Is the dog who is crated all day going to magically be free of that when the new baby comes? Rehome them.

I condemn all the nasty trolls on here who dump on OP, who tries so hard. So what if she hit her dogs once in a moment of despair? She's also saved these dogs from death. She probably won't hit them again and she has re-committed to more consistent training. They have food, warmth and a roof over their heads for the entirety of their lives, which is more than can be said for millions of domesticated animals worldwide.

You may live in a perfect bubble where no one ever hits their kid or their pet... that you know of! But don't be so quick to clutch your pearls and pin scarlet letters on people with your pretend moral outrage. I'm sure you've done bad things too in your lives. For example, I don't think anyone who eats meat can come on here and yell about animal abuse! As a meat-eater myself, I understand that. Perhaps you're polluting the planet more than you need to, and endangering the lives of your descendants.

In short, look at the beam in your eye instead of pointing out the mote in someone else's.

I just need to say I am shocked at the irresponsible rescue group that allowed a foster family to let the dog poop wherever and then placed that dog with a family with young children. That is super irresponsbile—setting the dog up for failure. Poor thing. I wonder if OP was warned about this….she doesn’t sound like an experienced dog owner.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rehome them both and don't feel bad about it. Life is too short to beat yourself up over two dogs.

She didn’t beat herself up. She beat the dogs instead.

OP here. This made me literally LOL.

Dogs are now on a strict training program with multiple training sessions a day. We've suspended walks and park trips until they're more manageable and are focusing on games and treat training at home for exercise.

D2 doesn't have any medical issues, she spent nearly 2 months in a foster home where she wasn't allowed outside due to Parvo fears, so it's ben deeply ingrained in her to just pee/poop wherever. It's been a tough habit to break.

I do feel bad for D1 because she loves to run. LOVES it. At the park she'll easily run for 2 hours. But she gets so excited and amped up from running around, that we all decided it's best to curb the energetic behavior until she learns some impulse control.

I'm the PP upthread who uses a prong collar on my dog occasionally.

Good. Training requires a ton of mental effort on the part of the dog. It's real exercise. My dog can run around all day (did I mention he's a northern breed sled dog?), pulling weights, but it does nothing for his behavior. What changes his behavior is training. Multiple short sessions, done very consistently, will end up fixing a lot of problems. Not all, but most.

Good luck with the potty training. I once successfully potty-trained a recalcitrant foster dog that had been in God-knows-what hellhole before she came to the shelter. It was hard.

Thanks. Yea, D1 can run all day and it does nothing. I’ve watched her run at the dog park for 2-3 hours and still bounce off the walls. And right now when she runs, she’s running like a psycho, running into dogs and people, leaping over top of them, just sort of bounding around barking and looking for things to get into. I get dogs need exercise, but it really feels like allowing the running just teaches her to act all crazy. I did order one of those 50 foot leashes so I can take her to the park and throw a ball for her to chase, but can still manage some control.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rehome them both and don't feel bad about it. Life is too short to beat yourself up over two dogs.

She didn’t beat herself up. She beat the dogs instead.

OP here. This made me literally LOL.

Dogs are now on a strict training program with multiple training sessions a day. We've suspended walks and park trips until they're more manageable and are focusing on games and treat training at home for exercise.

D2 doesn't have any medical issues, she spent nearly 2 months in a foster home where she wasn't allowed outside due to Parvo fears, so it's ben deeply ingrained in her to just pee/poop wherever. It's been a tough habit to break.

I do feel bad for D1 because she loves to run. LOVES it. At the park she'll easily run for 2 hours. But she gets so excited and amped up from running around, that we all decided it's best to curb the energetic behavior until she learns some impulse control.

I'm the PP upthread who uses a prong collar on my dog occasionally.

Good. Training requires a ton of mental effort on the part of the dog. It's real exercise. My dog can run around all day (did I mention he's a northern breed sled dog?), pulling weights, but it does nothing for his behavior. What changes his behavior is training. Multiple short sessions, done very consistently, will end up fixing a lot of problems. Not all, but most.

