Quote: elizabeth munoz

... I live with My sister and she is going to give birth to my nephew Matthew in four months time I have a dog named Izzy I love with all my heart and she will have no interaction with the baby ever period. But if she showed any inclination of aggression to him she would be re homed to an adult only home asap. It would not fair to her to be crated all the time and I just don't have the experience to help her. The risk is just to great and it only takes one time to be lax and a disaster happens. are you or your partner willing to take that risk?

I won't de-rail this other than to say this is very very different. Elizabeth, you have many many options short of re-homing your dog, because you have pre-baby preparation time, you already own a known-history dog, and more.

I completely understand what you are trying to get across (the baby comes first), but I want to be very sure that the casual reader does not think anyone on this board is advocating rehoming (or surrendering) a dog because now a baby is coming. A baby coming means "prep work to do," not "well, we have a baby coming and don't need this dog now, and certainly don't want any risk."

Again, Elizabeth, I KNOW you did not mean this and were making another point
entirely. I don't want to de-rail Kelsey's thread.

You have been given a ton of great advise here so far. I just wanted shed some light on an area that I recognize since I am in a similar situation. You indicated that you have joint custody of your son which is why he was not initially with you when you picked up the dog. I know you are doing everything to make sure nothing happens but they are called accidents for a reason and I don't know your relationship with the other parent, but if god forbid there was an accident are you going to find yourself back in court over custody if there is an accident with this dog that you knew had a bad history with kids? Is it worth this on top of the obvious injuries to the child?

Also along the line of what is in the best interest of the dog if worst case scenario there is an accident and at that time you return the dog he now has a bite history. At this point they shelter could rehome the dog to a family without children who knows of his issues and can properly manage him. If there is an accident they may no longer have this option.

Hope that made some sense! I hope you can come up with the best situation for your family!

Yes I should have said that sorry Connie . I am doing everything before my nephew comes in the world I am ob her to death everyday lol and we pass crazy children during our walks and all she does is glance and we continue our walk so I am 99 percent confidant, but I know she is still a dog and anything can happen so I am making precautions and following the rules leerburg wrote on introducing dogs to children to a tee.

Plus she won't have an opportunity to be aggressive or show aggression to him I care too much for her to let that happen.

 Quote: Kelsey Perkins

One thing our trainer said is that we may want to consider leaving the dog with her for a time to do more work with him. It may be she can work with him around kids in controlled settings before putting him back in the home. I don't know if that sort of thing is likely to work or not, though. Plus there is the cost factor. We can afford to take care of a dog and do it well, but I'm not sure if we can afford extensive training and rehabilitation from a professional in this way.

I would not recommend this (both for the dog's sake and for the sake of any children that will be exposed to this dog). I disagree strongly with this trainer's approach to this situation.

 Quote: Konnie Hein

I disagree strongly with this trainer's approach to this situation.

So do I. Strongly enough to reconsider any engagement.

Really? The reason we picked her is that she runs a rescue for dogs with this sort of issue. That's a shame that this is so questionable!

I'm not a lawyer, but your situation makes my blood boil. If it was me, this is the approach I would take:

With regards to your contractual obligations, I would argue the contract should not stand. You signed the contract with certain understandings as to the nature of the dog you were adopting. The shelter failed to disclose facts that would have stopped you from signing that contract. The shelter is going to avoid any contact with you because they know they failed to inform you. I would threaten them with liable if anything happens to your child as a result of having this dog in your home. They adopted the dog to you under false pretenses and they should be obligated to take the dog back and give you your money back. At the very least, I would write a full report of the situation, so you have it if you ever need to defend your actions in the future (ie. if you ever want to adopt another dog) and return the dog to the shelter. If you can get your money refunded, well and good.

Clearly this is a situation that should never have been set up in the first place.

Based on my experience of living with a reactive dog (and I am not an experience handler or trainer), I would urge you to return the dog. I had no idea how much mental, emotional, and physical energy my new, lovable pup was going to demand. And I don't have kids.

Yes, really.

I can't imagine any parent allowing a trainer to use their child as a training aid for this dog. Even with a muzzle, the chances of a child getting hurt (or scared, which is important to consider too) are too high. And, I can't imagine any trainer taking on that liability/risk.

 Quote: Kelsey Perkins

Really? The reason we picked her is that she runs a rescue for dogs with this sort of issue. That's a shame that this is so questionable!

Kelsey, I too agree that these dogs can benefit tremendously from rehabilitation and go on to cohabitate nicely in society with productive lives.

However, this is, by no means, an overnight fix. And those productive lives generally aren’t with someone that’s confusing fear based aggression with protectiveness or has questions on what a dog should or can teach another dog.

There is no doubt that this type of issue can have a successful outcome but it’s YOUR circumstances in particular, that are raising red flags for everyone responding and should be for this trainer as well.

Thanks CJ.