My heart is BROKEN!!! Polly Update!

[amylynn]

Hi Everyone!

I just thought I'd update you on Polly. We got her home late Sunday night & our entire family fell in love with her! She was the SWEETEST girl!!! She was quite a bit overwhelmed with all of us when she first arrived. We completely understood that & gave her some space & she began to warm up to all of us really quickly. The breeder didn't get a chance to brush her out before my husband picked her up and she had some mats, so I thought I'd try brushing her...which was not the smartest idea. I thought it would relax her because she was so use to being brushed. She did wonderful. She just sat there and let me brush her and was really sweet. I got to her chest and she bit my hand. It startled me because she didn't growl, or anything like that so there was no warning. I honestly just chalked it up to her being stressed and not trusting me yet, so I let it go. That night, my oldest daughter, who is 12, gave her some hugs and she LOVED her right back. It was really sweet. She leaned into her like she was hugging her back. She did that with me quite a few times as well. Later in the evening, my daughter hugged her again very gently & as she was releasing the hug, Polly growled at her! My daughter was very gentle, so I know it wasn't that she hurt her.

After that, I became a little nervous & continued to make sure that every interaction between our children & Polly was supervised closely. (She was not raised with kids, so I knew that it may take her some time to adjust to them). She was an absolute angel with them. She mother henned them. She would check on each one of them to see what they were doing. If any of the kids were upstairs, she would look all over the house for them & sit at the gate to wait for that child to come downstairs. Once she would see her, Polly would relax because she knew they were all OK.

We took her on a couple of walks & she walked wonderfully on the leash. I let my oldest 3 children walk her & she was extra gentle as they walked her. She was wonderful! That second evening, she growled at my 6 year old. She was just petting her on the head! Later that evening, I was petting her & she was snuggling up to me on the floor. My 4 year old came over to see me & to Pet Polly. She is about the same height as Polly, so they are at eye level. I don't know if that was the reason, or what, but Polly, without warning, bit my daughter and JUST missed her eye! She left blood and it swelled and bruised! We decided that, although she is good with kids, she is very unpredictable with really small children. We are all so heartbroken because we talked to the breeder, who was as upset and shocked as we were. She told us that Polly has NEVER even growled. She couldn't believe that she did that. The breeder took her back and is going to keep her. She adores Polly and I am glad that Polly will be with her. She will get a lot of love with her, too.

My family is just heartbroken. We all adore Polly and to be honest, we are all just devastated. I don't know what we will do now. I have a ton of pictures and am just clueless why I can't get them to show up. I think they need to be smaller. I will keep trying.

My daughter is doing much better. She keeps telling me that Polly loves her and didn't mean to bite her. She said that Polly was worried about her because she kept coming up to her after that. 

Sorry this is so long. I just wanted to update everyone & also to apologize for not posting photos. I wish I wasn't so computer challenged.

[jabear]

OMG! Amy Lnn that is terrible. I am so sorry. I know how much you have wanted another Newfie, and since Howie left you things haven't been the same.  I'm glad that your baby is ok and that your breeder was nice enough to take her back.  Someday the perfect Newf will come to you guys.

Send me your pics and I'll resize them for you and put them here. You have my email. And to all of you who haven't seen the girls and Polly, well- they look so good together.

[BarkleysMum]

Oh Amy Lynn....what a heartbreaking situation.  I can't even imagine having to make that decision, but as my breeder told us the other night, there has to be a zero tolerance for bite rule in her house.  She loves her Newfs but as much as she loves them, she said her childrens' safety has to be first.  It sucks that you had to make that same decision, but it sounds as if you made the right one.   I'm so sorry for your heartbreak.

[Luvmydanes]

that is heartbreaking. I'm so sorry. I am glad that the breeder took her back though and that she will have a home with her.

[longshadowfarms]

I'm so sorry!  It truly is a heartbreaking situation but you've done the right thing.  You need to keep your kids as your first priority and make sure they are safe.  For whatever reason Polly clearly wasn't comfortable with you.  It is possible that she just couldn't handle the noise and activity that come from being with a bunch of kids, even well behaved ones.  Some dogs thrive on it, other dogs can't handle it.  I'm sure there is another loving dog out there just waiting to become a beloved member of your beautiful family!

