a puppy for Xmas>?

[amazeofgrace]

My Mom keeps insisting it's a bad idea and is afraid the dog will freak out or bit difficult child's when they start acting out or fighting with each other?

Any one have a dog and difficult child's that can give me some insite, so I can convince my Mom?

 

[nvts]

AOG! I don't think I'd advise you getting a dog right now. The boys are still acting out and it could result in the dog biting someone. Also, no matter what promises are made, the dog will become your responsibility which means you have to walk it on snowy, sleety, cold, yucky nights. You're also talking vet bills and dog food prices that go up almost daily!

Just my opinion!

Beth

 

[susiestar]

in my humble opinion, with as volatile as your kids are, you would not be doing the dog or yourself any favors. If the dog goes to protect you and bites one of the boys, the dog gets put to sleep. Not always for the first time, but for sure for the second.

If you are not in your own home, then any dog bites to people not in your household will open your parents up to legal action. It would go on their homeowner's policy. They could even be sued.

What if the dog is protecting you or one of the boys from your dad when he is yelling? What if the dog bites HIM?

Also, dogs, even ones from the pound, are EXPENSIVE. Theyg ive back every bit of it in love, sure. I am NOT denying that. And I can see why a warm body to snuggle with who will love you unconditionally is attractive.

But are you financially up to it? Right now you are living with your parents because you cannot afford an apartment for yourself and your son(s). Is adding a dog to your expenses wise?

What about the increased tension with your parents over fleas, housetraining, barking, general training, cleaning up the yard, etc...

That all being said, I hope you can find one you like, who really likes you. And who is gentle enough to not hurt anyone but fierce enough to protect you.

 

[witzend]

I'm with the others. I wouldn't just worry about the puppy hurting your kids, but about the puppy lashing out at whoever is the weakest around him at any given time - neighbor child, cat, mailman... I would also be concerned about one of your difficult child's harming the dog. Maybe next year if they earn it?

 

[amazeofgrace]

thank you I am looking for that quick fix and I know he reality, financial and work wise, is it's a big undertaking. I guess we will have to add a 3rd guinea pig to our brood. They just squeek when the boys act up!

 

[jal]

A puppy is a lot of work. We had a 14 1/2 y.o. Rottweiler that we had to put down in '06. difficult child was 4 at the time and the dog basically lived downstairs (because he could not go up the stairs anymore and could go outside easily). That pretty much kept difficult child away from the dog, although our dog was a gentle as could be and difficult child never lashed out at him. This yr we were offered for free a pure bred Boston Terrier who was 5 months old at the time. My husband who never wanted a small dog jumped at the chance to get her. Luckily, she is a beaut. She dotes on difficult child and when he has a tantrum, she does get scared and runs usually to another room, but as soon as he is quiet she seeks him out and checks him over. We were lucky because you never know the temperment of a dog until they have been with-you for some time. in my opinion Christmas is one of the worst times to get a pet. There is too much going on and everyone is busy, it is just too hectic. Two as others have mentioned you are in someone else's home and if someone gets bit there are major consequences for all involved. I just had a friend whose Rottweiler bit a runner. Luckily, so far he has not sued her and he did require stitches. Also, pet food and vet bills are awfully expensive. Although our dog was free, we still had to pay to have her spayed and it was over $250. Maybe after the first of the year would be a better time to evaluate bringing a dog into the picture. Good luck!

 

[Critter Lover]

Sounds like your children are small so I would say that the burden of responsibility will be with you. Kids normally will start helping with animals.....if you are lucky when they are in their teens. I adopted my dogs for myself so I know they were my responsibility and never pushed them off on to anyone else in the family unless I was not home to let them out and ask a family member to do so. I feed them, I bath them, I vet them, I give them their Heartgard every month for their heartworm prevention, & I give them their Frontline Plus every month for their flea and tick prevention. Having a dog is like having another dependent that you can not claim on your taxes....LOL. I would also suggest when you get to the point that you are going to take on a dog to consider adopting NOT a puppy that you will have to housetrain but do adopt a rescue dog that is already housebroken. It saves a lot of stress on you cleaning and reprimanding a dog when the dog is already house broke and there are plenty of homeless dogs out there than need love. You can find them when they are less than 1 yr old. If your budget is tight then don't try to get a dog because they do get expensive with all the things I mentioned before such as the vet, heartgard, frontline plus and all the toys, bowls, leash, collar and some counties require you to have a pet license for them as well. Also some dogs need groomed periodically and that is another expense.

I can say that my dogs have been good therapy for my son.

 

[Jena]

I'd go with a kitten at this point. FYI, my difficult child tossed our puppy 4 years ago, he was never the same sense, Had to give him to a shelter a year and a half ago it broke my heart. He was a shish tzu, he was my baby. yet ever since she threw him down the stairs, and hit him several times he began biting difficult child and biting and attacking me.

Plus now with all you have going on it'll just stress you.

 

[DDD]

I'm on your team.......but.......I vote with your Mom on this one.
Now does not seem like the right time. Sorry DDD

 

[KTMom91]

I vote...no puppy. You have more than enough going on right now.

 

[totoro]

I started crying when I saw the trailer for "Marley and Me"
I miss my dog Clemey so much still... just typing her name brings tears to my eyes...

But, with our home situation such as it is. K is not able to be in *the moment* with most animals. She does not realize they are not like her stuffed animals. She disassociates from them. Her therapist is working on this.
But to get a dog and fall in love with it... then to see the poor thing suffer from your child's rages or violence is too much.
I want a dog SO bad, so does husband, I am crying now just thinking about this... but it is not fair to K or the pup.

Just something to think about. We initially got a dog for the girls, K just did not bond. She has never bonded with either of the dogs we had.
Just the other day she started choking a dog and grabbing it's muzzle, granted she thought it was taking a smaller dog's treat. But...

 

[susiestar]

Glad it was an "in the moment" thing and you are able to see that it is not reasonable. But is it fair to the guinea pig to add it to your "brood" if the boys are rough with it? Also, is difficult child 1 rough with/mean to animals that YOU care about? If so, then you need to hold off on getting another animal until he is living elsewhere for ANY new pet.

I KNOW you want something to cuddle. I totally get it. But you have to think about what is fair, not just to your parents, and to your kids and yourself, but also to the animal.