Can Anyone Help

[tbpss]

I have run into a huge problem and was hoping for some advise or direction. I have a senior boxer. My husband and I adopted a male boxer from the humane society of indianapolis 3 yrs ago. We have recently had a baby which changes the whole house struture. We have two issues one being our senior dog is not doing well with the baby. Prince (our boxer) is just not adjusting. The baby makes him nervous and jumpy. I am afraid of what will happen next. Number two issue, hives. Blake (my son) is unable to touch or be with out clothing on the floor because of allergies to the dogs. I called our local rescue and their advise was to take him back to the humane society. I am very scared to do this due to the fact that he is getting older, has been there before, and is a very timid dog. I feel like for the good of the household and for my child I need to make efforts to find a better situation for Prince. We live in a very small house with virtually no yard. Any ideas?

 

[boxer]

I am very scared to do this due to the fact that he is getting older, has been there before, and is a very timid dog. I feel like for the good of the household and for my child I need to make efforts to find a better situation for Prince.

Well, you should be scared to do that - you have to *know* that it would almost certainly amount to a death sentence for Prince. The fact of the matter is that seniors are not the most adoptable dogs around.

Yes, you have a responsibility toward your child, but you also have one toward your dog. The dog you adopted into a "forever" home :mad:

There are lots of things YOU can be doing to deal with your dog's timidness around people and around your baby - and it's your responsibility to do so. There is a 'boxers and children' forums here, as well as ones for training and behavioural issues. That should be your first stop before you even think of giving up on the dog.

As for the allergy issues - have you thought of hardwood flooring? And what about the second dog - isn't he an allergy 'problem' too?

 

[magoo's_mama]

Sorry to hear your boxer is having a hard time adjusting. As a mom to a boxer and a newborn myself I don't know where all my time goes, I know how hard it can be to fit in the time to work on your boxer's issues, but it really will be worth it if you can help to get Prince adjusted and it is possible. I looked at your previous posts and it's obvious you care alot about him. I really hope you can help him work through it, he will be best buddies with your baby as the baby gets older.
If it's impossible for you please contact another rescue and offer to keep prince till they can find a new home for home so he doens't have to go through more unneccesary transitions. But do not send him to the humane society that would be a death sentence and I know you don't want that for Prince.

A new baby in the house can be a stressful time for everybody good luck with your decision.

 

[rog1006]

I know this is probably really difficult for you, so I'm just going to offer positive advice. What exactly is Prince doing that is making you nervous? Many dogs are a bit uncomfortable with little children at first as they are confused and don't understand the crying, the constant noises, etc. Is he just looking a little scared or is he showing some sort of aggressive behavior? Also, how are you dealing with him and the baby?

For example, I spoke with a lady who was having the same issues with her dog and her newborn baby. When we finally got to the heart of the issue, we realized that SHE was afraid of the dog to be near the baby(because of what family members kept telling her about dogs and babies) , so every time he would approach the baby, she would yell at the dog to get away, or she would run over and pick up the baby and scold the dog. Then she started just putting him outside. Hence, the dog became nervous and uncomfortable around the babyn not to mention he was seeing the baby as competition as he was then BANISHED from the pack. So they called us wanting to re-home him due to the situation they created. The good news is that we convinced them to talk to work with our trainer and they set some clear cut boundaries for everyone in the home to follow. They worked with the dog and needed to re-establish his confidence and they also let him be a part of the pack again.

Did you call the doctor regarding your son's hives? Are you sure it's an allergic reaction to the dogs? Again, I've heard this and 2 of the 3 times it wasn't the dog dander at all.

 

[tbpss]

Prince is starting to snap when Blake comes up next to him. He also does not like to have Blake touch him. Blake is 7m old and just started crawling. The other day Blake was on the floor, crawled to Price (because he does love both of our dogs), went to pat him and I guess Prince felt trapped. He bulldozed Blake leaving a big goose egg. That was not the first time something like that has happened but things are getting progressively worse.

As far as the other dog, Apollo. He doesn't have the problems with Blake as Prince does. As far as allergies, yes we have a problem with Apollo too. I have taken Blake to the doctor. I feel like a thousand times and she really has no answers other than to wait until older to test and have shots. Truefully I am not willing to put Blake through that. We have the same reactions to eggs. So yes I think that it is allergic reactions. I am hopeing along with the eggs that he will grow out of the allergies.

