Got a major problem, really looking for some thoughts

[twiley]

Or those dogs naturally pretty tempremental?

 

They're hyper but they have a good temperment.

 

I've heard of a few cases where they will snap at people. My business partner has a scar along his left eye that was the result of a weimie. He said the dog was great but he just got to rough with it when he was a child.

Edited December 7, 2006 by twiley

[skylive5]

.... and sure enough, the dog growled and showed his teeth, kinda snapped, ....

 

 

 

My kid... dog is dead.

 

I doubt anyone here forms closer attachments to their pet(s) than I do. However, I have an even closer attachment to my kids and their welfare is of utmost importance.

 

I can empathize with you H, but no matter what, you have to protect your kid. Dog is not going to change now... to old and set in it's ways. Eventually he will take a chunk out of your kid. You can bank on that.

 

Take the advice twiley gave you... you will be able to sleep better in the long run.

[Hugh 0ne]

Has he always been protective of these two things (playing ball, gettin in his face)?

 

Yes. He hasn't changed, he's always been like this. I mean, except when he was a pup. I'd say that behavior started around 1 year.

[MrTed46]

I wouldn't get rid of the dog. I would try to get professional help and see if a trainer can you out. In the meantime try to keep the dog seperate from the kids or have eye sight on them most of the time.

 

There has to be a way to train a dog and make him discipline. I do agree though they may fail then your options decrease and must get rid of the dog. But to get rid of it without trying isn't the right thing to do IMO. You raised the dog so its almost like a responsibility.

 

You can teach new tricks to old dogs but not all the time.

 

JMHO

[Azazello1313]

Watch the Dog Whisperer or rent the season...he deals with this kind of thing. You have to train your dog out of this behavior. It'll take time but unless you don't want to put in the time, there is no reason to abandon the dog yet.

 

 

yeah, some training to subtly let the dog know his place on the totem pole (i.e., below ALL humans) would be in order. this is an issue that can be effectively addressed. train the son as well.

 

you definitely need to have a short leash (forgive another pun) with this sort of thing, but i don't see that one passive warning snarl as he's being woken up should get the fella kicked out of the family. like tim said, that's a lazy way out.

[Footballjoe]

Keep in mind, this is not an agressive dog. It's not like I have to keep him away from the child or he'll bite him, that's not the case at all. The only way there's an issue, is if you get in the dogs face, and even then, it only on certain occasions that he may react agressively. I'm not dealing with Cujo here.

 

 

And if your child gets in his face when you turn your back for but a moment?

[KICK A$$ BLASTER]

I am in the same situation with my dog. We have an Australian Cattle Dog and he has been trained from the day we brought our daughter home from the hospital to stay away from our kids. Now that my daughter is three, she knows to NEVER get in a dogs face, and that if she wants to pet him she has to have a parent with her. Now my son who is 15 months old is a different story. He chases the dog around, and the dog knows to run for his life.

 

We have only had one growling incident with the boy, but we are very dilligent about keeping the two seperated. Now if Sherman(the dog) were to ever snap at any child, he is gone, not even a question.

 

I have never owned a Weimaraner, but if they are as intelegent as a Cattle dog you should be able to train the dog to stay away from your child.....

 

Hope this helps...

[rhippens]

we are dealing with the same thing with our oldest pup (about 2 1/2) but not with our new pup (4 months). he shows mild distress over food and certain types of toys. if he gets one of those medium density nylabones, he loves them but wants nobody else to play. we've been spending time standing next to him while he's eating and trying to make him realize we aren't going to steal anything from him. we've also eliminated the toys that he has shown possessiveness over.

 

we don't have kids right now but plan on it in the next few years. our goal is to try to use techniques we've gotten from professional trainers to eliminate this behavior before it's baby time. he is progressively getting better but still growls occasionally and very rarely shows his teeth. we are just hoping we can continue to work with him and correct it. but we are the boss and our kids will be too. i just hope he can see it that way before we starting having little ones.

 

edit: overall point is i'm wishing good luck to you man.

Edited December 7, 2006 by rhippens

[dmarc117]

the dog is a animal....even though he wouldnt do anything 99% of the time. just cant take the risk.

[chiefjay]

Pretty much figured I'd get both sides of the fence on this one. Strictly to satisfy my curiosity, Spain, cliaz, do you have dogs?

 

 

This wasn't addressed to me and while I do have a dog it's a Yellow Lab but here's my point. Our old next door neighbors had 3 pitbulls; all 3 lovable dogs and my neighbors were great, very disciplined with the dogs, etc... so I always felt comfortable with how they raised them but I tell you what, I was never more relieved when I moved to get away from those dogs.

