My in-laws have had dogs for years, and they do not have the best track record with them to say the least. The first 2 dogs (german shorthair pointers) ran away (they were intact and left to roam outside with no leash). The third dog bit my sister in law in the face to the point that she needed plastic surgery to repair the damage - he bit her lip off her face. My father in law delt with the situation by physically beating the dog (to make himself feel better of course) and having it put to sleep. Fourth and most recent dog was a beagle, always overweight from being fed table scraps. Also, due to the fact that this dog had zero obedience training and the family members often roughhoused with him, he had a dominace aggression problem. They got him as a puppy. You could not take something out of this mouth, or grab him by the collar, or touch his ears in a certain way or you were certain to be bitten. He bit countless people, almost every member of the household at least once and friends of the family, and I mean broken skin and blood. He died recently at the age of thirteen due to pancreatitis.
I have tried to offer advise regarding training and nutrition, but they don't want to listen and my brother in law thinks I'm some crazy dog freak know it all because I use words like "socialization" or "positive reinforcement". They now want to get their next dog and they want a yellow lab puppy. I am dreading this whole thing as you can probably imagine! Any ideas on how to get through to these people?