Our dog bit my 7 year old in the face

DBB

Censored11 wrote: »

Look apologies ok. I just don't think they need a dog expert or quack to go through issues.
Its just so simple. The dog was protecting its bone. That's it

Okay... The reason I recommended a behaviourist (a qualified and certified one, as opposed to a quack, of which there are many in Ireland, unfortunately) is because people are advising the owner to have the dog euthanased, and the owner appears to be heeding that advice... From an Internet forum... Ya know? Given this, it is my opinion that the owner needs to get a balanced, knowledgeable, qualified opinion before they start talking about euthanasia or putting the dog in the pound.
There's no need for you to be so forceful nor to use bad language whether you agree with me or not, as already mentioned in my mod warning earlier in the thread.

John_Rambo

cannotlogin wrote: »

I'm at a loss to understand how you could even question this.

An animal that poses a threat to your child should be dealt with immediately.

You were lucky this time, coukd be much worse next time - why take the risk?

Agreed 100% Take the risk away, don't let the child near the dog when it has a bone & feed the dog where it's comfortable and away from the kids!


Problem solved.

strandroad

The Satanist wrote: »

If my dad went and had the dog killed over this, I would have been devastated. The lesson I would've learned would be that I can act the bollix and someone else would face the consequences.

In fairness to OP's child, he was not acting the bollix, he just didn't have the knowledge. Which can be fixed.

Wheety

Gaspode wrote: »

I would definitely get rid of that dog. The child's safety has to come first and there's every chance the dog will bite again. If someone else's dog bit your child you wouldnt hesitate to demand it be put down.

Why is there every chance it'll happen again if nothing like this has ever happened before, is there not more chance of it not happening again?

OP, don't get the dog put down. You've now admitted to not even seeing the incident. If the dog has been a good family pet up to now you can bet that your child didn't notice the warnings and put their face too close while the dog was eating a bone.

The dog growling at other dogs while on the leash can be down to you possibly yanking your dog away from other dogs and your dog taking this as a (mistaken) sign of danger.

artanevilla

fin12 wrote: »

Ya I give one sometimes to our nearly 10 month old golden retriever. She’s so affectionate and friendly.

Give her a kiss from me.

Bob Harris

cannotlogin wrote: »

I'm at a loss to understand how you could even question this.

An animal that poses a threat to your child should be dealt with immediately.

You were lucky this time, coukd be much worse next time - why take the risk?

Why have a child at all with all the risks in the big bad world.

Some of the replies on this thread would make you despair.

Op, keep the dog and learn the lesson. Putting the dog down and never getting another is not the way to go about things.

TerrorFirmer

Jesus, you'd swear the dog crept into the childs bedroom at night and gave him a savage, unprovoked mauling at the stroke of midnight.

The dog was eating and his space was invaded. Not all dogs react the same, but a great many dogs do not like people in close proximity while they're eating. This is entirely normal behavior for dogs. Clearly the child was extremely close, the dog didn't leap 5 metres across the room and latch onto his face.

There is a lesson to be learned from this for everyone. Boundaries to be set and explanations to be offered to the child. Talk of having the dog killed like it's some sort of out of control rabid animal just beggars belief.

I would understand if the dog had approached the child and bit for no reason, that's inherently risky behavior and at that point you would have to consider rehoming, or whatever. What's outlined in the OP is not really any sort of deal at all and certainly not the dogs fault.

Censored11

DBB wrote: »

Okay... The reason I recommended a behaviourist (a qualified and certified one, as opposed to a quack, of which there are many in Ireland, unfortunately) is because people are advising the owner to have the dog euthanased, and the owner appears to be heeding that advice... From an Internet forum... Ya know? Given this, it is my opinion that the owner needs to get a balanced, knowledgeable, qualified opinion before they start talking about euthanasia or putting the dog in the pound.
There's no need for you to be so forceful nor to use bad language whether you agree with me or not, as already mentioned in my mod warning earlier in the thread.

