My dog bit one of my babies today

Today I was watching the girls play on the floor and my dog walked by and my daughter reached out to pet him like she has done before and he turned and bit her. She is 10 months old. She did not even touch him yet. We went to the ER and she is fine. She had a few cuts on her cheek and a little on her lip. I was scared and was in shock this happened. I have had the dog for seven years.

I can not in good conscience keep the dog. I love the dog but he bit my baby for no reason and can do it again.

I was told animal control will have to take him for 10 days for observation. I do not know what to do after that.

He has always been a crazy barking dog but never has done this before. I am very sad over this.

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

Oh that is horrible!!! Poor baby. I know it is hard because I am sure you love your dog, but I agree with you, if my dog bit my child, especially in the face unprovoked, I would unfortunately have to give him away. Do you know of anyone without children that can take the dog? Or maybe an adoption shelter?

Hugs to you because the situation sucks no matter what

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

Maybe he needs a home without kids, hopefully you can find someone to take him.

My dog bit one of my babies today

Oh wow, that is horrible. So glad your baby is fine though. That is truly a horrible situation to be in

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

Do you know any child free families who may take him? I am normally very against people giving away/rehoming their dogs, but in this case I totally understand why you need to. If the dog was unprovoked then you have little to no choice in the matter.

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

Thanks everyone. I am very sad over this. My DH and I are heartbroken. I am going to ask around about finding someone without kids to take him.

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

I am so sorry you are going through this. I can relate. I have 2 crazy barking dogs too, and both of them are hyper and can nip/bite when excited.

I have to be honest with you in that since I never trusted them, when my DD started to crawl, I would keep them from her with baby gates. It was too new to them and it excited them, so I felt it was best to use the gates. That was only temporary until they got adjusted to the changes DD would make.

I can't tell you what to do, but I just want you to know that some dogs do get very excited when babies start to crawl, move, walk, etc and they bite not out of aggression but pent up excitement, energy, sort of like little kids all hyper and wanting to play. You know, the way puppies bite each other and mouth each other, kwim? But yes, it can be scary and it can hurt a child of course. Keeping my dogs away from DD while she crawled took alot of work until my DD got steady on her feet and could stand mostly. I am not defending my dogs, however, I always kept in mind their nature and the fact that when babies do new things, it's new to the dogs too and they can get excited, crazy, etc, when they see the babies do new things, kwiM? With each stage my DD went through, they took time to adjust and learn that this baby now crawls, now walks, etc. KWIM?

If you feel your dog is not aggressive and this may have been an excitement bite, can you refuse the observation? Who is doing this observation? And honestly will it be fair to your dog, since he will be in a new environment without his family, kwim? Will he even show who he truly is? What if they deem your dog to be put down? KWIM? You know your dog better than anyone, and I would hate for your dog to get an aggressive label if the bite maybe can from another place, kwim? Like excitement? Or especially get deemed to be put down when maybe he is better suited in a home without small children?

What breed of dog is he btw? Is he a terrier or a dog known to be a chaser of small animals, etc?

I am glad your DD is ok and that must have been very scary. I can understand why you are sad. Such a hard place to be in.

Message edited 9/2/2012 1:38:38 AM.

My dog bit one of my babies today

He is a dachshund. He had always been the type to bark at people and be protective. I would say he was just playing but he growled then leaped at her. We live in a condo and it's hard to block the way from him. I am devastated about this. The hospital has to report it to the department of health and they said they make you have them observe him for 10 days.

My dog bit one of my babies today

omg they have to report it? I had no idea..I'm so sorry..poor baby and poor dog, you have to do what is best for the family.

My dog bit one of my babies today

I'm so sorry to hear this! I'm glad that she's ok!!!

My dog bit one of my babies today

So sorry you have to go through this. Glad to hear she's ok!

Re: My dog bit one of my babies today

We are going through the same exact situation here with our 7 year old Scottish Terrier. He's been getting more and more aggressive lately. He bit me for the first time about a month ago. Drew blood and everything... and the past few weeks has been snapping at the kids. About a week ago he actually bit my 3 year old daughter in the arm. The decision has been made that he has to go. My MIL told us she would take him, so we're going to be flying him there after September 15th when he's allowed to fly under the plane. I'm so nervous that he's going to bite again before we can send him off... so we keep him separated from the kids as much as possible.
I'm devastated because he was basically my first baby. We've been through a lot together. It makes me sick just thinking about him not being around. But we have to do what's best for the kids.

Anyway, all that to say that you're not alone in your sadness.

My dog bit one of my babies today

I'm so sorry! That's such a tough thing to deal with, but thankfully your
Dd is ok.