Does your house stink, though?

I've yet to spend more than about 30 seconds in a house with two dogs of any kind without smelling the horrible dog funk. Of course, some houses stink more than others but I feel I need to tell you that your house and your dogs smell.

seriously - people here are nuts with their anti-dogness.

i'm really happy to hear that your kids and your dogs are getting along so well. dogs are the best, and kids who grow up with them are lucky kids.

Cujo !

i have never met such a-holes in one place as on this forum.

My kids dont RIDE On my dog's backs, they just kind of roll around near the dog and lean against the dog, etc.

There is absolutely no excuse for letting your 3-year old ride on your dog's back. I have a 7 year old, and she was taught from a very young age that you treat dogs (and all animals) gently and with respect. We have 2 poodle mixes, each about 13 pounds or so. She would have NEVER tried to sit on one of them, and lord knows that she would have been in serious trouble if she did.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah our gentle Labrador bit my sis on the hand and face when we were kids. THEY ARE DOGS. Don't be so naive OP.

I am not being naive, I am simply stating that everyone warned me my dog's would attack my kids and they have not and they have (so far) been excellent with them and I am relieved. How is this being naive? I am naive b/c I said I am glad my doxies have not attacked my kids???

Anonymous wrote:I hope you feel as positive when your dogs bite someone else's kid. Or are you never going to allow your two kids to have a friend over?

why would you say this? Just to be an a-hole? When other kids come over, I crate the dogs. Why are you assuming I am an irresponsible person? My whole point was to say I was shocked yet very happy to discover my dogs are very good with my children.

Hi Everyone! hahhaa.... i know WAY too much about doxies! Our one doxie has had multiple back issues and does acupuncture. He has come back from paralysis twice now. I know everything there is to know about dachshunds backs! LOL!

I am shocked by all the negative comments. I have had dogs all my life and have taught my kids to respect the dogs and the dogs have accepted the kids as part of the pack.

It's funny how so many people assume things without knowing anything!

Anyway, dogs are animals and of course I am aware they could bite my kids at any moment. I was just saying in my original post that people went ON and ON about how we would have to get rid of our dogs and how they would be awful with the kids. So far, that has not been the case. So far, the dogs have been wonderful with the kids and I am relieved because I did not want to have to get rid of my dogs.

This does not mean I let my kids abuse my doxies or know nothing about the breed. I have had dogs all my life and kow ALOT. I have had these doxies for many years as well and know about back and neck problems up and down like no other. I know the regiment of what to do when a doxie's back goes out. I have prednisone on hand from my vet for when my doxie begins to act strangely and I can tell his back is an issue.

I hope you feel as positive when your dogs bite someone else's kid. Or are you never going to allow your two kids to have a friend over?

Yeah our gentle Labrador bit my sis on the hand and face when we were kids. THEY ARE DOGS. Don't be so naive OP.

Watch your younger kid-- our dachshund bit our younger boy when he was about 18 months old. He was happily galloping around the house and fell on the dog. She bit him just below the eyebrow-- she was elderly and had never bitten anyone prior to that.

Good for you, but I crate our doxie when my kids' friends visit. It's the only time he is crated, although he has never bitten. Not all kids know how to behave around dogs, and you are taking a chance that your dog won't get defensive and bite. Not to be mean, but it sounds like you don't know much about the breed. Their backs are extremely susceptible to injury-- don't let anyone ride on them!!

Dogs that are a threat to children have lousy owners. Dogs that respect children have good owners. Dogs are dogs, but it's all on the owners.

Sounds like your dogs have accepted your kids as the littlest pack members and will protect them accordingly. They obviously consider themselves a the pack leaders.
I wonder about as the kids get older and bigger if the dogs will feel their place in the pack in jeopardy. I would look into that as time goes on. Figure out how to think like a dog and proceed accordingly, like Caesar on the Dog Whisperer. First step is to make sure that they see a grown up human as their pack leader.

I think Cesar would say that the dogs need to accept that every human in their pack is above them. Doesn't he say that every human family member should be regarded as a pack leader by the dogs, or something along those lines? If these dogs think they are pack leaders over the children (and the adults), that is a problem.

Also, dogs that "HATE strangers" and "HATE other dogs" and try to attack them do not sound like well-adjusted dogs at all.