No, take her tail to court. She is using the child to hurt you.

If she feels her child in danger, she can, and if our dog bit your kid, there is a huge problem. Why would you want to bring your child into a dangerous situation? Did you remove the dog, yet? You do have the right to take her to court and fight it.

My ex denied me too. So I'm taking her to court for contempt of a custody order. You need to do the same thing. I had 3 dogs, they've never bit any of my kids but kids pull tails sometimes and the dog reacts. And as long as there is no history of the dog being a psycho you can just say the dog was being defensive not agressive. And your ex is over reacting and hurting your relationship with your child. Good luck.

Have your dog "fostered" by some friends for awhile and let her think the dog is gone. My dog bit my daughter for ther same reason. She was hugging too hard and was too rough. Dogs bite, but moms use any little thing to give dads a hard time. I don't know her or you but if the dog is a good dog you shouldn't have to lose it.

I don't know what to advise on the dog. The child does need to learn there are limitations with any animal, whether it be at you place, or at the park. You may need to secure the dog. As for visitation: For 20 years I've worked with divorced and single fathers Part of the problem with getting visitation enforced is knowing what to do to prove your case, and how to remind the judge of their responsibilities. Let me start with the judge. Always take people with you to court who are not there to testify. Make sure they are sitting where the judge can see them, each equipped with a tablet and pen to take notes. It’s best to use a Court Watch Form designed for this purpose. I have one in the manual at Dads House. If the judge is not doing his job, using the info from this form, he/her sanctioned and/or removed from the case. You file a complaint with the State Supreme Court at your state capital. It’s most important that you keep a daily journal of all your activities. There does not need to be any violence for a claim of violence to be filed. She gets a restraining order because she fears him because she has been preventing him from seeing her child. A restraining order can be filed up to a year after a supposed event in most states. With the journal, you can look back and see what you were doing that day and who were witnesses to it, such as being 30 miles away, as was the case with one of my members. Please note that when the mother is unsuccessful in a false allegation of domestic violence, within two years she will progress to child abuse and child sexual abuse allegations. Many think that all the courts are rigged against dads, but in reality, it is more about attorneys unwilling or lacking the knowledge to truly fight for the father's rights. This is why it is important to learn how to interview and hire the right attorney. It is also important to do as much of the leg work on your own and not pay the attorney to do it. If you’re being denied access, prepare a "Notice of Intent to Exercise Visitation" letter stating the specific dates as laid out in your order. Next, prepare a "Notice of Intent to Exercise Parental Rights" in the same legal format of your other court papers. Sign both and make three copies. Mail the originals Certified Mail and another set with Delivery Confirmation (75¢ + postage). If she rejects the one, she still receives the other. To get a confirmation of delivery of the second letter, go to: http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/deliveryconfirmationservice.htm If the Certified letter comes back, or the Certified Confirmation of Delivery, with her signature on it, attach either (letter unopened) to a copy of the letter, plus a print of the Delivery Confirmation from this web link. Take these documents to the County Courthouse and have the Clerk of the Court notarize and them place it in your case file. Repeat process for each time you are to exercise your visitation until she eith obeys the orders or you go to court on it. Next is a "Notice of Exercise of Parental Rights" filed with the court and having the judge sign it. Serve or have it served on her. This you can do Pro Se. When you show up to pick up the children, bring witnesses. Do not enter her place alone. If you can record, have someone video record from the car. Check the site below to see if it is illegal to record audio and/or video without the mother knowing. If her state does not have a law either way, than it defaults to the federal ruling, which says one person in a conversation, must know they are being recorded. THAT’S YOU! In Missouri, it is specifically legal, while in Kansas there is no mention either way. With two different states, if one has a law against it, than you can record phone calls that originated in the state where it’s legal. If it’s legal in her state, than when she calls you, than you can record. I’ve heard of cases where the father lives just across the state line, crossing the state line than calling the mother on his cell phone and recording it. http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ Now, you can’t just record, you also have to transcribe the conversations your daily journal. One complaint is that the kids won’t come, but that is likely to be a symptom of Parental Alienation Syndrome. http://www.parentalalienation.org/ Now beyond that you may want to use an attorney if she still violates the order. The next step is the "Notice of the Court of Denial of Exercise of Parental Rights" and "Motion to Show Cause for Contempt of Court of Denial of Visitation". This is where it can get complicate and what choice you wish to make. If she is held in Contempt of Court, that is consider a Change of Circumstances, which is grounds for a change in custody. Your attorney needs to have a Motion for Change of Custody ready to hand the judge. If you want to learn how to do all this, go to Dads House in Yahoo Groups. There is an educational manual in the file section that can teach you what you need to know. When you sign up, you will receive a link to download the manual in PDF format. Take the time to learn what you can and should do. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DadsHouse/ Bird Nest Custody http://tinyurl.com/GiveKidsAChoice Lobby Arm of the Fathers Movement http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/ Now, if you want one way to make things less comfortable for her violating the court orders, get a bunch of friends to go picket her home and job. Stay on the public access, unless she works for the government. In those cases you can picket right up near the front door. It can be the most fun you ever had. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=27395259

