OK, so we (though mostly I, cuz I made a big deal out of it) either get to be the irresponsible parents who have an unsafe dog in the house with a small child, or were those jerk people who take home a dog and then give it back because it doesnt fit our lifestyle. I dont know anything about dogs. Im a cat person. Big dogs scare me. I have to think to remember if that photo is of a boxer or a bulldog, and thats really sad because I went to a school whose mascot was a bulldog AND I taught at a school whose mascot was a bulldog. Youd figure Id be able to recognize what it looks like without getting it mixed up with a boxer by now... but NO. So we found this dog, through DFW Rescue. (Not an organization Im really feeling like recommending right now). The description for the dog said he was good with cats and with children. Woot! (Note: we had called about another dog, whose description ALSO said the dog was good with cats and children... but when we called the guy said that no, that dog was NOT good with cats. We should have remembered this earlier incident when we called about the second dog.) We met with the woman who had found the dog, and was fostering him; she was a volunteer with DFW Rescue. But she wasnt fostering him anymore, because of some reason (cant remember details now--her apartment wasnt big enough, or the dog didnt get along with her other dogs, or her work schedule). So the womans vet was fostering the dog. So what kind of dog is it? Oh, hes has some Catahoula in him, you can tell because of his eyes. Hes probably a Catahoula-Lab mix. Great! I dont know anything about dogs. I thought Huskies had those zombie white eyes, but I guess Catahoulas do, too. (Were those the dogs in Where The Red Fern Grows?) There was a small incident with the dog. See, the vet wasnt able to foster the dog at her house anymore, so she had him at her clinic, in a boarding kennel. With another dog in the same cage. And this dog bit the smaller dog. The woman wed been dealing with relayed the incident to us, and said it was completely situational, that the dog doesnt like small, hyper dogs, because he himself is such a laid-back, chill dog, and the other dog was being hyper, so it was totally a warning bite, like, not bad at all, just a love nip, really. I dont know anything about dogs. I, foolishly, assumed the volunteer with the dog rescue organization knew SOMETHING about dogs, and that I could trust her (dismissive) judgement. So we went on with the dog adoption process. There were some issues with the dog being possessive, and since we wanted to be Responsible Pet Owners, we were going to put the dog in obedience boarding school. Make sure he was all trained and stuff. When the woman dropped the dog off with the dog trainer, she was describing some of the dogs possessive behavior to him: ... and so then, when I went to put his muzzle on him... Uh, say whut? Oh, yeah--she puts a muzzle on the dog, just in case, because of her other dog, the little one. The trainer found this to be rather RELEVANT information, which she had not bothered to disclose in any of the previous conversations they had had (or that she had had with us). The trainer called us and let us know about the muzzle thing, because HE understood this was A Big Deal. Did we still want the dog? In a house with a small child? We talked about it. One strike, we could ignore. (We were getting him trained! That would fix him, right? Dogs are obedient and stuff, they do what you tell them... right? Its not like theyre CATS or anything...) This was TWO strikes now. Lets put him in obedience overnight camp, and then let the professional give us his professional opinion--would he recommend we keep this dog, or would it be better for him to find another home. Good. Awesome plan. Five weeks later (last Thursday), we finally get the dog. I showed my coworkers a photo of the dog. Our Catahoula-Lab mix dog. Honey, thats a pit. Yup, definitely has pit bull in him. When the trainer drops him off, and trains us on how to keep training the dog, he mentions he has a pit. So, what do you think this dog is? What did the rescue say?... Yeah, Id say he has pit in him. I posted a photo of the dog on Facebook. One of Gregs friends commented, Oh, I love red-nosed pits! (On a post my mom would see. She would see this dumb dog is part pit bull, and freak out because pit bulls are used for dog fighting.) But I know other people who have pits and theyre sweet dogs. Its the training. Its how you treat the dog. OK. So... we can deal with this. We put him in Obedience Sleep-Away Camp! Were Responsible Pet Owners! This is a Good Dog! OK, so he, um, likes cats... like, he likes to chase them. And growl at them when the cat is cornered and hisses at the ginormous intruder to its home. The dog is very independent--hes cool with people and all, but does not particularly care to follow them. If the command youre giving fits with what he wants, hell sit or whatever... but if he has a different idea, hell go with his idea first. Its getting better, but this is not a chill, laid-back dog. This dog has a lot of energy. And he is pure muscle. Solid. We went to RJs class potluck at the park, with the dog. Not smart, I know, but we did it. The dog did well; he let kids pet him, and he licked every last hint of a crumb off the pavement. Until he completely FREAKED OUT and started barked and lunging at a woman who had reached out to try to grab her kids as they ran past her. (Maybe he was thinking she was trying to hurt the kids? Maybe he didnt like the top she was wearing? I DONT KNOW. But it REALLY ticked him off. And i could not calm him down or get him to stop.) The Saturday, RJ was hanging out with the dog and with us. Dog was lying by my feet, RJ was hugging him, petting him, kind of lying on him, maybe pushing on him. Yes, we told RJ to be gentle, to be careful, dont put your face near his face, dont touch him there, dont lie on the dog that hurts him. But RJ is a 3-year-old with a puppy. The dog did not react at all (Wow! What a good dog!) Then the dog went to lie by Gregs feet. RJ moved to sit near the dog, still playing with his Iron Mens, making the Iron Mens walk on the dog, fly over the dog, land on the dog, petting the dog, giving him a hug--and the dog snapped at RJ. Did not touch him--just moved his head and snapped his jaws, once, right RIGHT next to RJs face, then lay back down. I did not see it, but I heard it. I asked RJ what happened; he was crying, panicked, but told me the dog did not touch his skin. He was scared, but unhurt. The dog was completely calm. Not agitated at all (and he gets agitated VERY EASILY). It was a cold, calculated move on the dogs part; just a warning shot. So... how bad is that? Well. Hes a pit bull. (With freaky zombie white eyes. I should pay attention when such clear omens are placed in my path.) With a history of violence and possessiveness. And a muzzle. And he snapped at my kid. With his teeth. Each of these things individually, would not be an issue. If RJ were 5 years older, we could handle these issues. Maybe its the training. Maybe its how you treat them. And this is The Sweetest Dog On The Planet, he just needs some time to get used to us. But how can I ignore this many red flags? I feel irresponsible for having taken the dog in the first place. But, you know what? I dont know anything about dogs. You know who does? The people who work at dog rescue places. The people who were supposed to come to our house and meet our family--including my 3-year-old, hyper son--to evaluate whether this dog is a good fit for our family. I think my family is a great fit for this dog, which is what motivated the woman to be so eager to hand the dog over to us (without us ever filling out or turning in the adoption paperwork... which we have, but never scanned and sent to DFW Rescue, and they have not asked for it... even though weve had the dog for over a month [training+one week at home]?); but I dont think this dog is a good fit for my family. So I have to be that Irresponsible Person who takes home a homeless dog and then gives him back. Full disclosure: I dont know if Im not comfortable with the dog because I really think the dog will hurt RJ, or if I dont want to have to explain and justify owning a pit bull when I have a small child. Part of it is safety, part of it is I dont want to have to explain or justify or deal with anyone giving me crap about it. So, yeah. Rant done, I guess. Anyone want a dog? He comes with a bed, a crate, collars, leash, giant bag of dog food, and mylar bone (or something).
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 02:52:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015