family vacations and dogs

[KellyHabersham]

*will try to keep this brief, this applies to the agressive family dog situation I mentioned in a thread over on Fratching*

As a little background info - we go up to our cabin in northern Arizona for the July 4 holiday, and the different family groups each bring a dog. Most of the said animals get along ago, except for the dogs which my uncle's family has.......although the older one has since died.

Anyhow, we had a situation with their younger dog last summer - he was a bit agressive and got into fights with my mom's dog and my sister's dog, and was growling at my sister's kids.......she does NOT feel comfortable having them around this dog.

Meanwhile, my uncle's family has never seemed to realize their was a problem - their older dog used to really get into it with the female dog which my mom had, and we always had to keep them seperated......made things VERY awkward, but they always insisted on bringing their dog. (for whatever reason, they refused to consider the idea of putting the dog in a kennel)

Needless to say, my sister isn't sure she wants to go on vacation this year, unless my uncle's family does NOT bring their dog. And if they don't come, my daughter is not as likely to want to come, and since I rarely get out of town, I do NOT want to stay home with her.

[MaggieTheCat]

Has anyone talked to your uncle about this and pointed out that it is a concern? If not, a conversation has to be had, soon, so decisions can be made before the trip. Don't be aggressive about it and immediately suggest he leave the dogs home or not come at all; just ask if he has noticed his dogs' behavior around the other dogs and children. If he asks what you mean, explain what you are seeing. Then go into how it is concerning, especially with young children around, and that you want everyone to have a good time and is there anything that can be done? Leave it up to him to make a suggestion from there, he might have a way to deal with this himself. If not, ask if there's a way he could keep his dog under control while at the cabin, such as keeping him on a leash whenever he's out around other dogs/people.

[KellyHabersham]

*Just in case I confused anyone, "Sheba" is the first dog which my uncle's family got, she was the one who initially started this issue, and she died last summer. "Rufus" is their second/current dog, and the source of the concerns my sister has*

To answer the question - in previous years, my mom HAD asked them not to bring their dog because she didn't get along with my mom's dogs, but I guess it never seemed to sink in and they would insist on bringing "Sheba". And what ended up happening is that she would always have to be kept apart from the other dogs.........if she was in the house, my mom's dogs had to be outside. (and vice-versa)

[Pixilated]

Is anybody willing to tell them that their dog's problems are on the verge of wrecking the whole holiday?

I can see why they'd be upset, if everybody else gets to bring their dog, but everybody else's dog doesn't seem to have the same problems. The fact the dog is aggressive with other dogs is bad enough; the fact it's growling at the kids seems to me to be a HUGE red flag.

I agree, don't be aggressive, but it seems to me they DO realize there's a problem (the older dog had to constantly be kept separated from the other animals and now the second one is exhibiting the same behaviour) and are just flat-out refusing to do anything about it.

You lost me a bit in your last paragraph of your first post, though. If your uncle doesn't come, you could still go and visit your sister, right? Even if your daughter refused to make the trip?

[KellyHabersham]

You lost me a bit in your last paragraph of your first post, though. If your uncle doesn't come, you could still go and visit your sister, right? Even if your daughter refused to make the trip?

Sorry for the confusion.....it's tough to explain some aspects of this situation without getting into details which are more appropriate for Fratching To make it short - my sister and her husband haven't been spending major holidays with the rest of the family, and my mom would really like to have some time with her younger grandchildren. (my sister did tell me via a text message that they weren't going to come if my uncle's family insisted on bringing Rufus)

As for the rest of it.......my daughter thinks of my sister & her husband as second parents, so I think she'd be more willing to come (and have more fun) if they were also going.