What are your fears?

[Bahamutt99]

I thought this might be an interesting if not super-pleasant topic for discussion. As a dog owner, what concerns you the most? What are you the most afraid of? Are you afraid of BSL? Do you worry that one day your dog is going to get ahold of that neighbor dog that's always loose? Or maybe your dog is an escape artist, and you always worry about that?

I'll go first. The concern that is always the closest to the surface with me is dog theft. I am not comfortable letting my dog go outside for more than a few minutes, and I either go out with her, or watch out the window. I can't imagine being secure enough with a 4-foot chain link fence to leave my dog outside much of the day, as many people around here do. We used to have privacy fence, which made me a great deal more comfortable, however, when you rent, you can't always take those things with you. The goal is to one day be settled enough in a place to invest in a super-fence.

My second most prevalent concern is BSL. (Breed-specific legislation.) We've already lived in one city that had it, bordered by several cities that also had it. Its a very crappy thing to have to leave your home to keep your dog, but that's what I would do if cornered again. Even living a state with a BSL prohibition, I know that the situation can change rapidly. It makes me wish there was someplace safe in the world from these asinine laws, but I know there is not.

 

[J's crew]

I have very similar fears. I do have a privacy fence with all the gates locked by padlock. Unfortunately I have recently moved and even though I have spoke with the neighbors, their kids are always trying to look over my fence at the dogs when they are outside. I have this fear that one of them will fall over, and even though my dogs are not mean at all you just never know.

My biggest fear concerning my dogs though is BSL. I fight it every chance I get but with the laws spreading like wildfire it scares the crap out of me. I am still pretty young (29), and I plan on always owning Rottweilers, so whats going to be going on 20-30 years from now?

 

[Bahamutt99]

I am still pretty young (29), and I plan on always owning Rottweilers, so whats going to be going on 20-30 years from now?

That's a good point. I'm 26, and I don't even know if there will be APBTs for my grandkids to enjoy. And if they are around, with all the new breeders breeding for something different than what they are supposed to be, will they even be Pit Bulls anymore?

 

[oc_spirit]

My greatest fear is that one day they will both get out and do the Husky thing - run! My fear is even heightened when we are traveling. At least if we''re around here the boys know the area and know how to get home, but if we''re off at a race or something who knows where they will end up!

My other fear is some day one of the suicidal cats that raid our yard thinking they are faster and smarter than the dogs will have a collar on and will be someone''s pet...very few cats escape the jaws of my two I''d hate to be the one o have to explain to little ""Suzie"" why her cat ""Mittens"" isnt coming home....

 

[StillandSilent]

My greatest fear for Lilly is that she will escape the house and run into our street. I call the street "Murder Mile" because people always speed on it and it is always littered with dead animals, even dogs and cats.
I also worry about her cancer killing her. The vet says that the chances of it spreading are very slim, but she has had it for 5 1/2 years now and that is a long time.
Honestly, my biggest fear for Radar is that he will fall on his head and kill himself. This is the dog that falls down the stairs, off chairs, off the couch, out of his doggy bed, you name it and he had fallen out of or off of it. He even fell out the car window one day (The car was parked). We were at my sisters soccer game and I was giving him a drink of water. He leaned out the window to bark at her and fell right out. Radar is not the brightest crayon in the box by any means.

 

[jason_els]

Cancer

Been through that hell with another dog. In retrospect, getting hit by a car would have been kinder. I don't know how my dog forgave me for all the surgeries, steroids, and chemo but he did. Tristan had the grace of a saint.

 

[RD]

I'm scared of the government . . . BSL and anything else that tries to dictate what dogs people can own, and what they do with those dogs. I'm young too and I want to be able to own dogs my entire life.

I think one of my biggest fears is the poisonous creatures that live around here. My Dakota almost died after eating a poisonous toad in our yard, and we do have rattlesnakes and the like around here too. Even a scorpion sting could kill Eve or Ripley. This is something that can happen anytime, because I can't patrol my entire 1-acre yard every time I let the dogs out. Even in my super-securely fenced yard, a snake or spider or toad can still get in. I still watch them like a hawk, never EVER let them outside unattended, interrupt them for sniffing/digging at one spot and just recently found out that there is a vaccine for rattlesnake bites, that I might be getting for the dogs this spring. It's really pricey ($120 per dog) but the $380 is well worth it if it'll save their lives.

My next biggest fear is parvo. It runs rampant here and it is a horrible, horrible way to die. I'd be an absolute wreck if one of my dogs ever came down with it, and it's the one thing I will always vaccinate for as long as I live in this godforsaken desert.

 

[Bahamutt99]

Yow! RD, I would definitely keep vaccines on hand if I lived in an area where things like rattlesnakes were a concern. They're beautiful creatures, IMO, but I don't want my dog near them.

StillandSilent, I hope you don't mind that I chuckled a bit over your description of Radar. The way you word it makes it sound funny.

