wwyd??

Seriously I am curious.. We all love our dogs like our children but wwyd if your dog bit your child?

I include Lola in EVERYTHING, I know sometimes it looks like I even pay more attention to her than my DD.. But I am terrified to ever have this happen.. I have been training My dd to not pull her hair and do nice.. I really work very hard on this.. She is not a biter or even a growler. She has never been aggressive in any way but she is still an animal and u never know,,

Now honestly I grew up with a poodle that attacked all of us.. He bit my sister on the lip and bit me many many times,, We kept him and he lived to 17.. He was a nasty dog but we rescued him and that was it ,, we kept him.. WWYD?

ETA: No matter what your answer is I will not judge on what YWD I am just curious how many would rehome, euthanize, train etc... I also am curious on how people with animals are living with there new borns and pets that have been there before.. What precausions are you taking?

Message edited 2/18/2010 10:37:59 AM.

LONG a warning

: I hear ya

Message edited 4/6/2010 11:59:58 AM.

Re: wwyd??

my dog is wonderful and two cats are pretty good with my daughter. But I have always taken the attitude "an animal is an animal" & taken precautions with her. She's never alone with them, etc....


But if they bit me, I dont know that I could trust them. I dont know how you live with someone you dont trust.
If they bit my child, that would probably be a deal breaker. I would be afraid of what would happen the next time. I wouldn't be able to look at a scar on my child's face and think " I caused that because I knew better."
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I hope to never been in that position & have to make that choice.

Re: wwyd??

We don't have children. But if my dog were to bite anyone, even another dog, I would find out why. The *first* time, and not wait until it happened again. Find the best resources I could. Correct the behavior before it happened again or complicated other areas of our lives.

Dog behavior is never "out of nowhere". It always comes from something. There are triggers that can explain. Find the trigger, put in work, remedy the behavior.

We will never turn our backs on the commitment we made to them.

It's ignorance to think that dogs cannot be rehabilitated or must be put down because they bite. Dogtown alone rehabilitated 23 of the Michael Vick dogs. Dogs who only knew how to KILL their whole lives. Dogs that were never loved. That only got approval when they took another dog's life. The average domestic dog is a much lesser challenge.

To me, besides ignorance (thus breeding fear of the unknown), the only thing that is left in situations like that is apathy towards the animal. Apathy in training before the situation arose, apathy in making effort to correct, apathy in wanting to get rid of the animal instead of working to remedy it.

Sadly, with the millions of dogs euthanized in shelters each year, biters are the first since shelters don't have the time or resources to work with them. So if they don't find caring owners that educate themselves and want to work with them, it's a death sentence.

Message edited 2/18/2010 8:46:26 AM.

Re: wwyd??

I agree that dogs can be rehabilitated and I also would do the same.. I will not leave my dog alone with my daughter.. I just cant wait till she is old enough to love her and know how to treat her.. I am training my daughter to act appropriately now.. I also try to teach Lola not to be afraid of dd.. I think alot of biting comes from fear.

Re: wwyd??

Yes. Fear, jealousy, possessiveness of resources (even you are a resource in some dog's eyes), negative association, prey drive, reaction to painful stimulus.

The list goes on and on.

I honestly never thought much about the idea that you should never leave an animal alone with a child until I read it here on LIF. It makes total sense to me though.

Message edited 2/18/2010 9:43:55 AM.

Re: wwyd??

I think it's really easy to say what you THINK you would do in this situation. Really easy. Actually BEING in it is something entirely different. Especially when you have a young baby who isn't fully mobile yet.

Sorry- but if Luna actually BIT one of my children it would be negligent to keep her. My children are my top priority. Luna snapped ONCE at Madelyn and we got a trainer in- and thankfully that resolved it. Had she actually BIT then there would have been no trainer because I would never trust her again, regardless of training. I can't live without some level of trust in the creatures around me.

Training dogs and teaching little ones to "be nice" only go so far. Once a child is a toddler it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to keep an eye on them 100% of the time, once you put another toddler in the mix, it's even more difficult. Situations arise in a fraction of a second. Perhaps others' are more trusting than me, I don't know. I just know that the safety of my children come first. And I am an animal lover, truly.

