Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 14:31     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
A compromise might be to say that puppy can come out of crate if it is wearing a puppy diaper and also on a short leash (not a retractable) held by an adult or in an adult’s arms. Otherwise I don’t think it’s safe for the puppy given all the stuff I could get into or the possibility of a child grabbing it or stepping on it. And of course there’s the risk that he puppy could view bunny as a toy, or that the puppy could get scared by an over affectionate child and end up nipping. (That happened to a neighbor and it was a huge PITA as they were then required to isolate their puppy from all humans for a period of many months.). If you have your spouse explain all the risks to her she might be more amenable to this compromise.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 14:06     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:You lost me at “free roam rabbit” 😂
Your house sounds like happy chaos already. Why even try to control her puppy? Have some wine and just let go?


Yeah, free roam rabbit. Why not add an untrained puppy to the mix?

Op, she can wear the dog as she suggested. I'm thinking too that the dog will likely be tiny, and getting stepped on/injured will be a risk. I don't think the playpen sounds like a good plan in this situation, Either with MIL or in the crate. So she needs to start crate training ASAP. Is it even born yet?
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:58     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:It's going to be complete chaos anyhow OP, why draw the line at a puppy?



Not Op, but easy Puppy is not a person. Simple as that.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:58     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Totally gross! No way.

Even wearing the dog (who could pee at any moment I am guessing) is disgusting!!
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:55     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
"She wants" ... "We feel obligated"
sorry, you have to have the guts to say no, if no is what you want
No story necessary
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:51     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
How many bathrooms does OP’s house have?
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:46     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
It's going to be complete chaos anyhow OP, why draw the line at a puppy?
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:42     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We will be hosting 18-23 for a week for Christmas (I know - insane 😂). 10 small children and we have three house pets ourselves (all very good with kids). This will be a massive undertaking for DH and I, but we are happy to have family here. MIL will have a 3 month old dachshund puppy she wants to bring to the house. We feel obliged to say yes since she always lets us being our large, German shepherd when we travel (we used to board her when she was younger and never brought her along as a puppy for obvious reasons). We agreed, but because our house is mostly carpet, said the puppy needs to stay crated or can run around outside and not run around the house.

Mil is very upset with this and is throwing a fit. Are we being cruel here? She wants to put pee pads down and let it run around the house, but we have a dog, cat and free roam rabbit as well. I don’t see how the puppy will truly be potty trained by then, and we really don’t want pee/poop in the house. There will be so much chaos already going on, this just seems so unkind to also put on us.

I’m firmly standing my ground here right now, but need a reality check as to if this is fair or not.


So she allowed you to do it with your dog but now you're bringing down the hammer on her? Do you know how much you save on boarding?

You are entitled to do whatever you want. But you're kind of being a dick about it. I'd tell MIL to use a crate but when the dog is in the house, she's responsible for any messes. Plus, it's a small dog, not a great dane. How big of an issue can it be? Plus, not all puppies pee everywhere. I have a puppy now and she doesn't.

But if you stick with your plan, I'd be prepared not to bring my dog to her next time.


There's a huge difference between bringing a housebroken and a non-housebroken dog to someone else's home. OP is not telling her to board the dog, just that the dog cannot roam freely until it is housebroken. This seems eminently fair.


No there isn't, with the compromise the MIL proposed. Fencing in an area with puppy pads.
Also, OP is already having THIRTEEN children in her house. And she's worried about the dog in a fenced in area? LOL. Ok . .. the issue isn't the dog. It's her refusing her MIL.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:23     Subject: Re:Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound like someone who, in life, is very good at rolling with the flow. Let her bring the soft-sides playpen for wherever she sleeps and I would personally order and have ready one of the hard-sides ones for public areas. It might be better with your big dogs.