 

I just never felt 100% comfortable living next door. They obviously never harmed any of the children but one of them jumped the fence a couple of times to get into our inflatable pool, it was actually pretty funny but still it didn't take much for him to jump the fence.

 

Couldn't imagine having a potential risk in the household though.

[detlef]

I side with the keep the dog, train the dog, train the kid school of thought. Ultimately all involved will benefit, not the least of which your kid. I've got to guess that he's already going to think twice about getting in any dog's face after that incident so you might be halfway there already. Once again, since your dog only shows agression when you get in his face, it's not like you have any reason to believe that he'll just walk up and attack your children. What you wont end up with is one of those idiot kids that walks up to strange dogs and screws with them because he's learning to respect them now.

 

My wife's cousin was visiting and his daughter kept poking one of our dogs in the face with a pen. Fortunately our dog is completely docile but I had to jump in and grab her away. Ended up with me and mommy getting into a rather heated argument about me not trying to tell her how to raise her kids and me telling her I didn't give a rat's ass what she did so long as they got whole "don't poke a dog in the face" thing worked out.

 

Dangers and threats will continue to spring up throughout the life of your children, at some point you can't just get rid of them.

[Hugh 0ne]

This wasn't addressed to me and while I do have a dog it's a Yellow Lab but here's my point. Our old next door neighbors had 3 pitbulls; all 3 lovable dogs and my neighbors were great, very disciplined with the dogs, etc... so I always felt comfortable with how they raised them but I tell you what, I was never more relieved when I moved to get away from those dogs.

 

I just never felt 100% comfortable living next door. They obviously never harmed any of the children but one of them jumped the fence a couple of times to get into our inflatable pool, it was actually pretty funny but still it didn't take much for him to jump the fence.

 

Couldn't imagine having a potential risk in the household though.

 

 

Maybe I'm the naive one here, but I'm having a hard time drawing a comparison with a pit bull and a dog from a different breed not prone to agression, and a dog from that breed having an isolated incident. Maybe I need to reconsider.

[Down Goes Frazia]

I've got to guess that he's already going to think twice about getting in any dog's face after that incident so you might be halfway there already.

 

the child is TWO.

[Perchoutofwater]

Keep the dog. My dog actually knipped my kid on the lip when she got up in his face. He is a great dog, but doesn't like people up in his face, unless he initiates it. My daughter thankfully was unharmed, and has since learned no to grab him by the shoulders and try to kiss him.

[Yukon Cornelius]

youre dog realizes that he is moving down the totem poll of the pack.. he doesnt like it.. male dogs are the hardest to get to realize they are last on the list.... he may never realize it... never get a male dog agian if u have kids.... or want them in the house.. youre dog is a hunting dog and has been breed for that.. the pack mentality is going to be strong in him unless u can, buy some miracle ,make him realize youre son is higher in the in the pecking order you may need to move him out...

 

i have 2 labs, female, they know were they stand.

[Hugh 0ne]

Thanks to EVERYONE for their responses so far, I really appreciate the input. This is why the huddle rocks. I knew I could come here and get solid thoughts, comments, and opinions.

 

For Godssakes, I even understood what Yukon was trying to say.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Hugh 0ne

[detlef]

the child is TWO.

So what's your point? A dog growling and snapping likely triggers some pretty basic instincts that even a two year old can comprehend. Most of the dangers infants and toddlers face are not so obvious like little plastic plates on the wall with little holes to stick things in.

 

Note I didn't say he's out of the woods, I just said that the kid was probably not altogether pleased with what happened and likely on his way to understanding.

[The Holy Roller]

We a have a lab and a weim (he's about 2 yrs old) and a three year old grandson who lives next door. We got our weim from a breeder when the original buyer backed out and they couldn't get rid of him. When the wife brought him home he was the most psycho, timid, embarrassed dog I've ever owned. Hid under the kitchen table whenever anyone came in the door. But the first time my grandson came in the house this dog went right up to him, waggin' his stub like a fan. They are inseperable whenever they're in the yard or house. And the boy climbs on this dog like a playground toy. Pulls ears, kisses his face, pokes him in the ribs, etc. The dog loves him. How or why this happened I don't know. But because he is so good to the boy I love JoJo as much as my lab Charlie Brown.

 

But if he ever did anything that I thought was threatening to the boy I would have to take some action to let the dog understand that he must never, ever hurt my grandson. I like Chief Dick's advice the most. I understand the love for your dog and you want to give him a chance. Is it worth the risk?

