My wife recently birthed our new baby daughter. She is absolutely beautiful. This is our second, our first being our two-year-old son. To help with the first couple weeks of the new baby (and because it's Christmas), my mother-in-law and a couple brothers-in-law, young enough to still be living at their mother's, have been staying with us.
I was fine with this until my wife told me they would be bringing their dog with them. They just got this dog a couple weeks ago from a friend who didn't want it anymore because it had tried to snap at them a few times unprovoked and had a history of tearing up property. The dog has a rough past apparently with an abusive owner at some point. Anyway, I told my wife flat out I did not want that dog in our house. I told her they could keep it outside in the cold if the want (we have a fenced yard) or take it to the kennel, but I didn't want to have to be worrying about a dog with my two-year-old or newborn girl.
Stupid me, I let her talk me into letting the dog stay in the house ("it's really cold out; if the dog does something you don't like we can have it removed then; Mom says she'll keep an eye on it; etc. etc."). I didn't like the idea at all, let my wife know that, but wasn't quite ready to start a fight with my in-laws over it; after all, it's Christmas and they were coming to help us out.
Well, the first few days went fine. Besides the dog having the nastiest smelling farts the world has known, it basically just laid around and didn't bother anyone or tear anything up. Suffice to say, my apprehension subsided after the first couple days. He did poop in our kitchen a few times, but the in-laws cleaned that up and all was well... at least I thought.
Yesterday we were sitting down watching a movie and my son was playing with Legos on the floor. The dog was next to him. All of a sudden the dog decided to snap at his face for no reason at all. Luckily, my brother-in-law was right next to him and grabbed the dog. At first I thought maybe the dog had just snapped but not bit my son. My son just sat there stunned (as he does at first when he gets hurt) then started the scream.
He turned to us and that's when I noticed his lip was all bloody and cheek was scratched up. Well, as soon as I saw this, the dog took a sailing across our back yard. I was ready to beat the dog to death but my wife had chased me out the back door and convinced me not to. My mother-in-law drove the dog back to their home last night (they live multiple hours away). I hope they put the dog down or at least get rid of it. We won't be visiting their house if they still have that dog.
We got lucky in that when the dog bit, it didn't get my son very badly and my brother-in-law was there to pull him off quickly. He has a busted up lip and his face is scratched up on one side but he'll be fine. I'm telling this to make both a comment and get opinions.
First, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. I knew I didn't want that dog in my house but let others talk me out of my concerns.
Second, defending your family from harm is much more than defending them from other people. We've got to consciously consider the risk-reward tradeoffs of the environments we place our families in.
Third, until this event, I hadn't really known how defensive I was of my son. If we didn't live in the city, I truly feel I would have taken that dog out back and shot it on the spot.
Finally, what would you have done in such a scenario? Remember, emotions are reeling at the time. Do you think you would have beat the dog? Yelled at your in-laws? Yelled at your wife? Killed the dog? Once you think of what you WOULD have done, then tell me what you think SHOULD have been done.
I was fine with this until my wife told me they would be bringing their dog with them. They just got this dog a couple weeks ago from a friend who didn't want it anymore because it had tried to snap at them a few times unprovoked and had a history of tearing up property. The dog has a rough past apparently with an abusive owner at some point. Anyway, I told my wife flat out I did not want that dog in our house. I told her they could keep it outside in the cold if the want (we have a fenced yard) or take it to the kennel, but I didn't want to have to be worrying about a dog with my two-year-old or newborn girl.
Stupid me, I let her talk me into letting the dog stay in the house ("it's really cold out; if the dog does something you don't like we can have it removed then; Mom says she'll keep an eye on it; etc. etc."). I didn't like the idea at all, let my wife know that, but wasn't quite ready to start a fight with my in-laws over it; after all, it's Christmas and they were coming to help us out.
Well, the first few days went fine. Besides the dog having the nastiest smelling farts the world has known, it basically just laid around and didn't bother anyone or tear anything up. Suffice to say, my apprehension subsided after the first couple days. He did poop in our kitchen a few times, but the in-laws cleaned that up and all was well... at least I thought.
Yesterday we were sitting down watching a movie and my son was playing with Legos on the floor. The dog was next to him. All of a sudden the dog decided to snap at his face for no reason at all. Luckily, my brother-in-law was right next to him and grabbed the dog. At first I thought maybe the dog had just snapped but not bit my son. My son just sat there stunned (as he does at first when he gets hurt) then started the scream.
He turned to us and that's when I noticed his lip was all bloody and cheek was scratched up. Well, as soon as I saw this, the dog took a sailing across our back yard. I was ready to beat the dog to death but my wife had chased me out the back door and convinced me not to. My mother-in-law drove the dog back to their home last night (they live multiple hours away). I hope they put the dog down or at least get rid of it. We won't be visiting their house if they still have that dog.
We got lucky in that when the dog bit, it didn't get my son very badly and my brother-in-law was there to pull him off quickly. He has a busted up lip and his face is scratched up on one side but he'll be fine. I'm telling this to make both a comment and get opinions.
First, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. I knew I didn't want that dog in my house but let others talk me out of my concerns.
Second, defending your family from harm is much more than defending them from other people. We've got to consciously consider the risk-reward tradeoffs of the environments we place our families in.
Third, until this event, I hadn't really known how defensive I was of my son. If we didn't live in the city, I truly feel I would have taken that dog out back and shot it on the spot.
Finally, what would you have done in such a scenario? Remember, emotions are reeling at the time. Do you think you would have beat the dog? Yelled at your in-laws? Yelled at your wife? Killed the dog? Once you think of what you WOULD have done, then tell me what you think SHOULD have been done.
all for a brighter future.