Since I train dogs, I'll address the dog issue. First look at what things YOU can do to address any possible issues. Of course, you don't want your child or dog to get hurt. So, work on training the dog to be a bit more sharp, more up and coming with all of its basic obedience commands. Sit, Come, Lay Down, Back up, Get down, Get off, Come up. When we actively train, using Positive Reinforcement, we not only teach our companion animal useful things to do on command, we also provide ourselves and the dog with ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS to understand and do when the dog is about to make a (bad) less desired decision on how it will behave. We give the dog a way to earn praise and treats that the dog will value. Training the child is JUST AS IMPORTANT. A dog, kitten, bird or hamster, is a living creature with feelings and ideas of its own. Not a toy designed to be played with continuously, or have its body parts pulled, pinched or over stimulated without respect. Oddly enough most children do not realize this, unless they are taught to respect animals. From what you say, unless your child is over the age of 10, I would have to say it is not the dog's fault, or the child's fault...it is THE PARENT'S FAULT...both of the parents, not just you. You are both expected to support your child learning that a dog is not a toy. It is the adult's responsibility to create healthy, clear boundaries and rules that WILL be enforced, when the child refuses to accept a verbal command that they STOP annoying an animal. Of course, if the dog enjoys children and playing, it is good to encourage CORRECT PLAY under adult supervision...this way if the child becomes too rough, or demanding you can interrupt and show the child the correct way to play, reminding them that "SPARKY" wants to have fun too, but that THIS is not fun for "Sparky!" Remind the child that if the dog LEAVES the game, it is not because the dog doesn't love them, but that the dog is tired, or wants some time to relax and calm down before playing more, then REDIRECT the child to do something else, without THE DOG needing to take part. This is what we do for a young child who is just learning to respect animals. An older child should know, by now, that a dog or other animal is not a toy, or battery operated! The older child that refuses to listen, needs to have something of value taken away from them, for such behaviors. Is is possible that your child may feel jealous that the dog gets to be with you and enjoy your company all of the time? Might they think you love the dog more than you do them? Kids can come up with some pretty odd ideas, when their worlds are shattered and reconstructed by their parents....anger, fear, sorrow, and a feeling of having no control over their lives can often surface in strange ways, including "punishing" the family pet. Good luck, be on your toes, and assert your rights as much as you can within the law. You might consider taking your dog to a training class and getting the dog Certified as a Canine Good Citizen, this won't hurt you or the dog one bit, but it does prove, should your ex become a total pain in your butt over this, that you have taken steps WITH THE DOG, to insure your child's safety. All dogs bite, it is simply a matter of what will push a dog to do so....some never are pushed that far. You have to make sure your dog is not pushed that far by your child.