Our dog bit a child. Do we have any options?

Homesick Alien

I'm sending this but I know in my heart it's probably pointless. Our gorgeous dog (around 1.5 yrs old) bit a child family member on the cheek and drew blood. No major damage. Went to a&e but just a couple of paper stitches required.

Our dog is an absolute joy but he is anxious. He has nipped at people before but never drawn blood. We brought him to a behaviourist who seemed not overly concerned and we were adjusting our behaviours and routines to avoid any situations which might lead to him lashing out at another dog or a person. He was a rescue who was rejected by his mother and this led to much of his anxiety.

Anyway despite our best efforts this has happened and while on the one hand we're very lucky there was no more damage done and that the family member was understanding we are heartbroken because we know he has to go. We have two young kids ourselves and they adore him and vice versa.

We know if we call a charity, given what's happened, they'll just put him to sleep. I don't know anyone who would want him either. Even a farmer would probably be wary (he's a collie cross and absolutely gorgeous). So this is my naively hopeful question: do we have any other options?

iniscealtra

You should bring him to the vet to put him down yourself rather than offload on a charity.

Otherwise rehome with an experienced dog owner with no children in the house.

DBK1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014401#Comment_121014401

That’s the best advice that can be given here really.

headtheball14

most rescues require you to return a dog to them rather than re-home yourself. it might be worth contacting for advice.

my old dog who was the sweetest nipped someone on the fAce once , he was quite young it never happened again and lived with us to a ripe old age with no.repeats. You can manage it if you can put the time in if he's not aggressive with you in the house. he really shouldn't be around strange kids if he is anxious. I have one now and they are separated from kids they don't know very well and adults as they can nip when overwhelmed.

your vet could also look at medication for anxiety , mine is on some for some time and it has helped an awful lot and it's not too expensive.

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014401#Comment_121014401

We're not looking to "offload on a charity" as you kindly put it. Think that's clear from my post.

Other than the rehoming forum on boards (which seems to have alot of dogs and not a lot of offers of rehoming) is there any other avenue to find another home?

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014457#Comment_121014457

Thanks for that, it's good to hear. Gives me some hope! He's not an "official" rescue, he was just part of an unwanted litter that had been fairly neglected so we offered to take him.

We've been keeping him away from adults and kids he doesn't know, and some he does. In this situation the kid in question came charging towards him (he was on the lead) because they like him and he reacted faster than we could.

Sounds like we should talk to the vet first.

Thanks!

pgj2015

We had a dog who did similar years ago. we gave him to someone who was great at training dogs. never saw him again. we used to tie him up which made him aggressive I think. we hadnt a clue how to train a dog to be honest.

Your dog is only young, he will likely settle down, it would be a shame to put him down as he had a hard life already with his mother etc

our neighbour had a rescue dog, a border collie mix, she also had a very hard start, she was afraid of strange men, it took her around 2 years to trust us, lovely dog and was really smart, very special dog, lived to a great age, her owners were heart broken when she died.

muddypaws

It can be very scary when something like this happens and you're probably in shock.

How is the dog at home and how old are your children? Have you spoken with the behaviourist since it happened?

I would muzzle train the dog and ensure he is always muzzled outside of the house. The right muzzle shouldn't cause the dog any distress and they should be able to pant and drink whilst wearing it.

An issue with a dog with a bite history, even one who doesn't really seem to be at fault like yours, is that children are unpredictable. Even if your own children know how to behave around him and do so appropriately, they will invariably have friends round to the house and that is where issues usually arise.

I would suggest talking to your behaviourist first of all.

Good luck

Ezeoul

County Council dog pounds put dogs down - animal rescues will usually assess them and then try to find suitable homes for them.

However, you may struggle to find a rescue that can take him in at the moment, as they are overwhelmed with rehoming requests.

One very well known animal charity has a waiting list of 900.

We're not allowed mention rescues by name on this forum, but if you google them you will find them.

In the interim, you can keep working with the dog, they are still very young. A good dog behaviourist should be able to help you manage their anxiety.

However you need to be vigilant on supervising the dog around children and strangers.

galvo_clare

Don’t be so sure that you have to let the dog go.

We had a similar incident with our dog - a small terrier. She was startled by a small child and nipped. No blood thankfully but the child was upset. No fault of the child. I saw cctv later and reckon our dog was startled by the white sheet of paper in the child’s hand.

not very pleasant for all concerned but we’ve been extremely careful with her ever since and years later she’s still fine.

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014523#Comment_121014523

You're right we are in shock and yet looking at his behaviour for the last six months since he turned one it's not a total shock that it happened. He growls when he's nervous and has nipped at others in the family (but never broken skin which apparently is never by chance). The behaviourist is on holidays at the moment but his input would be valuable. We've a appointment with the vet tomorrow but it's a locum and not the usual vet who knows him. Have spoken to one of the animal charities this morning and they are very keen for us to work on separation when there's others in the house and to be tuned into cues and certainly aren't advocating destroying the dog.

