our golden bit my son

skylight1987 · 18-10-2011 9:51pm #1

my golden retriever just bit my ten yr old they were on their own together in his bedroom we were down stairs , i am shocked the dog is a year old and this has never happened before and it wasnt play fighting we heard the growl and my son scream . the dog is out the back now, sons hand scratched and bruised , skin not broken , but he is very upset what do i do now i will never leave them alone together again but i thought goldens could be trusted this has really surprised me

boxerly · 18-10-2011 9:54pm

You can never trust leaving a child and a dog alone.Could he have stood on him by accident?or rolled over on him?etc and hurt the dog?

andreac · 18-10-2011 9:58pm

What was the child doing when the dog went for him?

You dont know the circumstances that caused the dog to lash out if you werent there so anything could have happened.

Did the dog have a toy or a treat or food anywhere near him?

Could the dog be in pain, maybe he needs to be checked out by a vet first to rule out something medically wrong with him too.

Sigma Force · 18-10-2011 10:15pm

Agree, you need to ask your son what exactly happened before the dog bit him, just say he won't be in trouble you just need to know so you can understand why the dog bit him.

If you are worried perhaps get some advice from a dog behaviourist (that uses humane methods) because you will be understandably nervous to have him around the child.

There's usually a reason behind it, I wouldn't automatically trust any dog around kids no matter what the breed, kids might not be able to read subtle signals.

The Sweeper · 19-10-2011 1:35am

+1 to what the others said about asking your son what was going on when the dog bit him.

Consider having the dog checked out by a vet to see if he's sore or ailing. Don't leave them unsupervised. A dog the size of a year-old golden retriever could do a child a hell of a lot of damage if he wanted to, so the point is that if your boy came away with a bruised and scratched hand the dog may have just been either warning him off or trying to make a 'leave me alone' point.

You could get a behaviourist in to help identify what may have happened, but also to train your child how to properly interact with the dog.

By the way breed is no guarantee of temperament - any dog is capable of being a great pet and also capable of doing extreme damage.

lrushe · 19-10-2011 11:00am

skylight1987 wrote: »

my golden retriever just bit my ten yr old they were on their own together in his bedroom we were down stairs , i am shocked the dog is a year old and this has never happened before and it wasnt play fighting we heard the growl and my son scream . the dog is out the back now, sons hand scratched and bruised , skin not broken , but he is very upset what do i do now i will never leave them alone together again but i thought goldens could be trusted this has really surprised me

By the sound of your sons injuries the dog showed alot of self control as a dog that size could have done alot more damage had the bite been agression based.
I would ask your son exactly what the circumstances leading to the bite were as this will determine the action to be taken.
In the meantime do not ever leave the 2 of them alone again, this rule would apply no matter what breed of dog you have.

Outkast_IRE · 19-10-2011 11:08am

Obviously something happened , a dog doesnt walk up to the child and bite him , something caused the dog to lash out you must get to the bottom of it though

tk123 · 19-10-2011 11:16am

I'd be wondering what was going on before he bit - eg was he resource guarding and maybe your son went to pick up something the dog had or was going to take, was he hurting the dog in anyway etc. Not trying to make out your son is at fault but any time my dog has bitten there's been a reason. EG he doesn't like being examined by male vets so will give a growl, he doesn't like being dragged/pushed (this is all down to him being handled roughly by a vet when he was young) sometimes he can be possessive of what he might see as a treasure (usually something disgusting lol). You need to find out what triggered the growl and bite and go from there.

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 11:21am

I have two dogs that i love and if one of them bit one of my children and stitches were the result . There would be NO circumstances in which the dog would be kept . I would not take a chance where the children are concerned and no excuses either the dog would go

andreac · 19-10-2011 11:36am

tfitzgerald wrote: »

I have two dogs that i love and if one of them bit one of my children and stitches were the result . There would be NO circumstances in which the dog would be kept . I would not take a chance where the children are concerned and no excuses either the dog would go

Who mentioned stitches??

No one knows exactly why the dog lashed out so you cant be quick to blame the dog.

evilmonkee · 19-10-2011 11:56am

+1 on what everyone said about finding out what exactly happened.

Also want to completely agree with lrushe's post above- Golden's are big dogs, built for hunting (and very effective at it). If this was an aggressive bite, the skin would definitely be broken and more.

This sounds like a defensive/warning bite/nip ie. resource guarding, pain, fear etc.

Just to chip in on the golden thing, they are beautiful (as all dogs are), they have fantastic temperaments. But they are dogs. They will act like dogs. You cant blame a dog for protecting itself - regardless of breed and regardless of whether the emotion was felt in a human-rational way.

