what happens when?

[Megan Stewart]

i need alot of opinions>>>>>>
the other day i was playing with my dog and it bit me... but not really bad but it still hurt..now my dad wants to shoot it,but he won't kill it he was just going to shoot around him but i don't even think that is right!!!! what do i do???? :confused: :confused: :( please,,, i need any opinions!!!!

[jennifert]

Shoot around him? What does that mean? Like intentionally miss him to scare him? That's strange...The dog will not know why you dad is shooting at him. Why did the dog bite you? Did he "attack" you or just nip you a little too hard while playing?
I don't even know what to say to this...Does he shoot "around" you and your brothers and sisters or your friends and family when they do something they shouldn't do? It sounds illegal and terrifying that he would think of that.

[Karen]

I would absolutely not let him do that. Even if he's not planning on hitting him, the noise of the gun could startle the dog into the path of the bullet.

If the dog is normally ahppy and healthy, has gotten rabies shots, etc., I would try to fihure out what happened that made him bite, and try to correct that behavior. What your Dad is suggesting can have NO positive effect, and could have significant adverse effects.

[mugsy]

I would have your dad read the results of your impromptu poll. I can not abide by ANYONE shooting a dog, for ANY reason. I echo the question, what kind of bite was it? That makes a huge difference. I would say that you have definitely hit a nerve with me, so I have a hard time being objective. Also, I think that shooting at it puts it into a defensive stance and then what might the dog do. I know that if I were shot at I would try to protect myself by just about any means necessary.

[slleipnir]

My dog 'bites' sometimes, but she never means it to be harmful, shes only playing and usually only mouths me (like put her mouth over my arm or hand but no force to it) sometimes she gets excited and bites hard, and it hurts! but then she puts that "i'm sorry :[" face..i know she doesn't mean it. I most DEFINITLY wouldnt let your dad shoot or whatever, the dog probably just didn't do and and all of a sudden shooting at it would only confuse and scare your dog, and wouldn't be fair to it. I would find something else to do. A trainer told me once, when the dog bites, take your thumb and push down on it's tounge and it should stop it from doing it

[Dixieland Dancer]

This has my blood boiling. :mad: Shooting around a dog when the poor animal will have NO IDEA WHY! :mad: Plain and simple I call this ABUSE! :mad:

Why did the dog bite? What was the circumstance? Was skin broken? This is a behavior that can be corrected if the dog is in a situation where the owners are willing to determine what is going on. I agree with an earlier comment Mugsy made, would your dad shoot around you if you did something wrong? :mad:

If I saw him doing this I would call the authorities for animal abuse and have the dog removed from the environment. :mad:

Sorry to be so strong but I don't understand the logic behind someone doing this!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[AdoreMyDogs]

You wanted opinions and so I'll give you mine. If you love that dog, and your father is truly planning on such abuse, you should do what is best for that dog and start looking for another home for him/her. That is not only inexcusable, but it's downright disgusting that someone would do that to an animal. If your father is planning on doing that, it does show that he knows little enough about the proper treatment of animals and he should not have an animal in his care until he learns more about it.

Do you love your dog enough to "set it free" into another home where it will be treated the way it deserves by owners who love and cherish it, and who would never, ever let such a thing happen to it? Maybe you should think about that, hard as it may be.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Okay, now that I've had some time to Cool off from my first response (I tend to be a very emotional person) I will give you a more rational opinion.

First, dogs do not know how to associate I did this a couple of days ago and now comes the punishment theory. Actually they can't even associate what they did 5 minutes ago to what is happening now. When a dog is corrected it has to be immediate. Whatever the dog is doing at the time the correction comes is what they believe was the wanted or unwanted response. It has to immediate, not even one minute later!

What your father thinks he may be accomplishing by this barbarian behavior is totally wrong. The dog will not understand it is because he bit you.

Was it a bite or a nip? Did the pup get carried away with play? Are we talking about a puppy or a full grown dog? Is this a continued problem or a one time situation?

Since none of us really knows the entire situation here is my advice:

You need to determine if the dog is in serious harms way from your father. You know in your heart by now that this is not a normal response to the situation on your fathers part. Is he really going to carry through with this? If you determine any harm can come to the pup then you need to get it out of the situation as fast as possible. If you can't find a home immediately then take the pup to your closest NO KILL shelter. While this is not the best alternative, it is better than letting the dog be shot at. Can you get help from someone else in the family? Maybe mom can help you find a place for pup to go?