I agree. Op, I love your joie de vivre with having all these people and creatures at your house! I hope it is a wonderful holiday.
Maybe get a hard-sided pen to cordon off the puppy on hardwood in case it barks nonstop in the bedroom. And the pee pads all over it is ridiculous.
If your mother-in-law was smart, she would just not make a big deal over your reasonable parameters, and then figure out how to make it work. I mean, it’s going to be happy chaos, so none of this is going to be perfect anyway.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:11     Subject: Re:Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:So many questions…how do you have a cat and a free roam rabbit? Your German Shepard doesn’t care if 20 people including 13 children stay in his house for a week? Do you drug your animals?

How long has it been since your mom raised a puppy? Why does she think it’s a good idea to get a puppy right before she has to travel for the holidays. She should get the puppy after the trip and stay home with it until it’s older.

Dachshunds are small, often aggressive toward other animals and very nippy. At 3 months, she really can’t board it and as it will need to be taken to potty every 3 hours, including at night a pet sitter is a challenge. At 3 months, it won’t have all its shots. It’s generally recommended to not walk or travel until they have had the 16 month parvovirus shot. No one lets a 3 month old puppy have full access at home let alone somewhere else. You start with an X pen, do supervised play time in a gated puppy proof room, or secured backyard area always being near them. Don’t ever leave a small breed puppy in an outdoor exercise pen as hawks, owls or other predators might get them.

Puppies need a lot of sleep. Socialization is best done by gradually stepping up not throwing the puppy into chaos.


Also rabbits can be very territorial. If the puppies instinct to go after the rabbit kicks in then unless you have a very tiny dwarf rabbit your bunny could seriously or fatally injure the puppy. Rabbits are serious fighters when threatened. I’d avoid remembering this holiday as the time bunny dismembered puppy, MIL stomped on bunny, and German Shepard attacked MIL to protect bunny.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 13:07     Subject: Re:Bringing puppy to Christmas
So many questions…how do you have a cat and a free roam rabbit? Your German Shepard doesn’t care if 20 people including 13 children stay in his house for a week? Do you drug your animals?

How long has it been since your mom raised a puppy? Why does she think it’s a good idea to get a puppy right before she has to travel for the holidays. She should get the puppy after the trip and stay home with it until it’s older.

Dachshunds are small, often aggressive toward other animals and very nippy. At 3 months, she really can’t board it and as it will need to be taken to potty every 3 hours, including at night a pet sitter is a challenge. At 3 months, it won’t have all its shots. It’s generally recommended to not walk or travel until they have had the 16 month parvovirus shot. No one lets a 3 month old puppy have full access at home let alone somewhere else. You start with an X pen, do supervised play time in a gated puppy proof room, or secured backyard area always being near them. Don’t ever leave a small breed puppy in an outdoor exercise pen as hawks, owls or other predators might get them.

Puppies need a lot of sleep. Socialization is best done by gradually stepping up not throwing the puppy into chaos.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 12:47     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
I love animals, but I draw the line at non potty trained ones. As another consideration, puppies eat kid toys. My parent's puppy can only visit my house supervised and on a leash because otherwise she runs off and is eating the eyeballs off stuffed animals.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 12:45     Subject: Re:Bringing puppy to Christmas
OP, you sound like someone who, in life, is very good at rolling with the flow. Let her bring the soft-sides playpen for wherever she sleeps and I would personally order and have ready one of the hard-sides ones for public areas. It might be better with your big dogs.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 12:42     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op here - our rabbit is house broken and uses a litter box in his pen. I promise our house is clean and orderly 😂. Yes - it will be chaotic and we have a large home to fit everyone.

I offered the pen to go on the small tile floor in the basement next to the door to go outside where they are staying. MIL is just mad because she wants to the puppy “near all the action” during the day.


I cannot imagine a dachshund puppy for whom this would be a good idea.


This. Have you ever met a ween? The dog will be barking constantly.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2023 12:41     Subject: Bringing puppy to Christmas
Absolutely not. A three month old puppy won’t be trained. Pee pads on caret? No. And for the love of god get a border. Do not impose your pets on someone else if you don’t want them at your house.