of children as it ages. Dogs aren't throwaway possessions, but they aren't people, either; in the case of a serious issue (whether it's aggression or severe allergies), the child's welfare must always come first. REAL babies always, always come before "fur-babies"!
The OP's son is doing the right thing rehoming this dog before a tragic incident happens. Since the dog has not (yet) bitten anyone and is otherwise well-mannered, a suitable home shouldn't be too hard to come by.
The opening post stated"re-home or put down". And the OP gave details about how her son has a history of bad decisions. Dollars to donuts this dog is going to be a casualty of the clueless owners.
I have no idea if this dog is truly unsafe or the owners are just not familiar with canine behavior and unable to supervise the animal properly but it's clear that they made a poor breed choice. I'm very tired of these sorts of stories. People treat their pets like an appliance or status symbol and not a sentient creature but then want sympathy for carelessness.
I get hot over people getting dogs they cant handle that dont fit their lifestyle, dogs they just get tired of when they realize it takes effort, get rid of because they had a baby, etc. I believe the choice to become a pet owner comes with responsibility and its a life commitment, usually, but come on people they chose the breed 8 years before having children. Its not like they got the dogs after having kids. The first dog was fine with kids. Sometimes individual dogs just have quirks you arent prepared for. There are sometimes legit reasons one must re home their pet. Hopefully they will find the dog a good home.
Would you be as critical of the OP's son's decision to rehome the dog or have it euthanized if the dog in question was a Labrador Retriever? Or would he get a pass because that breed is supposed to be fine with children (even though the particular Lab in question isn't)?
They're not making the choice they are because they are tired of their four-legged toy. They are doing it to safeguard their child. Any medium-to-large dog of any breed (purebred or mutt) that is not tolerant of small children can easily kill a child. That's just reality.
it sounds like this dog was a rescue dog since they don't know about her past..
I think in this case a euth might be in order simply because her history with little kids is unclear and yanno its not worth the chance that maybe she wont bite a little baby or a toddler .. she is afraid /uneasy with the baby.. .. will it be diffrent with the next family who might get her? ::sighs:: she might be fine with older kids ( teens/ young adults) but right now the baby is "PREY SIZED" and thats cause for concern..
AND you dont want that otherwise very good /well bred dog to go thru the owner mill of finding she has issues and just passing her off to the next owner with out a full history.. I say that because it happened to me .. I am a APBT owner its my prefered breed ok and 99% of them are great family dogs .. but it only takes one to scare or kill and then theres a problem..
I got gifted a well trained, pit once.. after she went thru 5 owners in a short time and no one told me the real reason why.. they just passed her along and sang her praisies .. but she was an accident waiting to happen.. she feared/scared of little kids .. I lived alone so guess no one thought to tell me she would bite out of the blue for no reason.. my grandson came to visit one day .. he was calm quiet and just sitting in a chair talking to me and she bit him with no warning no growl just bit him.. hard enough to bruise him and then ran to her kennel to growl and snarl.. Of course I locked her up and the next day I took her into the vet who had her file and he showed me her history.. That poor dog.. she was abused by kids in her former home and then given away several times for fear bitting and agression.. so when my g/son was bitten by her it was from fear and .. I honesty knew it was the kindest thing to do for her .. so yeah she paid the price.. she was euthed that day but I think she was relieved and glad it was over ... she was about 4 or 5 yrs old .. yeah sad it had to happen but I had no knowledge of her history other than folks worked to much.. she barked, they didnt have a yard .. all sorts of crap and excuses but no truths .. she simply wasnt safe around little kids I had her for couple of months .. she was fine with adults but there was no way to stop a kid being around her .. I wasnt willing to take that chance and just rehome her.. so I did the best thing for her..
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