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Choice Of Breed For A Six Year Old


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My god what on earth was he thinking? Stupid question - he wasnt even thinking at all. What a great combo for any breed - submissive mother and 6 year old kiddy. Guess who the alpha is going to be.

Do they even know how to feed a growing pup of that size?

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Hmm well since it looks like the dog is stuck with them, there might be a few things you can do to make the situation slightly better. If they can implement a bit of 'NILIF' - always make the dog sit and wait for food, ignore the dog sometimes when it comes asking for attention etc they might have a more manageable dog.

It's such a sad story in that this woman has no confidence despite not even being with her husband anymore to have any say :thumbsup:

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Thanks - yes I will suggest that to my sister. They have definitely decided to keep going at this point, and at least my sister is doing what she can to improve the situation by offering the dog some training.

I agree it is a pretty sad story.

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I would not be letting a large dominant breed puppy sleep on the childs bed. He may not seem all that dominant now but just wait until he gets older and has been raised(unintentional or not) to think he owns the place. He needs to know his place now(and that is definitely not on the beds or furniture), by the time he starts to reach maturity, they will have issues. and Prevention is better than cure especially when the "trainer" is a 6 year old child. I can not stress enough how important it is for a bullmastiff to have boundaries and a strong pack leader.

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I would not be letting a large dominant breed puppy sleep on the childs bed. He may not seem all that dominant now but just wait until he gets older and has been raised(unintentional or not) to think he owns the place. He needs to know his place now(and that is definitely not on the beds or furniture), by the time he starts to reach maturity, they will have issues. and Prevention is better than cure especially when the "trainer" is a 6 year old child. I can not stress enough how important it is for a bullmastiff to have boundaries and a strong pack leader.

I wouldn't be letting a breed that will grow to 60kg + sleep on the bed now matter how good natured it was!

This whole situation is a disaster waiting to happen - particularly for the dog. :thumbsup:

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If the mother doesn't want the dog it should be returned - regardless of breed.

Who will pay for the basic living costs associated with the dog? Vet care and food are not cheap for large breeds. Can they afford it? Or will the dog end up being resented because they "don't have time for it" "cant walk/train/handle/afford it" or "never wanted it anyway". Has the father considered this?

Dogs are for adults willing to put in the work, not children as far as I'm concerned.

Not quite...Dogs are for children with adults willing to put in the work!!!

I've seen this scenario before, many years ago. Poor pooch ends up being surrendered with massive issues.

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Hmm well since it looks like the dog is stuck with them, there might be a few things you can do to make the situation slightly better. If they can implement a bit of 'NILIF' - always make the dog sit and wait for food, ignore the dog sometimes when it comes asking for attention etc they might have a more manageable dog.

It's such a sad story in that this woman has no confidence despite not even being with her husband anymore to have any say :thumbsup:

Okay so Mum has made the decision that she can't rehome or return the dog. Mum has got ALOT of learning coming her way. Hope she has enrolled herself in puppy school and follows through beyond the standard 4 weeks or so!

Perhaps she'll be surprised at what she can achieve. Yeah, yeah I'm usually hopeful.

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sounds to me like maybe dad knew it would need to be returned, and if he is not living there, he is now not the bad guy, mum is for making he dog go back, he was the good guy for buying it - may not be the case & I hope I am not right, but certainly sounds like some custody game playing here, have seen this in my own family with an uncle when his marriage broke up, and also closer to home with my ex BIL

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Hmm well since it looks like the dog is stuck with them, there might be a few things you can do to make the situation slightly better. If they can implement a bit of 'NILIF' - always make the dog sit and wait for food, ignore the dog sometimes when it comes asking for attention etc they might have a more manageable dog.

It's such a sad story in that this woman has no confidence despite not even being with her husband anymore to have any say :laugh:

Okay so Mum has made the decision that she can't rehome or return the dog. Mum has got ALOT of learning coming her way. Hope she has enrolled herself in puppy school and follows through beyond the standard 4 weeks or so!

Perhaps she'll be surprised at what she can achieve. Yeah, yeah I'm usually hopeful.

I agree with both of these.

If she is not prepared to give it back, I think there needs to be a lot of encouraging of the mum that she can make the situation work.

Get your sister to try and convince her that the BM will be the most amazing dog, if she can get it trained.

I'd suggest a private trainer to visit at home would be the way to go rather than relying on attending obedience classes that are all too easily skipped.

AND tell her to get on DOL. :hug:

Like Jacqui835 says, the NILIF and re-inforcing pack structure should be a big help.

You never know, once she gets over the shock of getting the dog, it might work out really well.

I would think that a BM could be a great dog for a single mum and kid, once the mum embraces dog ownership (and gets the dog off the bed!! :) ).

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