[Saint and Mal mom]

I'm just soo sooo soo sorry this happened. I hope your daughter is okay after the bite. Is she? It's just so hard to know what is going on in the dog's head sometimes. I'm just so sorry this all happened.

[CrazyLoveRosie]

You were so excited for Polly's arrival, I'm sure having to give her up was tough; although, of course, your children's safety is the highest priority. Intermittent and unpredictable growling and biting is never a good thing, especially at your children. I know you'll find a Newf that's a perfect match for you and your family.

[amylynn]

I just want to thank you all so much for your kind words. We really appreciate that. We certainly aren't ready to give up looking for a Newfy. We all just love them to pieces.  In the meantime....I will just have to admire all of your gorgeous Newfs. So...you all better keep posting those great photos of yours for us to enjoy! Thanks.

Jacksmom....Th ank you for asking about my daughter. She is doing much better. Her eye is healing, but it looks pretty nasty. It looks like she has a black eye. I am hoping that she isn't going to develop a fear of dogs. She asked me if we get another dog if it will bite her. She has really been spending more time with Cooper, our other dog and giving him treats and I think he is really helping her to not be fearful of all dogs. (I hope so, anyway). 

Saint and Mal mom.... Thank you for bringing that up. I hadn't thought of that. I will definitely mention that to the breeder. Thanks.

Again....you all are so sweet. Thank you so much for your kindness and support.

[MSF]

Ok, forgive me in advance but I'm gonna be
the bad guy here.
1) I'm assuming that since the dog
was not raised with kids it was an adult dog?
(Over 1 y/o)
WHY in the world would a breeder place a dog
in a family of children if said dog was
not raised with children?

2) I find it hard that a dog snapped and bit on more
than one occation just cause it was in a new home
and the breeder said it never did that before?
My first reaction is never did it my A

I'm sorry but I can't see any dog doing these things
that was properly raised, trained and socialixed.

3) Many states require dog bites to be reported.
What if this breeder places this dog again
(egardless of what she clains she will do)
and the next child is not as lucky as your daughter.
The next one may lose an eye.
Sorry, don't mean to burst everyones
sweet nicey nice bubble here
but hearing this stuff makes me ill.   

And no offense but please read over what you told us.
Seems like you had a reason or excuse for everything this dog did.
I'm not trying to offend just help you see what I see.
Thete is just no excuse for this behavor and
your daughter almost paid the price.
Signed,
a mom, a grandma and an animal lover

[moonlitcroatia]

You did the right thing! Perhaps, by giving her back to the breeder, she will live in an environment suited to her temperment and distasters were prevented.

[amylynn]

MSF:

There is no need for you to apologize. You are very much entitled to your own opinion & to the ability to express it as you see needed.

I will try to answer/comment on each of your points to the best of my ability.
1). You asked if the dog was an adult dog. Yes, she is 3 years old. Your question as to why the breeder would place her in a family of children when she hadn’t been raised with children is a good question. This breeder has placed many dogs into homes with children and there has never been a problem before. The whole reason she chose Polly for our family was due to her excellent temperament & demeanor. She had her around many children & she just loves & adores them. The breeder witnessed Polly’s many interactions with children & felt that she would do wonderfully with them. The hard thing for me to deal with is that *I* should have known that being around children & living with them is two entirely different things. Believe me…I am accepting FULL blame for this & it hasn’t been easy for me to deal with.

2). You mentioned that you found it hard to believe that the dog bit & snapped on more than one occasion, just because it was in a new home & that the breeder said that she had never done that before. Well…May I first tell you that I can understand you possibly having negative feelings toward the breeder. You don’t know this person & there are MANY breeders out there who are completely bad breeders, who are completely untrustworthy, etc. Let me tell you this…she is not one of those breeders. She has completely devoted her life to raising good quality dogs with wonderful temperments, and as such, she is in good standing with the Newfoundland Club of America, who is known for its high standards when it comes to breeders.  She has socialized each of them & raised them with love, and she has been entirely honest with our family over everything from the beginning.  As a matter of fact, she even turned us away from a dog that she didn’t feel was best for our family. There are many things that you don’t know about this situation & with the little bit of info that I gave you; I can see you possibly making assumptions. I just didn’t want to go into every little detail. I did want to let people know that we no longer had the dog & why.