[Dutch Oven]

My kid... dog is dead.

 

I hope you didn't think this through before responding. While I agree that Hugh may to get rid of the pup, it would be an absolute waste to put it down. There a tons and tons of people out there like Twiley's dad that take in Weimies just like this one.

[billay]

I have to echo the sentiments that the dog may need to go. You will never be able to totally seperate your son and your dog. My son is 4 and, trust me, he is only going to show more interest in the dog. We have a mutt and an Aussie and he loves to play with both, and rough. We have taught him since he was old enough to walk that he's got to be respectful of what a dog can do, but a 2 yo can only comprehend so much. With young children, the onus is on the dog to comprehend the nature of the relationship, not the child, and it sounds as though your dog doesn't get it. Sadly, breed plays a large role in the problem. Unfortunately, as I understand it, Weimeraners are wound pretty tight and some neurosis is par for the course. You can try to train your child and the dog but you will NEVER be able to eliminate the possibility that the child is going to rub the dog the wrong way. If your dog is demonstrating this behavior in innocent circumstances, you can bet there is worse to be feared.

Edited December 7, 2006 by billay

[Grits and Shins]

When we had our first child I had 2 big dogs. A lab/shepherd cross and a retriever/shepherd cross. The lab/shepherd (Buster) was 100+ pounds. We had 2 concerns: 1) that Buster would inadvertently hurt the child simply because he was big and clumsy and in his excitement he could knock my daughter over 2) Buster was getting old and ornery, especially about his tail ... so we had some concern that he might bite.

 

I don't think we ever really considered getting rid of either dog, but we did make some changes. The dogs were house dogs and had to become outside dogs. This in of itself reduced their exposure to my child fairly significantly. In addition it also meant that my daughter's (and later my son's) interaction with my dogs was almost always supervised.

 

One thing is for sure, no matter how much I loved either of my dogs (and I loved them alot) the health and welfare of my children is always first. If I thought for a second that one of my dogs was a danger to my kids then I would not hesitate to get rid of that dog even if it meant putting the dog down (as much as that would pain me).

 

You know your dog best and can best assess the level of danger he poses to the kids as well as the level of aggressiveness your dog is liable to exhibit. You may believe that your dog is fairly passive and was only and will only ever give warning ... but in my mind if there is even the slightest chance that the dog will harm one of your children you need to either remove the dog or keep him isolated from your children.

[chiefjay]

Maybe I'm the naive one here, but I'm having a hard time drawing a comparison with a pit bull and a dog from a different breed not prone to agression, and a dog from that breed having an isolated incident. Maybe I need to reconsider.

 

Good point as I know little about Weinies or whatever it's called. The fact that he reacted that way would scare me into considering what you are considering.

 

Wasn't necessarily trying to compare Pits to your dog but rather just a somewhat similar situation.

[Savage Beatings]

Well here's the deal... something has to change (obviously) but since your dog is a loved member of your family, I would spend some money on a 1 to 1 trainer before I would put him down. I have a friend here in the Twin Cities who is very good at this. She spends hours with the dog evaluating what the problems are, and then training the dog (and the owners) in the hopes of making everyone's lives better.

 

It would be an investement, and it might not even work, but at least its a chance that you could give your dog instead of just going right to euthanasia.

 

Ultimately though, I agree with the sentiment that you can't raise your vulnerable and dependent children in an unsafe environment.

[whoopazz]

Good point as I know little about Weinies or whatever it's called. The fact that he reacted that way would scare me into considering what you are considering.

 

Wasn't necessarily trying to compare Pits to your dog but rather just a somewhat similar situation.

 

My concern is that its a Weini and they are so big and powerful. One snap could do some serious damage. If it were a smaller dog you could probably work this out. I would look for a more suitable home for him. That is, no kids. But I would try really hard to find a home before having him put down. JMHO

[skylive5]

I hope you didn't think this through before responding. While I agree that Hugh may to get rid of the pup, it would be an absolute waste to put it down. There a tons and tons of people out there like Twiley's dad that take in Weimies just like this one.

 

 

That was why I recommended he take the advice twiley gave him.

 

I don't expect Hugh to have the reaction I had. Everyone is different in their views. My statement was from fact... it happened... that was why I said it the way I did. He asked for points of view and recommendations... I gave mine.

 

However.... I say again.... I DID recommend taking twiley's advice. I didn't tell him to put the dog down...I told him what I did.

 

 

*Special note: I never say anything I don't think through.