Ok I'm sorry for being so forceful.
I just don't want to see a family pet be put down because of a little kid not knowing about the nature of animals. Im not trying to be difficult.
Again... Its just common sense & 101 of dog ownership.
Goodnight...

strandroad

Wheety wrote: »

The dog growling at other dogs while on the leash can be down to you possibly yanking your dog away from other dogs and your dog taking this as a (mistaken) sign of danger.

I think it's quite common for dogs to have increased reactions while on the leash; they know that they can't run away should anything happen so they try the hard man act to scare the other dog off.

Mena Mitty

Censored11 wrote: »

Yes your dog was enjoying the bone and didn't want to share.
What should you do to prevent it happening again: keep your child away from the dog while its enjoying its bone.
This is common sense stuff op.

The above is sound advice. Keep your child away from the dog when he's eating or enjoying knawing his bone.

I was bitten three times by dogs before I was 15. Each time it was my own fault.

My hand and wrist were puncture wounds and my ankle needed stitches. I also was bit on the ear when I was playing on the floor with a little terrier we had, I bled like a pig, it looked worse than it was and I have scars from each of the bites.

The dogs that bit me were our pets and I loved them. They never bit anyone else and all lived to ripe old ages.

There was talk of putting the dogs down at the time, mostly from neighbours who never owned a cat or dog in their lives, and told anyone that would listen that once the dog got a taste for blood etc....pure bulls*it talk.

I hope your child is ok and he gets to grow up with the family pet.

pburns

I was bitten in the face by an old sheepdog we had at about 4 yrs old. Frightened the ****e in me but it was my own fault for annoying her. Life lesson...

Keep your child away from dogs eating their food.

Don't put down the dog.

I have a lovely dog right now (half Lab) who is as gentle as they come. But if someone went messing at food he was enjoying who knows?

Don't listen to the urban idiots living in boxes who don't know ANYTHING about dogs...

Kauto0709

The Jammy dodger wrote: »

To be honest when it happened, the more (I think) sensible side of me was thinking the dog never does this, and my son never watched him bite a bone before and so the dog doesn't want to hurt my son but is instinctively guarding the bone. Other than that my son and the dog always play together and the dog has a strange attachment to him for years now. My initial dealing with it is just to ensure they leave the dog alone when he's chewing on something like that.

It's a tough decision and I know I'm going to lose sleep over it.

Your dog and your son are friends. The dog presumably saw your son as a threat to the bone and so snapped. Perhaps he didn't even mean to bite him, just to warn him off. Don't get him put down, he is a part of the family, your son would be so upset. Just talk to your son about giving the dog some space.

keepalive213

It's difficult to give informed advice without knowing the exact circumstances...
In saying that I think it would be wrong to kill the dog for that, most any dog I've seen will snarl if you get to close while they are eating.
I'd imagine a good deal of dogs would instinctively nip you if you came between them and their food / bone.
If the dog is otherwise then placid keep it and just be more careful around feeding times.
If that's not an option then try re home it.
I got a proper chewing as a child from a cattle dog that was eating at the time, she was re homed to a farm with no kids. It was a loss, she was a gift besides.

Edit... I bet if anyone tried to bother the same child the dog would nip them too.

ExoPolitic

I had a dog that nipped one of my chickens in the same way, the next day it ate two of them...

Dog was swiftly removed from the premises...

If your in Dundalk ring the Louth county council pound.

They have a good team up there and will assess the dog. They also work with rescues to rehome dogs and the rescue also work on their behavior.

Be honest with them and tell them everything about the dog, and by this I mean it's entire history and they will give you their honest opinion.

BTW you mentioned that your child was staring at your dog while it was eating, dogs see that as aggression and an attempt to take its food, as its what another dog will do when it wants to do exactly thst. Some dogs will react as if your child was a dog and snap or worse.

Hope you're child is OK and that you make the right decision for you.

Doctors room ghost

If it was my dog I’d keep him and tell the child to stay away from the dog when it’s eating.
I’d also feed him in a separate area away from people in future and I’d have given it a good lash when it did bite if I witnessed it but that’s all.
Feed it on its own.most dogs don’t like people messing with them or getting up in their space when they eat.
It’s not like it’s running around biting everyone ffs.
That’s not an aggressive dog you have.

borderlinemeath

The Jammy dodger wrote: »

For the mod up above I'm from Dundalk. The dog is a cross between a spaniel and perhaps a collie and he's about 6 year old. He was a rescue dog from a local lady initially given to my dad but I decided I liked him so much we swapped over dogs and certs etc etc.

