our golden bit my son

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I did not change my post . But I will clear things up for you if a dogs behaviour results in its owner being shocked by it and their is children involved then in my opinion the dog should go . If it snaps/attacks/growls if the child is frightened then the dog should go . And if a dog does attack a child then there is no question but the dog should be put down

I didn't say you changed your post. You used the word "snap" in two posts and then used the word "attack" in another - after I had pointed out the differences. I quoted all three to show that you were trying to prove the same point but with very different situations.

In relation to your point above, it isn't right the you would get rid of a dog on the basis that it snaps. Who knows what might have happened, for all you know your child may have hurt it so then you get rid of the dog based on your own childs attack on the dog. Great message to send to your kids.

If a dog attacks then there is a basis to get rid, but again the circumstances of the attack need to be taken into account.

boxerly wrote: »

OP said scratch and a bruise,skin was not broken

I said sorry for that once I'm not saying it again

tfitzgerald wrote: »

Sorry I thought the op mentioned stitches I apologise . It still wouldn't matter I would not trust my children with a dog that snaps. If other people want to take a chance that's their choice

Very true. I think it`s time to get rid of the child

I'm not overly keen on the idea of a dog up in a childs bedroom. Firstly, I don't think they should have access to the whole house. Secondly, my children can get quite 'giddy' so I wouldn't feel comfortable for our dog to be left with them in an enclosed space.

Groom! wrote: »

Good point...I would not let them in the bedrooms. My 2 nephews adore our 4 dogs but I would never leave them alone with them.

I have a goldie and she "bit" me yesterday (over keen having a treat!) and yes it was sore. But it was my own fault for whatever way I was holding it for her.

Unless the OP witnessed the "attack" or really gets to the bottom of it, the dog should be given the benefit of the doubt. 10 years old is old enough to be able to tell you what happened.

Wha a fright you must have all got. And how sad: all those days of puppy love and happiness and happy days of fun and games erased because of the fright you got. The dog didn't break the skin; at one they are strong and can control what they do; I think perhaps something happened that maybe your child didn't recognise as being significant but the dog did; and the dog showed reatraint in not hurting your child as it could have. Children are children: even at ten; s/he most likely didn't see or realise what was happening to upset the dog; the growl must have been scary to hear but that was a warning, the child even then didn't realise what was happening. Try and talk to the child through all the events that were happening so you can puzzle out what was upsetting the dog.
Mine once got her toe trapped in sthing on the "floor" of the car and nearly went nuts screaming and struggling; I'm supposed to be an adult and it took me a while to cop on while the dog went nuts in pain.... It could have been something really insignificNt to your child but big or maybe painful to fido... A chat with your arm around them on the couch... Maybe you can figure the cause out together.
Best of luck : )
And think of all the happy memories too...

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I'm not saying it's the dogs fault. I love my dogs but if one of them snapped at one of my girls and frightened her then I would not take a chance that the dog would hurt her . The dog would go

I will admit that the dog would want to really have frightened her

No offence, but you shouldn't have dogs so. Seriously.

Children are children. Children will pull tails, pull ears, crawl, & wrestle.

Dogs are animals. They will react. If a persons only response to a reaction is to "get rid of the dog" then, they have no right to own a dog, invite a dog to their pack (family), form a new pack including the dog. It's simply ignorance on behalf of the person to do that, and it's cruel to the dog.

It's cruel to the dog to expect them to behave as anything other than a dog.

Every dog will have a 'limit', no matter how well trained, exercised, etc. Agree, that children need to be taught how to behave around dogs. Our boxer is well exercised, perfectly behaved in the house and very gentle with my three children. They don't play with her in a physical way - they play hide & seek, find the toy, etc. She and I have 'floor' time which is more physical, and I would never allow the children to play with her like this.

I wonder if you had two kids and one punched the other and caused a nosebleed would you get rid of it or get to the bottom of it first? At the end of the day a dog communicates just as efficiently as a person does, and a ten year old should be more than capable of understanding a warning. My first family dog was put to sleep for biting my brother's bottom lip and it wasn't until about two weeks after that he admitted to holding a cookie between his teeth and making the dog tug for it. Naturally he got what was coming to him, and a poor dog suffered as a result.

You need to find out exactly what happened from your son. This will govern what you do, if the dog snapped in agressive way then yes you need to worry but I was nipped as a child while playing with a dog, i have a big scrape at the moment from my mothers dog stratching me, that was not agression it was me being too rough or silly with the dog. He may have been playing with the dog or he may have annoyed the dog, if your son did something to provoke it (not blaming your son, he is a child and we can all make a mistake) then its very different then the dog snapping for nothing.

tfitzgerald wrote: »

ppink wrote: »

you know when I see posts like this I just despair at how some people are teaching their offspring that other creatures are disposable.

No attempt at understanding, resolving or helping......
It surely cannot be a good thing to react so extreme to a snap. What other method of communication do you thing a dog should use if it is unhappy/sick/threatened?[/QUOTE

Ppink you can despair all you like . I bet you don't have children if you did and one of them was frightened by a dog you can always explain to the dog it's wrong and tap it on its head . Give out to the child . ffs

whether I have kids or not is nothing to do with this, and you can curse at me all you want too:rolleyes:.
I could not even count the amount of dogs that snapped(and worse) at me or my siblings growing up......thank god we had parents who taught us to respect life and to open our eyes and our minds.
we all have brains and we are supposed to be more intelligent then dogs.....lets try using them!
I really hope you have no animals as I would fear for them.