I also believe that keeping an animal seperate from the family is cruel. My brother has done that with his dog and it's only made the situation more dire because now Ace is made to feel like he's no longer part of the pack- which breeds more hostility. That poor dog sits on the other side of a gate while everyone else is in another room because he can't be trusted.

Did this post arise from that post on Parenting? I really feel that poor woman has exhausted all resources- and it;s pretty obvious she's heartbroken about her decision. It's no one's place to tell her what she "should" do (as some people did even though she was just asking about loving homes). We all have to do what's best for our OWN family.

Message edited 2/18/2010 9:51:20 AM.

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Diana asked that *I* would do and I answered. I haven't answered any other threads on this subject and I am not talking about anything other than my own opinion and knowledge. I'm entitled to an opinion and to answer people when they ask for it.

Re: wwyd??

Depends!

Unprovoced, the dog would be gone. DS' safety is #1

Provoced, not sure but def. working at the issue and how it could be prevented.

Bitten that required stiches, I think the dog would be gone. I would be too worried that he would do it again.

Message edited 2/18/2010 10:31:32 AM.

Re: wwyd??

it's a difficult subject

(btw- we had a poodle too and he would just nip at us, not bite us... but we were older.)

I got "lectured" about declawing my cat when he was about 4 years old. It was an AGONIZING decision but the truth was, he was scratching the heck out of my kid. We tried pretty much everything. At least twice a week my son would have scratches on his face or back that looked like someone slashed him with razors. I had to talk to the Camp Director at his summer camp to 'warn' him and for him to think I wasn't whipping the kid. We tried grooming his nails, etc. Nothing worked. He would STALK and SCRATCH my son... which was VERY frightening to a 6 year old. Even today, he still stalks and bites DS but not as often as the scratching. My son still has a little fear of the cat but he can recognize when he is ready to "attack." I did not get rid of the cat b/c we loved him and feared no one would adopt a hostile cat. He was only like this with my son... "occasionally" with myself and DH.

The final straw was when he scratched DS within centimeters of his eye.

You don't know know how truly HEARTBREAKING it is when your beloved animal harms your child and unless you've been there, you really don't know. I am SORRY. True- SOME people just give up right away, it depends on the level of 'attack,' the severity, and the context.

My son was 6, I can't imagine if it was a baby


and not to get totally gruesome on everyone, but my father worked with a man whose pit bull (who was not considered aggressive) got INTO the baby's room and ATE the baby. They are still animals, as much as you love them and I agree with doing everything you can to work it out before removing them from the home.

PS- to Amy- poor Ace =(

As for the question posed "WWYD" like I said above, it depends on the level of 'attack,' the severity, and the context.

If it happen unprovoked, then I would seriously consider removing the animal... again depending on everything I listed above.

Message edited 2/18/2010 10:32:16 AM.

Re: wwyd??

I just edited my original post so I want to be clear this was not intended to be a drama post...

Goobster I love your idea about the doggie day care when you have playdates

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Posted by HeathKernandez

Posted by dilb712

I just edited my original post so I want to be clear this was not intended to be a drama post...

Goobster I love your idea about the doggie day care when you have playdates

I don't think anyone thought that... It's just that someone IS going through this right now and people who have "been" there do not want the poster to feel bad about her decision. She's already broken up about it.

Re: wwyd??

Thought I'd jump because this happened to us - our dog bit Christina.

It wasn't a really bad bite but it also wan't a scratch. I called the breeder, she asked if the bite broke the skin and was the dog provoked. Yes, it broke the skin and the kids were horsing around but not with the dog. She said it many instances if a dog breaks skin and tastes blood then it most likely will happen again. We gave the dog back to the breeder to be on the safe side. It was heart breaking but now when I look back I am happy I made that decision. As for the dog, the breeder kept her where she continues to have a good life, just not around children.

Re: wwyd??

I do not have children but I hope to in the future. We were told our dog lived in a home with kids, and based on her reaction around kids now, I am confident that is true.