His behaviours since we have known him this last 5 years? He jumps up on people looking to get petted. All he ever wants is for me to pet him. He's never in all the years we've had him been aggressive with anyone just with other dogs as we pass them on the leash.

I didn't see the incident because I was in the kitchen. Initially I heard my son cry, I rushed to ask him the problem and I suggested that maybe the dog jumped up on him and scratched him with his nail or something but my son said he was looking down on him eating his bone and without warning he lifted his head and bit him real quick. There was no growling, no barking or anything of the sort. We have never given the dog a bone as long as we've owned him and only ever fed him dry food from the bowl. But a few days ago my wife comes home from the shop with a bone of a pigs leg or foot and that's his first time ever owning a bone.

Bones are a really high value treat. Really high value. Long lasting, tasty, meaty bone after all the years he's just had dog nuts. Of course he felt threatened OP, he'd just won the food lottery and he thought your son could possibly take it away, so he reacted in the only way he knew how. He would have reacted to you or any other human or animal that came into his space at that moment in time. You might have noticed him freeze or lip curl, or any number of subtle little movements that DBB mentioned above, but a 7yr old, who had no experience of reading canine body language would have been pretty oblivious to them.



Again, I'm showing my age but I was also taught at an early age not to annoy the dog when he/she was eating. I tell my 3yr old not to annoy the dogs when they're eating and that they have sharp teeth and could get annoyed. So she helps me get their dinner ready, she puts the bowls down and we walk away. Nowadays dogs are expected to be robots and not to react to anything, a lot of people make the mistake of giving out to a dog for growling or showing teeth, basically suppressing the only warning signals they have. So when they bypass those signals, for fear of their human given out to them, all they have left to warn with is their teeth.



OP, I wouldn't be getting the dog put down. I wouldn't rehome the dog either. I'd manage the situation by NEVER giving him a bone again. Or if you want to give him a high value treat, get a crate and all high value treats are to be eaten in the crate, safe for the dog, safe for your son. You could get a behaviourist in for a consult to observe the situation and to assess the dogs behaviour. You could get a plan of action on how to go from here should you wish to keep the dog. Bear in mind that it's not a training plan for the dog - rather a training plan for the humans on how to manage the situation.



^^
The above is just my opinion. I understand that you could be uncomfortable with having the dog around your son given that he has nipped him. You said that it was your fathers dog, could he go back to your father?

Doctors room ghost

ExoPolitic wrote: »

I had a dog that nipped one of my chickens in the same way, the next day it ate two of them...

Dog was swiftly removed from the premises...

You should have had the hens secured away from the dog in a predator proof area.that was the dogs instinct and your fault it happened.bad animal husbandry.

givyjoe

ExoPolitic wrote: »

I had a dog that nipped one of my chickens in the same way, the next day it ate two of them...

Dog was swiftly removed from the premises...

Yeah, definitely a comparable situation. Better remove the dog before he eats the op's kid

Suckit

People very quick to put down a dog. It's unfortunate that they were the first replies to the op.
Your son could have been in the dogs blindspot and startled him. There could have been a lot of contributing factors tbh that you may not have seen. If they get on normally it seems a huge jump to want to kill the dog straight away.
It is worth noting that if the dog wanted to bite your son and cause harm, it would have.
It sounds more like a warning snap and maybe your son moved or was closer than the dog thought.
Killing the dog would definitely not be my first instinct. You could also consider monitoring the dog with your son for a few days and see if there is anything to be wary of.
Feed the dog out the back garden or in a room away from where you son can go. If you are still unsure then maybe ask around or if anyone would like to take the dog explaining why. Failing that, then maybe the dog pound.

Killing the dog would be my absolute last resort, and only when all other avenues are completely exhausted and I'm sure the dog is going to attack somebody.