Wisco · 19-10-2011 12:28pm

The Sweeper wrote: »

By the way breed is no guarantee of temperament - any dog is capable of being a great pet and also capable of doing extreme damage.

I couldn't have said this better. Children and dogs should NEVER be left unsupervised. I'm sure there probably was some underlying cause for what happened but kids (and dog owners in general, to be fair) are often really bad at reading the doggy body language that shows a dog is unhappy and might bite.

lil_tuts · 19-10-2011 12:28pm

What was your son doing though ? Did he push the dog off the bed or was he annoying him ? You need to get it out of your son I wouldn't just blame the dog straight away sounds like he reacted to something your son did. If not then I would worry.

planetX · 19-10-2011 1:12pm

Look I have a ten yr old son and a 6 month old dog, and they can NEVER be left alone without some kind of incident. Usually it's the dog getting wrestled, but my son has been hurt through inappropriate play.
Supervision.

Whispered · 19-10-2011 1:47pm

In fairness to the OP as a child I was regularly "left alone" with dogs. When I say left alone, we'd all be playing around the garden. These were hunting dogs as opposed to pets. Although if I was bitten or knocked I'd usually be told I should have been more careful/not bothered the dog depending on the circumstances.

I would happily leave a ten year old in the same room as Harley if they were very familiar with each other. A ten year old is not all that young to be with a dog so long as the ten year old knows how to act around the dog. I'd imagine half of the posters here have lovely memories of sitting in your room, or out the back, alone, with your dog, having great conversations

OP will your son tell you exactly what happened? We all make mistakes and maybe your son pushed the dog a bit too much - on the other hand, maybe the dog has some sort of behavioural issue you need to work on. Either way, you do need to know what happened so you can determine where to go from here.

There is no need to punish the dog now as he would have no idea why. Maybe you could encourage your son to "make friends" with the dog, just in case he develops a fear through this incident. It can either become a huge deal, or on the surface it can be "forgotten" while you work on it in the background. But I think for your sons sake you should make as little of it as possible.

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 3:50pm

andreac wrote: »

Who mentioned stitches?? No one knows exactly why the dog lashed out so you cant be quick to blame the dog.

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

andreac · 19-10-2011 3:59pm

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

But what if it wasnt the dogs fault??

What if the dog was being taunted, or was in pain, its the only way a dog can communicate by growling or nipping if they arent happy with a situation.

I certainly wouldnt fault a dog unless i knew full well the circumstances as to why he lashed out.

borderlinemeath · 19-10-2011 4:04pm

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

OK 2 things.

No you shouldn't trust your children with dogs. They should be supervised. Not because the dog might just snap, but because the child may treat it in such a way that it could snap. Children don't think like adults or move like adults. I know my OHs nephews jump about the place like leprauchans on speed and they can scare my dogs so I definately wouldn't leave them alone together - even though my dogs are the friendliest dogs you could meet.

Secondly - as posters have tried to point out - a well socialised dog doesn't just attack. It's highly likely that the dog was either provoked, or unintentionally injured by the child for the incident to occur. Or the dog may be ill or injured - a sure sign of this is a warning snap. It's the dogs way of saying stay away - I'm not ok.

Taltos · 19-10-2011 4:08pm

I grew up with dogs - all family pets.

Was bitten a few times - looking back on it in every case it was my fault.
Parents of course each time reprimanded the dog but I never ever remember them asking me what I did to trigger it.

Without exception in my case I was the one to trigger the bite every time.
> Playing too roughly.
> Taking the dogs treat even after getting the warning growl.
I could go on - bit of a silly kid really.

OP - recommend you have a long chat with your son and get to the real root of what was going on in his room prior to this incident. I am not saying he did anything wrong - just that chances are something triggered this and in order to manage it you need to know what that is.

It might also be worthwhile getting the dog checked out by the vet - one of mine is in pain now with hip dysplaysia - this presents as strong aggression to strangers... I know weird but it would be good to know why.

In my case above I learnt from the nips, hopefully it will all work out well for you too.

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 4:09pm

andreac wrote: »

But what if it wasnt the dogs fault??

What if the dog was being taunted, or was in pain, its the only way a dog can communicate by growling or nipping if they arent happy with a situation.

I certainly wouldnt fault a dog unless i knew full well the circumstances as to why he lashed out.

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

Whispered · 19-10-2011 4:13pm

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

I remember being headbutted in the nose by a wolfhound lurcher, a huge big hulk of a dog. By far my scariest experience with a dog as a child, and most painful. haha.