I know how hard it will be for you to give up your dog if you are anything like the rest of us here on Pet Talk. Sometimes though you show how much you love the dog by giving it up to someone who can take better care of it and give it a better environment where it will be protected. Your heart will break but your reward will be knowing the pup is safe and out of harms way!

Hopefully your dad is a resonable man and will understand the dog will not understand why he is shooting at it. If you think your dad can come to terms in a reasonable manner with what happened and be willing to work on correcting the behavior positively then we can offer advice on behavior modification. I would also strongly recommend obedience classes! This is only if the pup is not in harms way now and in the future. You know in your heart if things can improve or not for pup. Make the necessary decisions now while there is still hopefully time.

[carrie]

Dixieland Dancer - go with the first response!!!!!

Totally abusive and if you feel anything for your dog get it out of a home where this is seen as a useful method of discipline!
This situation can only escalate....dog becomes frightened of gun, noise, father and reacts in a fearful way...leads to more agression and possibly more bites.
Stop it now!

[Albea]

Megan:
You wanted lots of opinions and you got them.
I agree with everybody. If you think there is the slightest possibility that your father will shoot at or "around" the dog (whatever that means) PLEASE,PLEASE try to find a good home for him/her. If it doesn't happen now, there may be some other time when your father doesn't like something that the dog does and the results could be much worse.
I would also like to know the circumstances. How were you playing with the pup and what made him react in such way. Agressive behavior can be corrected, but not if you encourage it when you play with the dog.
Please let us know how this very sad story develops and ends. :(

[Dixie Belle]

Megan,
It's called a phone. Use it every now and then.
We are having the same problem with Prince. We finally figured out why he was biting. Mostly, it was just play, but every now and then he was getting scared with Jeremy and just biting out of fear.
I know your dog, and I don't know why she would bite, unless it was because you had the smell of food on your hand. Sit down and think about what ya'll were doing. Were you playing rough? She could have just been playing and bit a little too hard.
Just keep fooling with her and see if she does it again. And for safety, keep Mary Hannah away from her for a while. Knowing the temperment of your dog, I don't think she was really trying to hurt you.

[lizbud]

Dixie Belle,
Could you explain the Fathers reaction
to this incident? Don't want you to reveal
anything of a personal nature, but where is
this man's head anyway? Thanks.

[K9karen]

YIKES!
Oh Dixie Belle! You need to stick your nose in their business and intercede! :eek:

[jennifert]

I was the first one to respond to this and I did because I was scared about what the reaction of the group including the father of this young girl were going to behave! I'm terrified for this puppy and for this child... I agree, Dixie Belle, if you know this girl and her dog, do something!!!! This is clearly abuse. I just can't comprehend the whole situation!! It's absurd! I tried to "tone down" my reponse but now that I know othera are as appalled as I was, I'm upset. Let's stop this and help this child!!

[Sudilar]

The dog must be removed from this dangerous environment. It's life is being threatened. Get help.

[Dixie Belle]

OKAY!!! Everyone please calm down!! If I know Megan's dad, he is just playing with Megan. Besides that, her mom wouldn't let him do that. More than likely he is just joking to get a rise out of Megan. And like the good girl that she is, she is falling for it. See, out were we live, people believe that dogs are dogs and they will do stuff like that from time to time. I know that it sounds awful, and I agree that it can be. For example, we have a little begal that got run over in our driveway, we called the owners, who never showed up, because it is just hunting dog, so we had to despose of the little thing.

I don't really think that Megan's dad is this sort of person. They have had a dog cruelly killed before, and I can't see him doing anything like this to theirs.

I know that all of you are freaking out about what I have been telling you, but unfortunaly, that's life in the country. In honesty, most of the purebreed dogs here are used for hunting, and in worst cases are even fought. Most are not loved, or even properly fed and taken care of. I know of two purebreeds here that are. My Dixie Belle, and my next door neighbors German Shephard, Sable. If you are a mutt, it's even worse. And no, calling the law doesn't help, and we have no real animal control, unless you live inside of city limits, which we don't.

Megan, honey, I really don't think you have much to worry about. You have a good dog, and she does her job well. I do not see you dad doing anything to her.

[Albea]

If Megan's father was just "joking," God save other children fron a parent with such a sense of humor. :mad:

[lizbud]

Dixie Belle,
Thanks for the explaning the situation a
little bit; but "playing around" with a
child's mind like that is sick.Most young
children take things said by an adult
literally and believe it absolutely.
I've lived around country folk all my
life and know what you mean by the "dog is
a dog" attitude.Hopefully all children
nowadays can learn a newer & better way
to treat all animals. This world is a cruel
place sometimes but we can still try to
teach children that there are better ways
of dealing with problems.

