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Newfoundland Discussions / What'd we do wrong?!!
« on: August 28, 2006, 10:20:17 am »
Hi all,
   I need some input here as to what went wrong with our Newfie, Solomon. Briefly, we got him when he was 3 months old and loved the heck out of him. He was an indoor dog and I'm a stay-at-home mom of 4 small children so we were always around and he got lots of attention. We took him to puppy obedience class which he did very well in and was daily exercised. He came to as many places as possible with us and my 6, 5, and 2yr. olds all were a part of training him. They all had him trained with both hand signals and verbal. The kids just adored him and he seemed to adore them right back. Actually, Solomon adored me over everyone else, truly dedicated to me. Three weeks ago I heard a terrible sound from the kitchen, an agressive, rip into someone sound that just made me sick to my stomach, then my 5yr. old started crying. I ran in and she said, "He bit me mommy!" I just couldn't believe it. He bit her on her stomach and broke the skin. This was NOT just puppy mouthing (he was 8mnths. at the time)is was an aggressive attack. I asked her what happened and she said he was standing in the kitchen and she went to hug him around his back, coming from behind and he just freaked out. She said she didn't pick her legs up and put her full body weight on him nor did she pull his hair or hit him or anything else. My three older kids are girls and were never aggressive with him, ever, so I can't imagine she was lying. I noticed a few weeks before the incident that he would growl on occasion when one of the kids would go to pet him and he would also try to get in between me and the kids if I was on the floor hugging them or playing, almost like he was jealous.
   I know this is long but we are heartbroken. We gave him back to the breeder because I just could not trust him anymore. We are so sad. I researched this breed and thought I had found the perfect breed for our large family. I thought they were good with kids. He was perfect in every way but then he just sort of snapped. What went wrong? I guess I want to know if you all think we as a family were just too much for him or for any other dog, 4 small children. We really worked with Solomon and the kids on respect, respecting his space, being gentle etc... He was not sick or in pain, I had the vet check him after it happened thinking maybe his hips were sore but he was totally fine.Â
   I would really like to get another dog, especially a Newf but am really scared. Is it because he was a boy? He was going to be neutered at 10mnths. Are female Newfs less possessive? Should we wait to get another dog when our youngest is 6yrs. old, 10yrs. old? Was this just bad luck with a Newf? I really wanted a family dog to grow with the kids but am so disheartened after this.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Katie
   I need some input here as to what went wrong with our Newfie, Solomon. Briefly, we got him when he was 3 months old and loved the heck out of him. He was an indoor dog and I'm a stay-at-home mom of 4 small children so we were always around and he got lots of attention. We took him to puppy obedience class which he did very well in and was daily exercised. He came to as many places as possible with us and my 6, 5, and 2yr. olds all were a part of training him. They all had him trained with both hand signals and verbal. The kids just adored him and he seemed to adore them right back. Actually, Solomon adored me over everyone else, truly dedicated to me. Three weeks ago I heard a terrible sound from the kitchen, an agressive, rip into someone sound that just made me sick to my stomach, then my 5yr. old started crying. I ran in and she said, "He bit me mommy!" I just couldn't believe it. He bit her on her stomach and broke the skin. This was NOT just puppy mouthing (he was 8mnths. at the time)is was an aggressive attack. I asked her what happened and she said he was standing in the kitchen and she went to hug him around his back, coming from behind and he just freaked out. She said she didn't pick her legs up and put her full body weight on him nor did she pull his hair or hit him or anything else. My three older kids are girls and were never aggressive with him, ever, so I can't imagine she was lying. I noticed a few weeks before the incident that he would growl on occasion when one of the kids would go to pet him and he would also try to get in between me and the kids if I was on the floor hugging them or playing, almost like he was jealous.
   I know this is long but we are heartbroken. We gave him back to the breeder because I just could not trust him anymore. We are so sad. I researched this breed and thought I had found the perfect breed for our large family. I thought they were good with kids. He was perfect in every way but then he just sort of snapped. What went wrong? I guess I want to know if you all think we as a family were just too much for him or for any other dog, 4 small children. We really worked with Solomon and the kids on respect, respecting his space, being gentle etc... He was not sick or in pain, I had the vet check him after it happened thinking maybe his hips were sore but he was totally fine.Â
   I would really like to get another dog, especially a Newf but am really scared. Is it because he was a boy? He was going to be neutered at 10mnths. Are female Newfs less possessive? Should we wait to get another dog when our youngest is 6yrs. old, 10yrs. old? Was this just bad luck with a Newf? I really wanted a family dog to grow with the kids but am so disheartened after this.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Katie