My dog bit my son

Re: My dog bit my son

claire Speight — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:30:19 GMT

If my dog ever bit my child then I'm afraid there would be no second chances - I just don't think I could ever trust the dog again - sorry....

Claire

Re: My dog bit my son

Mac Feather — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:24:29 GMT

How is her tooth?

Re: My dog bit my son

Selena Carnell — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:05:41 GMT

its hard, as i dont feel i can trust her at the moment, but then again she has gone a whole year with my son poking, pulling, treading on her, shouting at her... the usual things kids do and she has only given him a warning growl every so often and never laid a tooth on him.

Ewan loves Daisy to bits, but today again he was trying to stroke her when she was in her cage, how do you get through to a almost 4 yr old that he must leave her alone, i thought he might have got the message!

She growled at my hubby when he fed her this am, and Oh gave her a clout which i really dont agree with.

I am now seeking behaviour advice, been in tears last night and this morning at the thought of rehoming her.

I did think well we could rehome her and get a more child friendly dog, but that really would help things or teach my son anything good, after all a dog is supposed to be for life.

She is usually so sumissive, she is a failed sheep dog and has always been a bit funny about her food, i'm blaming my self for buying her a bone and stupidly leaving in her cage.

We will see what the behaviourist says, also she gets fed bits from the table which i dont agree with i think this reinforces that the food is hers, she is begging and winning,

Re: My dog bit my son

Mac Feather — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:58:24 GMT

Im sorry that this has happened, not an easy situation to be in. Whats your gut feeling about this?

Re: My dog bit my son

Anonymous — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:55:22 GMT

I'm really sorry to hear that happened. I think if it were me i would have to base my decision on whether or not i could deal with the worst case senario down the line. But i also think i would try to give the dog a chance with the behaviourist and see what they have to say. But even then you have to be prepared for the worst and is it all really worth it?

Re: My dog bit my son

Selena Carnell — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:00:42 GMT

he is 3.5 yrs, and my daughter is 3 months.

do we risk it happening again. potentially more serious.

Re: My dog bit my son

albatross — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:41:47 GMT

I have a personal situation to recount and one of a friend's : two totally different scenarios.

A friend had an elderly terrier dog who had been known in the past to be grumpy at times (but never attacked) and the young children knew he had to have his own space. One day one of the children went towards the dog (having been told to stay away) and it nipped her. From then on the dog was kept in a pen until a family discussion several days later. Due to his age, and the threat to the children they decided to have him pts. They discussed rehoming, relocating with other family members, removing the few teeth he had, re-training, even trying to keep children and dog apart, but in the end they made the decision. Heartbreaking as my friend had grown up with the dog.

We had 4 dogs, then lost two within 3 months. The remaining brother and sister were fine together, but we then introduced a puppy bitch. When the older dog came into season she attacked the puppy during feeding time and I ended up getting bitten trying to separate them (I slipped on the wet floor and fell between them - give her credit though when she felt pink skin instead of black fur she released immediately). With the help of our vet we started retraining her (we'd relinquished command when the other two bitches died and this bitch became promoted to alpha leader, and we had to demote her again). Unfortunately when removing her muzzle longer than the normal feeding time, she attacked the puppy again when it squealed, then I again got in the middle as the attack happened either side of me (result-the other arm bitten!). Another month of training with the whole family taking part and eventually she settled down long enough to get to mid season when she was spayed (although not male and full of testosterone this did have an effect in removing the "PMT" effect during seasons). After more re-inforcement of pack order, she remained muzzle-free and allowed to stay with the puppy (the male dog then decided to intervene and from then on pushed her away if he felt she was intimidating the puppy, and then when the puppy grew up she had a small argument, without bloodshed, with the older one and they reversed the pack order and settled down).They lived happily together (although not totally best buddies) for another 4 years (over a year with just the two of them) until the older one's death last August.

If you intend to keep the dog you must ensure she has her own space, and enforce it with your son (even perhaps a secure crate/pen where he can't get to), spay her if she's unspayed, speak to a vet or a behavourist (I spoke to two at Crufts that year and was most disappointed with their ideas, and went along with my vets theories (sort of jill fennell meets dr doolittle!) which worked well but might not work for every scenario).
Keep them separate at food/treat times as this will be a trigger for the dog to guard/control food and not want anyone near at these times. As you say, it might be pain causing a grumpy dog so first off get her teeth sorted.

Ask if any family members could take the dog even for a short time, to work on the early behaviour stages before involving all the direct family in the re-training.

