Re: wwyd??

She's gone...I'm sorry, but as much as I love my dog (and those who know me know I adore her) she is a large dog and if she bites him once, she will bite him again.
The reality is that it is an animal and if it attackes once it is likely to attack again. So far, Misty has been really good with Colin but we watch her like a hawk when they are together because she doesn't have a great history with kids. She does seem more protective of him but that doesn't mean that if he grabs one of her toys or her ear, she won't snap at him. If she does we will have to get rid of her.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm dumping her at the pound. We rescued this dog almost 5 years ago and we love her to death. I would find a child-free home to place her in and try to visit her on a regular basis. It would completely break my heart - noone can imagine how much I adore this dog. But, I don't want my child mauled or disfigured because I was stubborn and wanted to keep a dog with a history of biting.

Re: wwyd??

Posted by Gertyrae

She's gone...I'm sorry, but as much as I love my dog (and those who know me know I adore her) she is a large dog and if she bites him once, she will bite him again.
The reality is that it is an animal and if it attackes once it is likely to attack again. So far, Misty has been really good with Colin but we watch her like a hawk when they are together because she doesn't have a great history with kids. She does seem more protective of him but that doesn't mean that if he grabs one of her toys or her ear, she won't snap at him. If she does we will have to get rid of her.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm dumping her at the pound. We rescued this dog almost 5 years ago and we love her to death. I would find a child-free home to place her in and try to visit her on a regular basis. It would completely break my heart - noone can imagine how much I adore this dog. But, I don't want my child mauled or disfigured because I was stubborn and wanted to keep a dog with a history of biting.

Re: wwyd??

Diana, I have a maltese too and I do not have children yet so maybe my answer would change when I do but........

I would keep my dog. I know the only reason he would ever bite a person would be if he was hurt or in any harm and even though children don't know better my dog is five pounds and a child can hurt HIM.

ETA : my dog is five pounds and probably wouldn't do much harm if he bit anyone

Message edited 2/21/2010 4:21:19 PM.

Re: wwyd??

Re: wwyd??

Posted by pickles16

Posted by Gertyrae

She's gone...I'm sorry, but as much as I love my dog (and those who know me know I adore her) she is a large dog and if she bites him once, she will bite him again.
The reality is that it is an animal and if it attackes once it is likely to attack again. So far, Misty has been really good with Colin but we watch her like a hawk when they are together because she doesn't have a great history with kids. She does seem more protective of him but that doesn't mean that if he grabs one of her toys or her ear, she won't snap at him. If she does we will have to get rid of her.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm dumping her at the pound. We rescued this dog almost 5 years ago and we love her to death. I would find a child-free home to place her in and try to visit her on a regular basis. It would completely break my heart - noone can imagine how much I adore this dog. But, I don't want my child mauled or disfigured because I was stubborn and wanted to keep a dog with a history of biting.

This is exactly the way I feel!

Re: wwyd??

I guess it would depend on the situation and severity. If my baby pulled Katie's tail and she nipped that would require training for both.
If she actually attacked him unprovoked then she would be rehomed in a second.
We worked with Katie a lot before we had the baby, made sure she wasn't food aggressive, could take teasing, etc. Also DS and her are never alone together and I watch her behaviour, I can tell sometimes she starts to get jealous so I'll have DH watch DS and I'll exercise her or vice versa. I also try to make sure if DS gets a toy she does too.