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80-pound dog and concerned for safety of my husband and me
We have an 80 lb very powerful dog adopted during the pandemic
I feel that at my age ,70 . it is increasingly difficult to handle him and he recently scratched a passerby walking hi dog. Our pooch wanted to go after the man’s dog and in the process wounded the man.
Animal Control was called ,
the man went to Urgent Care . My husband is 83. We have spent thousands of dollars on dog training
But my husband does not remember what he has learned and he also roughhouses with the dog in a way that is not safe i.e. putting his hands directly into the dogs mouth
I can’t both take care of the dog, take care of my husband and take care of my husband’s interactions with the dog
I know of no other option but to rehome our pet.
My husband has already told me that this will put him in a very bad mood; he says he could become even nastier
My living situation is unsafe. I never know if the dog will try to bolt and pull me with him. Two summers ago he pulled my husband
such force he landed on the ground with 13 stickers next to his left eye
I am enlisting some of his good buddies to reinforce my concerns but he is still adamantly opposed
Any input is helpful. My question is should we keep the dog so that my husband is happier.
Even if we have a walker three times each week they can’t be there at 7 in the morning or 10:30 at night.
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Going to a dog park is a great suggestion. We go to a dog park and there are some visitors to it that do not own dogs but had dogs at one time and enjoy watching the dogs and interacting with them.
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3 ReactionsForty years ago, while waiting for a bus, I saw an older woman walking a large young dog.
As they crossed a street, she went one way, the dog pulled her in another. Long story short: She was knocked down and broke her kneecap. (I can still remember the sound -- a loud, sharp *crack*. Still gives me the shivers.)
She faced a *very* long recovery.
I love dogs, but prevention is better than disaster.
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3 ReactionsPlease take care when at a dog park. I have. a friend attacked by two large dogs , while the dogs were running in the park. My friend ended up with three bones in her leg broken.
Civvy
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1 ReactionCivvy, a little clarification please. Was your friend "attacked" by the dogs or was your friend knocked down by the dogs? When the dogs play, I've seen many of them bump into humans in the park and almost knock the human over but never "attack" a human. Saying she was "attacked" when she was actually bumped into could give people the wrong idea about dog parks.
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1 ReactionGlad to clarify
My friend, who was 60 when this occurred two years ago, was in the dog park with her two Carin pups. They each weigh about 18 lbs
My friend was literally attacked by a very large Doberman, while she was standing with her own dogs . It’s owner wa at the park with 2 Dobermans. My friend collapsed and the woman left the park with both dogs
A man in the park came to the aid of my friend and called an ambulance. She had surgery that day. The cops were called and much effort went into trying to find the woman. Animal Control researched its data base to try to see if they could find animal licenses. The owner of the Dobermans was never found
Sorry for the long response. But you asked a question and I wanted to answer it.
Civvy
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2 ReactionsThank you for clarifying.
The two dog parks I go to have two separate areas, one for small dogs and puppies and the other is for larger dogs.
Is your friend doing better? I’m sorry for her injury by a bad dog owner, an owner who cannot control their dogs:(
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1 ReactionMy friend is fully recovered.
We all take risks every day in various activities. For some, going to the dog park might be so therapeutic that is outweighs any risk. For others, not so. It is a personal choice.
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