CramCycle

I got nipped by my aunt in laws dog a few years ago, a few years later and the dog is one of my best friends. It doesn't sound vicious or intentional, certainly not justifiable to put it down based on the story. Make sure you socialise the dog properly at dog parks and with other adult friends and family. Puppies nip all the time, something you need to warn people about. You should never put your face near most pups until they calm down a bit, some breeds never grow out of it.

geographica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014523#Comment_121014523

Imagine how the child feels 🙄

Furze99

Difference between a nip and a situation where a dog actually goes for a child or adult. The first is reactive as in your case as described or more often done in play. Whereas the latter is aggressive behaviour and not suited to a family pet. You'll need to judge which applies here but it sounds like the former.

delboythedub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121015267#Comment_121015267

You could have a look at Will Atherton Canine Training videos on utube. Well worth looking at and I believe all dog bad behaviour issues are fixable with a little patience.

lbunnae

You mixed up the words anxiety and aggression. Stitches needed on a childs face equals one very obvious answer. An answer that a good few on this forum won't give you though- it's a pointless question to ask on a dog forum on the internet.

Marlay

The child 'charged' towards the dog. The dog was on a lead so presumably couldn't get away. The dog is also an adolescent and anxious, so there's a fair bit going on. Also anyone can call themselves a behaviourist, so might be worth looking around or getting some advice on who to use if you don't feel who you are dealing with is right. Basically if they start talking about dominance or aversives I'd look elsewhere (at least that's what we did).

And in the mean time separate the dog from children using barriers (baby gates or similar).

facehugger99

You are getting some terrible advice OP - Do not wait for your dog to attack a child again.

He has attacked a child and need to be put down - simple as that.

Deusexmachina

Put the dog down - no excuses, no stalling.

Ezeoul

"In this situation the kid in question came charging towards him (he was on the lead) because they like him and he reacted faster than we could."

From the dog's POV, he was the one being attacked.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121017411#Comment_121017411

That's not how it reads.

If the child was playing around the house or garden and the dog just launched an attack on them and bit them - then you are quite correct.

But that's not what happened according to the OP, is it?

...Ghost...

I know this is a pet forum, but the blinkers are most certainly on if we are to judge the comments and excuses given here. Let's acknowledge that the dog bit a child on the face and drew blood. This was not a "nip", it was a dog bite. This is an escalation from growling and nipping at other people. It matters not that the dog is nervous or anxious. What matters is the dog cannot be controlled by the owner in such circumstances and the next time could be a lot worse. The dog needs a different environment and an owner who can remove the risk of children being injured by the dog. If that is not possible, unfortunately the solution is pts.

My daughter was bitten on the face by one of 2 family dogs a few years ago. We didn't see it happen and we had owned the dogs (Labx) several years without incident before this. They were rescues, trained and obedient, but I realised that we couldn't keep them after that incident. A family member took them on thankfully and that worked for us. If there is a history of aggressive behaviour and biting, the dog needs to go. Pandering to dog psychology and pils will only risk another incident. Take the warning and take appropriate action. Its not easy to give away an animal you love, I know.

Citizen Six

You have the option to bring it to whatever vet you choose.

Already plenty of dogs around, so no harm in putting down a dangerous one. Don't just offload the problem on someone else.

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121018262#Comment_121018262

Don't you come on to this forum talking sense!

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121018177#Comment_121018177

Makes no difference where the child or dog was. Roaming free in the house or outside on a leash, what does it matter? The dog bit the child on the face. The child was just being playful and the nervous dog reacted aggressively. Owner wasn't prepared. Dog behaves aggressively at other times. Dog must go. Not worth the risk.

Homesick Alien

Thanks for all the responses. Fair to say it's a divisive subject and we've been doing a lot of soul searching the last two days. Still haven't come to any conclusions, just want to make the best decision for the dog, our kids and everyone else so we're not rushing into anything. I don't agree that it's black and white and the dog needs to be killed (never understood all the euphemisms about killing dogs - put down, put to sleep etc) but I know it's an emotive subject.

This wasn't an aggressive attack, it was a instinctive reaction which lasted no more than a second. However I'm not naive enough to think that makes it OK. But the last thing we want to do is deal with it by making another instinctive reaction ourselves which we might regret.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121019101#Comment_121019101

Put the dog down - everyone will move on in a few days.

You really cannot risk it happening again and the fact that you have kids around dogs is always a higher risk of this type of thing happening in the first instace and indeed again if you don't put the dog down.

Tech_Head

I was bitten by my grandmothers dog when I was a child, say 5 or so, which also drew blood.

It happened because I ran up to the dog while he was eating.

With the naivety of a child, I refused to let them take the dog away or have him put down. He was reprimanded and put behind a fence for a few weeks to keep a barrier between ourselves.

He lived to a good old age and there were no other issues. Spent lots of time with him when the fence came down and so did my younger cousins.

You were a good boy Patch.

Hellrazer

For what its worth my 1.5 year old Golden Retriever used to hate anyone going near his face. He would basically make a snarl at you for doing it but we stuck with his training and kept the kids away from being at his face - hes now the most gentlest of all our 3 and will let you do anything now but for a while we thought we might have to rehome him. For what its worth OP dont jump to putting the dog down because some clowns here think that once a dog draws blood theyre like that forever - its not true. Hes only 1.5 so still a puppy really - please think carefully and give the dog a chance.

muddypaws

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121015386#Comment_121015386

I'm sure that the child was also shocked and in a lot of pain. However the OP isn't asking for advice on how to comfort the child. So I'll stick to the forum rules and stay on topic - how about yourself?

JP Liz V1

He has nipped at people before but never drawn blood. 

How many has the dog, bite, nipped? I think I'm afraid it has to be put down imho but speak to your vet