However, we still make sure she knows that people are boss (no matter what size) and they can do whatever they want to her - stick their hand in her food bowl while she is eating, pull her ears/tail, take away her toys, stick our fingers in between her paw pads, ANYTHING - and she takes it all in stride, returns with a lick on the cheek. We are VERY lucky that this is how she is.

If one day she bit someone I agree with the previous posts about finding out the reason behind it and trying to correct the behavior. If I absolutely could not trust her with my children for some reason I am fortunate in that I have family members who I believe would take her in, and then she would just be shut in a different room when kids were around.

I hope and pray it never happens, and this is why we do these things to her now to actually TRY to annoy/aggravate her to see how she reacts to it, so if we ever do notice a trigger or an issue we can address it now. My heart does break for those who ultimately face this terrible situation.

Re: wwyd??

Posted by LIFamilies

She said it many instances if a dog breaks skin and tastes blood then it most likely will happen again.

Re: wwyd??

Let me clarify that I was sharing what I think as a BTDT. Both as someone who had to rehome beloved furbabies (due to allergies) as well as someone who dealt with possible aggression toward my child.

I don't EVER leave my children alone with my dog. Ever. Every night after dinner we have "family time" in our living room where everyone plays, including the dog. With toddlers playing around a dog it is impossible to gauge what a dog might perceive as an "attack" and react accordingly.

Luna never had issues with Madelyn until Mads started getting really mobile. When she snapped at Madelyn, it's because as she was walking by Luna she stumbled (as toddlers typically do). Luna reacted by snapping (which is how dogs correct puppies for poor beahvior). The trainer we brought in explained about heirarchy and pack behavior- and that small children are ALWAYS considered lower in the pack to a medium- to large dog. There is no teaching a dog that a toddler half her size is worthy of respect. It's my responsibilty to correct Luna when she makes attempts to correct the babies.

All that said, to me a bite is completely different than a snap and all bets are off in that type of situation. Again, I understand that in some families a bite does not mean as much, but in my family there is no way we'd keep her. That is what is best for MY family.

What an unfortunate coincidence that a poster on our Parenting forum is gong through this situation just as you poted this. I feel horribly for Gabi as she is such a nice girl and truly wants to do what's best for her family. Surely you can see why the assumption was made that this post was related to Gabi's situation. Sorry for the assumption- I know what happens when one assumes.

Re: wwyd??

Posted by Goobster

Posted by LIFamilies

She said it many instances if a dog breaks skin and tastes blood then it most likely will happen again.

What kind of dog was this? I have never heard of such a thing. They are dogs, not wild wolves in the forest.

I truly have never heard of that and find that a very odd comment for a breeder to make. Dogs tasting blood and wanting to bite again? We aren't talking about Michael Vick dogs. We are talking about a family pet, right?

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Posted by LIFamilies

Of course it's a family pet. Why would I have a wolf in the house?

I confirmed this with the vet. He agreed with the breeder. Doberman. After this I did a little research and found out that German Shepherds are the number one biting breed of dog and to my amazement poodles are number two.

Re: wwyd??

Posted by Porrruss
What an unfortunate coincidence that a poster on our Parenting forum is gong through this situation just as you poted this. I feel horribly for Gabi as she is such a nice girl and truly wants to do what's best for her family. Surely you can see why the assumption was made that this post was related to Gabi's situation. Sorry for the assumption- I know what happens when one assumes.

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Posted by greenfreak

Posted by LIFamilies

Of course it's a family pet. Why would I have a wolf in the house?

I confirmed this with the vet. He agreed with the breeder. Doberman. After this I did a little research and found out that German Shepherds are the number one biting breed of dog and to my amazement poodles are number two.

Sorry, I was replying before reading this.

It's funny, I always read that there are more Labrador Retriever bites than any other breed. Simply because they are the most popular dog in America (confirmed) and there are so many more of them.

It's hard to know who to trust because a lot of people repeat things they heard as fact. What I was looking for were medical studies on the subject and never found them.