[sasvermont]

Here's my take on this topic:

Many rural communities have quite different opinions about how animals should and could be treated. I have a neighbor who shoots pigeons off his barn room on Sundays - with a pistol. I have another neighbor who shots his dogs and cats rather than put them down with a Vet injection etc. like the rest of us do. They take dead cows and toss them in the woods to decompose. I would send them to a retirement community, if I could. It is a cultural thing and they consider dogs, cats etc. part of the food chain. Some of the old time farmers are from the old school where a pet is just another face to feed - and if necessary, they will make the face disappear as cheaply and easily as possible. Guns often solve lots of problems with animal control in rural areas. (And urban areas too, unfortunately)... I, on the other hand, if necessary, catch the stray cats and dogs and have them altered and spayed etc. and have them given shots...I often give out the name of the rescue association that offers this service for free, to farmers and poor folks. I use them for the stays, not my pets, so that they will not be using up precious time with me, when I can afford a "boutique" style service where they send get well cards etc.....

I trust Megan's Dad was kidding and some time to a rural area, kidding can take on a different tone. I also trust that the dog and child are not in harm's way.

But nothing would surprise me knowing what I know about some folks ideas of what is funny and what is not. I hope someone knows this child and pet and Dad...and we are all just spinning our wheels! Ugh.

[yorkster]

If this dog bite was something other than a playful thing, then maybe the reason it happened was because of the way it's treated. Finding humor in 'shooting at, or around' a dog, shows someone who is going to mistreat an animal. :mad:

If Megan was concerned enough to bring up the subject, then there must be some reasonable concern.

I am trying to take into account that it is a rural area, and people and their attitudes are different, so maybe I am really wrong in my feeling about it. I have never lived in an area where that was the common attitude.

However, I don't think it makes it 'okay' that people treat animals that way.
And if so....it's time to try and change that, yes???

[mugsy]

Personally, I don't find anything humorous about playing with ANYONE'S mind with that kind of "joke". I agree with the earlier posts that God help our young people with parents that "joke" with them in such an assinine way. Gee and I wonder why some of my students are so screwed up...I think I just got my explanation.

We have the same (in my opinion) stupid mentality here in Indiana too in the (mostly) rural life, that animals are disposable. Our vet (who is a farm vet) told me the other day that many farmers here in Indiana neuter their male dogs themselves with a knife.

I hope to God that we can educate our young people on how to humanely treat our 4 legged friends, so that this kind of thinking will become as obsolete as the Model T.

Ok, I'm done venting now. Thanks for listening and I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but this is my opinion and that's all.

[Stenograsaurus]

Originally posted by Albea:
<STRONG>If Megan's father was just "joking," God save other children fron a parent with such a sense of humor. :mad:</STRONG>

I loved your response to this!!!! This kind of "playing with a child's mind" is called mental abuse!!!!

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Stenograsaurus ]

[Dixieland Dancer]

I don't care if the dog is a Country dog, City dog, or any other kind of dog! This is abuse!!!! I was raised with hunting beagles that were just hunting dogs that had a job to do but they still were never abused with neglect or satire humor.

I believe if you can't respect the life and dignity of any living being then you have a problem, plain and simple. Most people who abuse animals are capable of being people abusers too.

Why would a dad who loves his daughter play sick mind games such as this? :confused: I am glad that my father never showed me this kind of sick affection. I hope everyone can do the right thing here and everyone comes out okay.

[RachelJ]

I think we have accomplished what was needed here and that was to validate Megan's original take on the situation. No, Megan, we don't think that was right either. We think it was an upsetting thing to say and to consider. Please take care.

[yorkster]

That's good Spencer.......think I will print it up. :)

[ilovehounds]

You would not believe how many times I have heard "If you don't take it, Im going to shoot it" thats how I got many animals ranging from pigs to ducks to dogs to bunnies. We live in the "boonies" as I call it where this to many people is normal. NOT NORMAL FOR ME but many people here.

I just hope this was in "joking" even though its NOT funny at all.

[zippy-kat]

I've been keeping up with this post but haven't replied. The others have voiced my thoughts: joke or not, it wasn't funny. I agree with Rachel though, we've accomplished what was needed and asked of us. Maybe now, we should step back and wait for Megan's reply.


Megan, please reply soon and let us know you and the pup are alright. Many of us are anxiously waiting to hear something...