I know what you're trying to say, but I would worry for a child who might have caused a nip by accident, their dog is "sent away" and as they grow up they realise it was actually not the dogs fault. I'd blame myself and am thankful for all the times I was told to stop whinging, stop annoying the dogs and go play, to be honest, because every single incident where I was scared or even hurt by one of our dogs, as a child, was not the dogs fault.

borderlinemeath · 19-10-2011 4:15pm

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

I don't think you see the difference between a "snap" and an attack.

A snap is a warning from the dog to say - I'm scared/uncomfortable/in pain.

An attack is something completely different and nobody would disagree with you if your child was attacked by a dog. The dog would use it's full force and sustain it rather than snapping and withdrawing.

andreac · 19-10-2011 4:17pm

But what if your child caused the dog to snap, lash out because of something it did to the dog, would you still blame the dog?

joolsveer · 19-10-2011 4:19pm

I have been nipped a couple of times by my two dogs but it was either an accident (as in they missed a toy by inches) or my fault for being a nuisance. Dogs have to be given some leeway as do people.

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 5:09pm

andreac wrote: »

But what if your child caused the dog to snap, lash out because of something it did to the dog, would you still blame the dog?

No of course it would be the child's fault . Are you saying it would be ok for a dog to attack a child if the child provoked it . Because I don't care what the child did or didn't do the dog would go

borderlinemeath · 19-10-2011 5:14pm

tfitzgerald wrote: »

No of course it would be the child's fault . Are you saying it would be ok for a dog to attack a child if the child provoked it . Because I don't care what the child did or didn't do the dog would go

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

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

Now you're saying attack, but previous to this you would get rid of the dog based on a snap. Which is it? They're different things and nobody would condone you for getting rid of a dog that attacked - but a snap is not something to get rid of a dog for.

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 5:20pm

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Now you're saying attack, but previous to this you would get rid of the dog based on a snap. Which is it? They're different things and nobody would condone you for getting rid of a dog that attacked - but a snap is not something to get rid of a dog for.

And your playing with words. I said if the dog frightened the child the dog would go

borderlinemeath · 19-10-2011 5:26pm

tfitzgerald wrote: »

And your playing with words. I said if the dog frightened the child the dog would go

I'm not playing with words, you wrote the posts. You said snap but on your last post you changed it to attack. They are two very different things and not to be confused.

It's bad enough that dogs get bad press regarding BSL/breeds/size without sensationalist posts saying that you would get rid of a dog if it "snaps" and then change it to attack because people don't agree with you.

lrushe · 19-10-2011 5:41pm

tfitzgerald wrote: »

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Now you're saying attack, but previous to this you would get rid of the dog based on a snap. Which is it? They're different things and nobody would condone you for getting rid of a dog that attacked - but a snap is not something to get rid of a dog for.

And your playing with words. I said if the dog frightened the child the dog would go

Doesn't that teach a child a bad lesson indeed even encourage a life long phobia?
Wouldn't it be better to keep the dog and teach a child how to interact correctly with the dog? A much better life lesson don't you think?
I'd also be afraid of teaching a child that a dog is disposable, when things don't go right or things get difficult the dog goes?

tfitzgerald · 19-10-2011 5:54pm

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I'm not playing with words, you wrote the posts. You said snap but on your last post you changed it to attack. They are two very different things and not to be confused.

It's bad enough that dogs get bad press regarding BSL/breeds/size without sensationalist posts saying that you would get rid of a dog if it "snaps" and then change it to attack because people don't agree with you.

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

Taltos · 19-10-2011 6:03pm

See no matter what you say - a dog does not have the verbal range of communication that we can understand. Not the dogs fault - just the way it is - many of us don't ready doggy.

Look at it this way.
Annoyed
> Human = "get lost" - "I'm telling on you" etc
> Cat = hiss or scratch (my right hand is a bloody mess today

).
> Dog = growl / tail drop / (var body reactions) / nip (rarely breaking skin unless not bit inhibit trained)

Something else to remember is dogs are mouth happy - what I mean is that they use their mouths for an awful lot. Only yesterday I was nipped on the chin as my dog was over excited to see me when I collected her. Did it hurt? Yup - still does. Did I get annoyed? No - my own fault for not "yelping" when she nipped me and for trying to put the lead on her while she was in an excited state.

Now - a dog attack is very very different. And needs a different approach.
A dog nip whether warning / play etc needs to be understood and managed.

our golden bit my son

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