Ask you son what he thinks - is he goingo be scared to go near her, did he realise what he did wrong and would he listen to you in future regarding leaving the dog in peace (if he's too young to understand and might go near her when she's eating again then it's not worth the risk of it happening and his face getting bitten next time) ? It's important that he is part of any decision if he's old enough to understand. He will be key in any behaviour training as you will need to include him in the training to ensure the whole family does the same thing (if you decide to go this way).
Start asap with even minor training such as making sure you all eat before the dog does, that she has her own bed and space where it's a good place to be not a punishment, and also she comes when called, doesn't get what she wants if she cries/paws you/jumps up for attention etc. These will all help when you start proper training and will help you all to feel in control of the situation until you decide what the end result should be.

Good luck, with whatever route you decide to go down.
It's a hard choice to make and a lot of work if you decide to re-train.

Re: My dog bit my son

Vicky RVN — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:33:17 GMT

So so sorry to hear that. What a hard situation to be in. If i were you i'd do the same as other people have suggested and have a consult with a well trained behaviourist.

It's a shame you aren't in my area cos i'd have recommended the lady i've seen for training with Jack who has given me some fab behaviour advice (she was trained by Ann McBride from Southampton Uni if any of you have heard of her).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do x

Re: My dog bit my son

Fiona Leathers — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:31:39 GMT

I know that I wouldn't have a dog in my house which had bitten my child. I would not be able to live with myself if it happened again. although it would brak my heart, I would have no qualms in euthanasia.

Re: My dog bit my son

Saskia Quinn — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:30:11 GMT

Selena,

the fact that your son went in to 'her territory' and tried to, in her eyes, steal her bone, coupled with the fact she is most likely also in pain due to her tooth - makes this a very tough decision for you I think.

The fact that it didnt happen out of the blue can only be a positive thing, if you know what I mean. I guess if you look at it from the dogs point of view - she had her reasons.

However, safety of your children must be your first priority at all times.

Personally, if it was me, I would seek a consultation with a behaviourist before I made any decision and possibly keep her away from my children during this time. The only reason I would do the above would be if this was totally out of character for the dog and it had never happened before. Its your call - you know your own dog.

Incidentally, I have a rescue lurcher who can be quite unpredictable. She is fantastic with my boys and they can lead her anywhere by her collar and she is very happy to follow them, however, when play turns rough - she can and has snapped at them. Never anything serious. She has been through a lot of suffering in her short life so for this reason, I choose not to rehome or euthanase her. What we do now, is supervise her with the boys and they know they are not allowed to be rough with her, so far this has been ok, but I am always watching.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Re: My dog bit my son

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:28:50 GMT

Hi Selena,

Sorry to hear about this.

What I was always told and still believe to be true is biting is self rewarding.... they bite they get what they want, so are more likely to do it again.I know that is probably not what you want to hear, but I personally would not take any chances of it happening again.

Re: My dog bit my son

Catmad — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:00:34 GMT

Sorry to hear about what heppened.

Rehoming might not be an option as some rehoming centres won't take on dogs that have bitten people.

Re: My dog bit my son

loobylou — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:57:31 GMT

Im not sure what to suggest as I dont even know how I would feel in that situation.
Ive always said if I was in this situation the dog would be rehomed, no second chances but its so easy to say that when its not happened. I know I would be heartbroken to give up my dog even if he had bitten someone.
I think the fact you know what triggered it and are aware of what you need to do to stop it should give you hope.
A consultation with a behaviourist is a must before you make a decision. Its easy to say once is a mistake, twice and shes gone but what happens if the second time is worse.

Sorry, that probably wasnt much help. Good luck with her, hope you get a good outcome.

Re: My dog bit my son

paula morgan — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:50:31 GMT

I had a Patterdale terrier who used to nip all of us, all the time! depending in what mood he was in. I adored my wee dog, but I thought I would get him a pal, to see if he would be any happier, bad move he hated Scamp on sight! one day he really attacked him, and it was enough for me to rehome him, where he is an only dog and really happy.

I have 2 Border terriers and 2 labs and they have never been aggresive towards us or my wee girl, thankfully, it is a hard decision to have to make, but to tell you the truth i would never had trusted Bo(patterdale) with my wee girl.

What did you do when it happened?

Re: My dog bit my son

Claire Cameron — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:40:26 GMT

Hi,

Hope your son is ok, and of course your ok.

Its a difficult one, I can see both sides, I'd personally recommend a consultation with an experiences behaviourist (qualified)

I dont have kids so find these sort of situations difficult to relate to.

Hope everything works out for you

Sorry not much help x