 

[Whisper]

I'm with Grace (RD) on the poisonous creatures issue. We live in similar areas in the same states and around here in AZ it is a big problem. There are all kids of critters like rattlesnakes, scorpions, poisonous toads, and coyotes and javelina who can do severe damage to the dogs. I'm pretty afraid and cautious about that.
Although we live in a semi-rural area, I am terrified of the dogs getting hit by a car. I watch them like a hawk and I constantly observe what they are doing, but I'm just afraid one day the door is going to come open or someone's going to come over and leave the dooor or gate in the backyard open and they're going to run away with neighborhood dogs and get hit. Honestly, I think my fear has just risen because I recently witnessed a dog get hit by a car and it was incredibly scary and a bit traumatic for me just because I am very sensitive about things like that with animals.
One thing that bothered me in a huge way is something I don't have to worry about anymore, for which I am grateful. We had family of family staying with us for a whole summer for a few years in a row, and they let their dogs and my dog (back before Lucy when I only had Millie) outside to roam and would leave the door open, then blame her for running off when they weren't watching. Who knows what could have happened to her? That got my blood boiling and it was truly exasperating. No matter how many requests and reasons I gave them, it was almost deliberate to be so freaking irresponsible.

 

[Psyfalcon]

1. Not getting along. I do enjoy my new puppy very much, but if the others don't start barking and posturing, its going to be bad. Our other dogs are very loud to new comers and this puppy is reluctant to even enter the house right now.

2. Location. 4 lane state highway (2 each way) that I live on. And I don't know where I will be living next fall.

3. ACL surgery ($$$$), Hip displasia, and cancer. Our older pets have had all or it. The retriever blew out her ACL one day, surgery went and 5 years later died of HD when she could no longer stand up. Both childhood cats (older than me at the time) died of liver cancer.

 

[casablanca1]

Cancer and another bad dog attack. I wish I didn't feel so alone about that second one. There's a strong interest in the dog world to come up with new preventions and cures and treatments for cancers. There's zero interest in the dog world for dealing with dog-aggression. Human-aggression, yes. Oh, sure. That's a legal issue. You can get royally screwed if your dog eats a toddler. But dog-aggression? There's nothing out there. The law treats it as an animal control issue, animal control treats it as a property dispute, and the courts treat it like it's a huge waste of time.

 

[Paige]

My dogs getting out and never coming back.

 

[RD]

Casa, I'm with you on a dog attack. I live near some very large, dangerously aggressive dogs and I won't even let my dogs out in the backyard if those animals are loose. Even when I'm walking them 1/2 mile away from my house, I worry that those brutes will catch up to us. If I don't have our "guard" dogs (more neighbor dogs, but very tough and loyal to us) with me, I don't go for walks. Animal control does nothing about these dogs and it's really something I worry about. I also worry about the decision we might have to make if they ever harrass us when the owners aren't home. I'd shoot them before I'd let them hurt my dog, but I really don't want to make that decision.

 

[darkchild16]

For the pits and Walker
BSL. Here if he got out i live in the woods and hes to scared of them unless hes with me.

getting caught by a hogs tusk were his vest doesnt cover. Even though its jsut the legs i still worry about tytus getting hurt by it.

For booger to be in absolute pain and the vet not open to put her to sleep.

 

[Paige]

I'm also afraid of coyote attacks. That is how my last dog died in Decemeber. We lived in a suburb too! I don't even know how she got out of the house but it was awful. All her insides were outside. She lived threw the surgery to put all her organs back in but she was put to sleep 15 hours later because her lungs were filling up with blood and the vet said it was the only option we really had left.

 

[ACooper]

My biggest fear with Orson is that he will swallow something he cannot pass, and not survive the surgery. He is constantly finding things he shouldn't have even with supervision! It just happend to another dobe on another forum I visit............swallowing things happens often with these guys

With Phoebe I don't really have any major fears, that may sound crazy, but she never leaves the yard, has never had any real health issues, is never vicious to anyone, or other dogs. I guess if I had to think of something it would be that she is over 7 and I don't know how many good years she will have left.

 

[J's crew]

Cancer and another bad dog attack. I wish I didn't feel so alone about that second one. There's a strong interest in the dog world to come up with new preventions and cures and treatments for cancers. There's zero interest in the dog world for dealing with dog-aggression. Human-aggression, yes. Oh, sure. That's a legal issue. You can get royally screwed if your dog eats a toddler. But dog-aggression? There's nothing out there. The law treats it as an animal control issue, animal control treats it as a property dispute, and the courts treat it like it's a huge waste of time.

Don't feel alone on that one Casa. I think about it every time I go for a walk, even though I own Rotties. I know I can control my dogs, but the mentality in my area is scary. Alot of people see no problem with letting Fido out to potty, unleashed and roaming the neighborhood.

 

[Renee750il]

Poison, legislation and insurance companies.

 

[~Jessie~]

Here are the top 2 things I am most afraid of:

1. Something bad happening when I'm not at home. I'm always afraid of a fire starting while the dogs are home alone, and them not being able to get out

2. Old age. I am terrified of losing my dogs some day.

 

[Groch]

Bahamutt99, I think it is a great topic, and I can see from the answers so far that perspectives are all over the map depending on the kinds of dogs we have and where we live.

My little dog is scared of any larger high energy dog that approaches him, if they approach even in a friendly way he gets nervous and will snap at them - its like having a big "kick me" sign on his back.

So I fear owners of larger dogs who either cannot control their dogs, leave them off leash, or assume that Shadow will want to play. At some point he will either panic and run off in the street to escape or get eaten because of his fearful nature.