I DO understand a FOREVER home. My heart breaks to even to have to email this or think about having to give up Prince but this is my child. I just can't imagine knowing what I know is going on and happens the day my child gets bit. Then that becomes my fault for not acting. This is my child FOREVER HOME TOO. I adopted my dogs with the notion of waiting to have children for years. That didnt happen. The allergies I can deal with the biting I can not.

I was hoping for some ideas. I will check out the children and dogs section

 

[Claudia807]

I would also recommend checking out the book "Childproofing Your Dog" by Brian Kilcommons. Can you find a behaviorist in your area who could at least come in and evaluate the situation and see if anything can be done.

For the senior dog, in particular, it is a sad situation. Seniors ARE hard to place, no doubt about it. We have several seniors in our rescue and no one ever inquires about them. People want dogs that are so young as to be practically embryonic. Seniors are a hard sell. Add "not good with children" to the profile and you've got a dog that has no chance at all.

 

[kiwilyme]

Sorry for some of the hostile comments your getting! I am sure this is a hard time

We had a senior Boxer Striker that we had since he was 8 wks old.
He was 8+ when our daughter came along followed 2+ years later by her brother we also had/have a female boxer as well Hershey who at that time was 5.
Striker had what I called hot spots on his rear legs. He was the best most trusted dog to be around, unless someone me the kids anyone bumped his hot spots he would growl and snarl and just sounded so mean..Luckily for me he never did bite but on more then one occasion he sure looked like he wanted to. Throw a baby/toddler into the picture and yes you have good reason to be concerned and cautious.
We worked things out by never leaving our curious toddlers unattended with him (Striker) they played with him pet and cuddled too but only with us in the room. If I left the room so did Striker.. Hershey on the other hand was a crazy nervous type boxer she was the one I was expecting to have adjustment issues with when it came to the kids..She absolutely delighted me in becoming the surrogate Mom to the kids and continues to do so till this day. Strikers was PTS nearly 2 yrs ago due to no mobility in his rear legs..
Hopefully your senior will warm to your baby if not keep them separated till she's able to get out of harms way. If things just don't improve and your feeling like something could happen I would by all means contact another Rescue. I recently adopted a senior 11+? . Maybe someone in your family would take him in worth asking ! Give it a bit more time let your baby have monitored time with the dogs this way her curiosity is satisfied and show her by your example how to treat the dogs. Your daughter will bore with the boxers and move along to her toys..

All the best to your family.
Yvette

 

[sinbad'smom]

please dont take him to the humane society it would probably be a death sentence.contact another rescue.just curious does he get along with other dogs?has he ever been around cats? dora

 

[kiwilyme]

Any Idea on how old Prince might be?

I've been thinking of your family. I really hope Prince comes around and chills out around your daughter. What did you do when he snapped at her and how did you handle him when he ran her over? I would have tossed his butt either in the crate or isolated him for both misbahaviors.

Our fairly newly adopted 3yr old Hummer got alot of timeouts for body slamming the kids and jumping up on them he's 85 lbs their 2.5 and 5 not a fair match. Hummer also steals food off the counter as soon as you turn your back. The timeouts worked he's figured out how to play gentle with the kids. but continues to be a sneak!King our new senior is an all around gentlman, I am happy we gave him a chance in our house he has fit in like he's always been here..

 

[rog1006]

I would have tossed his butt either in the crate or isolated him for both misbahaviors.

If he is scared or afraid of your child, I don't see how punishing him would be helpful.

Do you have places in your home where your child can play without the dogs coming over? What about a place in your house where Prince and Apollo can go without being bothered by your baby? If not, you need to do that right away. Create a "safe spot" for the dogs so that when Prince is laying on the blanket in the den (for example), he knows that Blake is NOT allowed to bother him---and vice versa--When Blake is playing on the floor in his bedroom, it's off limits to the dogs. It sounds like Prince got scared when he felt cornered by your son---it's your job to keep that from happening.

Have you tried Allerpet? I have talked to DOZENS of people who have used this successfully on their pets and have been fine ever since. It sounds like you do care for your boys, so at least give every option a try!
http://www.allerpet.com/