I believe that even a dog that has been properly raised, trained & socialized could possibly react differently under a stressful situation/environment than it normally would. Does that mean that I am saying that it is an acceptable behavior? Absolutely not!!! It is not to be tolerated. That is why the dog is no longer here.

3). You mentioned that many states require that dog bites are reported. I did call & speak to our doctor, who did not ask for any info about the dog, other than current rabies vaccine info. There was no mention of reporting the bite.

You mentioned your concern of the breeder possible going against what she told us and still placing the dog with another family. I honestly trust her word and know that this will not be an option for her. She will be keeping Polly and I believe that is the best situation for her.

I apologize, but I’m not really sure what you meant when you wrote about “bursting everyone’s sweet, nicey nice bubble.” I really appreciated the kindness and sensitivity of everyone on this list toward my family and I. It was honestly a very upsetting situation and it was nice that people on here were so concerned for our child and supportive of our decision. It was comforting to hear others express their sincere words to us. Believe me, this has been a tough thing and my heart breaks, especially for our daughter.

I’m sorry if I came across, in any way, as making excuses for everything the dog did. I reread my initial post and I honestly didn’t see it that way. I was trying to explain the possible reason for why the dog may have reacted the way it did.

There is absolutely no excuse for biting my daughter. (I was right there and she did NOTHING)! That is why the dog is no longer here. My husband and I need to put the safety of our children first and foremost. They are our highest priority. We love our children and to be honest with you, this situation makes me ill as well. We would have NEVER willingly brought her home had we known this was going to happen. I truly feel responsible though.

I hope I didn’t come across badly. I am honestly not very good at dealing with these things. The last thing I want is to debate with anyone as to whether we did or didn’t do the right thing. The hard thing about these types of boards is that it is hard to know how to take what someone writes. I know you mentioned that you didn’t mean to offend and I appreciate that. I hope that I didn’t offend you in any way by my reply; that is not at all my intention either. I just wanted to come on here and let you know that my heart is breaking over this situation. I don’t feel that I asked for any of this to happen. It was a horrible situation and my whole family is heartbroken over it.

[amylynn]

You did the right thing! Perhaps, by giving her back to the breeder, she will live in an environment suited to her temperment and distasters were prevented.

(((Thank you)))

[marinafb]

You did the right thing! Perhaps, by giving her back to the breeder, she will live in an environment suited to her temperment and distasters were prevented.

I agree 100 percent! Could'nt have said it better! I had a lab that was a biter he lived to be 17 if i had kids he would'nt have made it to that age.He was a rescue puppy and a stray i think someone did awful things to him there were certian places you could'nt touch him he did't like brite light  flash lights etc.Sometimes he was sweet others he would warn you just not to touch him i knew this when i adopted him i just could'nt let them put him to sleep instead i put up with his behavior for many years  Marina

[MSF]

Amy Lyn,

I believe it is a heart breaking experience.
To get all syc'ed up about a new dog, and have ones kids all  syc'ed too, just to have it go the way it did with your family is awful.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned, thank the Good Lord no one was seriously hurt and move on.
Heal, talk about it with the kids and when the time is right if I were you I'd go get a puppy 

This is a wondeful opportunity to teach your kids, life is filled with choices and we all make mistakes, it's how we come out of the experience with what we learned and how we use that new knowledge that counts.

You DID do the right thing.
Had it been me I would of marhed that hairy butt right back to the breeder too.
(((hugs)))
Looking forward to sometime down the road hearing about a new 4 legged family member your family gets.

[galaxybears]

How sad. I hope you manage to find a new Newfie who is perfect for you soon.