Good luck with the potty training. I once successfully potty-trained a recalcitrant foster dog that had been in God-knows-what hellhole before she came to the shelter. It was hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rehome them both and don't feel bad about it. Life is too short to beat yourself up over two dogs.

She didn’t beat herself up. She beat the dogs instead.

OP here. This made me literally LOL.

Dogs are now on a strict training program with multiple training sessions a day. We've suspended walks and park trips until they're more manageable and are focusing on games and treat training at home for exercise.

D2 doesn't have any medical issues, she spent nearly 2 months in a foster home where she wasn't allowed outside due to Parvo fears, so it's ben deeply ingrained in her to just pee/poop wherever. It's been a tough habit to break.

I do feel bad for D1 because she loves to run. LOVES it. At the park she'll easily run for 2 hours. But she gets so excited and amped up from running around, that we all decided it's best to curb the energetic behavior until she learns some impulse control.

I kind of lean towards your dogs needing more exercise, not less. Aside from that, it sounds like a reasonable plan as long as you are able to continue the routine after your baby is born.

What are the breeds of dogs? Are they small breeds or large breeds? Purebred or mixed?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rehome them both and don't feel bad about it. Life is too short to beat yourself up over two dogs.

She didn’t beat herself up. She beat the dogs instead.

OP here. This made me literally LOL.

Dogs are now on a strict training program with multiple training sessions a day. We've suspended walks and park trips until they're more manageable and are focusing on games and treat training at home for exercise.

D2 doesn't have any medical issues, she spent nearly 2 months in a foster home where she wasn't allowed outside due to Parvo fears, so it's ben deeply ingrained in her to just pee/poop wherever. It's been a tough habit to break.

I do feel bad for D1 because she loves to run. LOVES it. At the park she'll easily run for 2 hours. But she gets so excited and amped up from running around, that we all decided it's best to curb the energetic behavior until she learns some impulse control.

OP. Also want to add, H is going to step up and handle them more, which will be a massive help. So things are looking up for us all

OP, along with the training, you need better habits. The dogs should NEVER EVER be in the car unrestrained, even after they are trained.

Also, you need to stop letting your kids make major life decisions for you. [PSA to all parents too]. No matter how much they beg/whine/etc for pets and claim that they'll help, the burden will fall on the parents, and so the parents must decide.

Last--if the training doesn't work out, you must rehome the dogs ASAP for the good of all involved--the dogs, your kid(s), and yourself. The dogs will deserve better (and will adapt), the kids don't need to see a terrible example of how to care for kids, and you don't need the drama.

And regardless, NO NEW PETS for at least 5 years.

We just adopted a dog that lived with another family for 16 months before they surrendered her. I've seen all her bad habits but we have the time to work with her and are so happy to have her in our home.

Please rehome these dogs.

If the dogs are bringing the worst out of you, you need to let them go.

Anonymous wrote:OP you're lucky your dogs didn't bite you for hitting them. You may have deserved it, but dogs are better than most people. Give the dogs away and move on. This is a bigger project than you're able to take on at this stage in your life.

Give them away. I basically never say this for generally good pets, but this is clearly not working. When you're whooping and wailing on a dog out of frustration this is a do not pass go, do not proceed situation. That's abuse.

Are you kidding? Get rid of the dogs.

OP, don't listen to the people who are faulting you for losing it.

I do agree that you need to rehome the dogs and be dog-free until your kids are 8 years old. Get a Cavapoo dog - they are smart, trainable, cute and hypoallegenic.

Anonymous wrote:Give away dog 1 first. See if you can manage dog 2. I think odds favor your giving away both but I suggest moving a bit more slowly. Especially since you’re pregnant and hormonal.

This was my thought. Dog 2 could probably be trained but sounds like you have no bandwidth for it. Let dog 1 go to someone that needs a project. Then maybe send D2 to a boarding facility that will potty train it.