Frum Jew here with a dog – and a big one at that. We got him 12 years ago, before we started having kids. He has brought both joy and frustration into our lives. He’s great with kids – very gentle. But we have sadly decided he will be our last dog.
I would say 50% of the guests we have on Shabbos are terrified of him. Some of these people are so terrified they’d rather soil themselves than be in a room with him. My kids have friends who will not accept invites to play because of the dog. So you say, just put him away when people come over. Well, we do that, but the dog doesn’t understand why he’s being separated from all the fun, and he then barks and disturbs the neighbors.
The only solution we can think of, is to give in to the fears of our friends and guests and let our dog play out his final years so he can hold the distinction of being our last dog.