Bannasidhe

ExoPolitic wrote: »

I had a dog that nipped one of my chickens in the same way, the next day it ate two of them...

Dog was swiftly removed from the premises...

Did the dog think the chicken was going to take it's bone?

If not, it's not at all "in the same way" is it?

Doctors room ghost

ExoPolitic wrote: »

I had a dog that nipped one of my chickens in the same way, the next day it ate two of them...

Dog was swiftly removed from the premises...

Ffs your dog bit a chicken and yet the next day ate 2.did you not think after the first day that you should do something to avoid further problems.
Hardly Einstein territory.
Bad animal husbandry. The dog shouldn’t have had access to the hens and you as the owner failed them both

Cherry Blossom

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

I’d have given it a good lash when it did bite if I witnessed it but that’s all.

You have posted in this forum enough to know that advocating violence towards animals is not tolerated here under any circumstances. Reign it in, thanks

linpoo

The Jammy dodger wrote: »

To be honest when it happened, the more (I think) sensible side of me was thinking the dog never does this, and my son never watched him bite a bone before and so the dog doesn't want to hurt my son but is instinctively guarding the bone. Other than that my son and the dog always play together and the dog has a strange attachment to him for years now. My initial dealing with it is just to ensure they leave the dog alone when he's chewing on something like that.

It's a tough decision and I know I'm going to lose sleep over it.

When i was a child my nanny had a yorkshire and i got snapped at and nipped on the lips a few times. That doesnt mean a dog is agressive or likely to do that again. That dog never did it again and lived to old age.

I them had a jack russel for 14 years and if i went near him when he was eating she would show his teeth and growl or if i put my foot near she would snap it.....doesnt make the dog agressive for protecting her food. This dog was great then with the kids that came along.


There are ways of showing the dog that the kids are top of the pack if you google it you will find the information.....ive done it with my own dog.

Please find the dog a home with adults only if you are insistent on getting rid. A snap is not a putting downable offence imo.

Also the child needs a tetanus shot.

borderlinemeath

linpoo wrote: »

When i was a child my nanny had a yorkshire and i got snapped at and nipped on the lips a few times. That doesnt mean a dog is agressive or likely to do that again. That dog never did it again and lived to old age.

I them had a jack russel for 14 years and if i went near him when he was eating she would show his teeth and growl or if i put my foot near she would snap it.....doesnt make the dog agressive for protecting her food. This dog was great then with the kids that came along.


There are ways of showing the dog that the kids are top of the pack if you google it you will find the information.....ive done it with my own dog.

Please find the dog a home with adults only if you are insistent on getting rid. A snap is not a putting downable offence imo.

Also the child needs a tetanus shot.

Please, do not tell the OP to google how your kids need to be "top of the pack"
Please, just No!!

Bobeagleburger

I wouldn't trust any dog with a small child and I love dogs.

I don't give my dog any bones anymore because when he had them he was so aggressive. Didn't like anyone, including me, being anywhere near him when he had one.
I don't go near him when he eats, I tell everyone else to stay away from him when he is eating.
My dog would even growl at me when he had a bone, it's very high on their want list I think!
Tell your kid to stay away when dog is eating. Should be grand

wolfie1968

We have a 9 year old Westie. Once or twice over the years we gave him a bone. I approached him one time messing, trying to get the bone off him and he basically turned in to a completely different dog in seconds. They go back to their natural instincts and become very dangerous. Bones really bring out the vicious side of some dogs. Stick to the basic food.

keepalive213

RoboKlopp wrote: »

I wouldn't trust any dog with a small child and I love dogs.

Very true

mickdw

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

I’d have given it a good lash when it did bite if I witnessed it but that’s all.

You have posted in this forum enough to know that advocating violence towards animals is not tolerated here under any circumstances. Reign it in, thanks

Ah ya far better to sit the dog down and explain in its chosen language that it had in fact acted in a manner than was not acceptable. You could then finish the conversation by asking that they didn't do it again or if they did to make sure that they covered their arse by making sure that the child had at least ignored 3 warning signs because then there is not a court in the land that could put it to death.
On no account use a little slap to reinforce the wrong doing.