Family dog attacked my son, what to do?

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Ok, We have a beloved 45lb collie/shepherd mix. We got her at 2 years old, she turns 11 next month.

We have always known she was food and toy aggressive around other dogs. We try to keep them apart, just in case, but now that he is mobile it can be tough.

The dog will take a mouthful of food out of the kitchen into the hallway, drop it and eat it there.

It only took a second and lasted a second. My wife and I did not see it happen.

My 14 month old walked around the corner out of view, we assume he went after her food on the ground and she attacked.

The damage, was broken skin, nothing deep, above the eye, like inner corner of eyebrow, about an inch right of that, more minor, then at the corner of the nose, very minor. The one on the eye brow was the worst.

Now, we don't want to get rid of the dog, but what's the best way to keep everyone safe, hard to make a 14 month old understand what not to do. He's not afraid of her either, even now.

Our thoughts, no more open feeding, which is what she is used to, only feed her a couple times a day so there is no food around the rest of the day. Keep them separated. Never let them be together, separate rooms is what my wife wants, I more feel, just don't let him get close enough to touch her. The dog is lazy, sleeps most of the day, so normally it's him walking up to her. We picked up a gate today, so that we can shut the dog out of certain sections of the house. My wife wants a muzzle for when they are in the same room together, I really don't care much for this idea, but I can see it's benefits for the learning stage, so if the worst happens she can't bite him. Although we assume it was a bite, but it could have been a claw too, like I said, we didn't see it happen.

Any other ideas? I'm open to any, besides you guys that will say, "I would take her out back and put a bullet in her head" blah blah blah. That would never happen. If we chose to get rid of her, it would be to a close friend or family. So lets just keep it out of the thread.
 

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Galesburg, IL
Both parties need to have an understanding. The dog should only be eating where the bowl is imo, dont let her take it anywhere else but there to eat.

Your son, teach him to leave her alone when eating

Yes, for sure, we are all at fault. The dog, the child, the parents. It's hard with a 14 month old to teach him anything, for example, him opening a cabinet, a firm no, zero affect, go up, and hold it he just tugs and tugs. Slap his hand down and a firm no, over and over again, no matter how many times you slap his hand down and tell him no, he'll just reach for it again and again. You have to remove him from the situation.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Ok, We have a beloved 45lb collie/shepherd mix. We got her at 2 years old, she turns 11 next month.

We have always known she was food and toy aggressive around other dogs. We try to keep them apart, just in case, but now that he is mobile it can be tough.

The dog will take a mouthful of food out of the kitchen into the hallway, drop it and eat it there.

It only took a second and lasted a second. My wife and I did not see it happen.

My 14 month old walked around the corner out of view, we assume he went after her food on the ground and she attacked.

The damage, was broken skin, nothing deep, above the eye, like inner corner of eyebrow, about an inch right of that, more minor, then at the corner of the nose, very minor. The one on the eye brow was the worst.

Now, we don't want to get rid of the dog, but what's the best way to keep everyone safe, hard to make a 14 month old understand what not to do. He's not afraid of her either, even now.

Our thoughts, no more open feeding, which is what she is used to, only feed her a couple times a day so there is no food around the rest of the day. Keep them separated. Never let them be together, separate rooms is what my wife wants, I more feel, just don't let him get close enough to touch her. The dog is lazy, sleeps most of the day, so normally it's him walking up to her. We picked up a gate today, so that we can shut the dog out of certain sections of the house. My wife wants a muzzle for when they are in the same room together, I really don't care much for this idea, but I can see it's benefits for the learning stage, so if the worst happens she can't bite him. Although we assume it was a bite, but it could have been a claw too, like I said, we didn't see it happen.

Any other ideas? I'm open to any, besides you guys that will say, "I would take her out back and put a bullet in her head" blah blah blah. That would never happen. If we chose to get rid of her, it would be to a close friend or family. So lets just keep it out of the thread.

Ok so Im going to put this as nicely as possible. That 14 month old is your complete responsibility and focus. There is nothing you will be able to tell the baby to stop it from messing with the dog, and you shouldnt have to. And secondly the dog has already shown aggression to the child.

Game over. Grow the fuck up and get rid of that dog asap. This is what adults do for their children. If and only IF you can find it a good home with no kids, then its life shall be spared. But under no circumstances should that dog ever be in a room with a child again. ITS A DOG. We all say they are like family members and so on, but your wife didnt push it our of her pussy. Its a dog plain and simple. When it comes to your kids, its just a fucking dog. Sorry to take this tone, but its necessary. People get all into these animals and try to see the good in them. But trust me it could have been so much worse.

On a personally note, you need to report the bite and give the dog to animal control. They will temper test the dog and destroy if need. Done.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Again sorry for the tone in that post. A childs life is so fragile as it is. No need to complicate your life anymore than it already is. I had an ex that was bit very badly on the face when she was 4. She said she remembered it vividly and would piss herself when a dog came around until she was a teen. Now shes a complete dog hater with a 100 stitch scar to the cheek as proof. No animal is worth that.
 

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Galesburg, IL
Again sorry for the tone in that post. A childs life is so fragile as it is. No need to complicate your life anymore than it already is. I had an ex that was bit very badly on the face when she was 4. She said she remembered it vividly and would piss herself when a dog came around until she was a teen. Now shes a complete dog hater with a 100 stitch scar to the cheek as proof. No animal is worth that.

Yeah man, it's cool. The child is the most important thing in our lives. It's been talked about getting rid of her. Part of me thinks they can both be trained to some extent, and watched like a hawk for sure, but it's a risk, that shit can happen so fast. And the damage can be bad, it was very minor this time, more of a snap, get the fuck away from me, it was over before I could clear the 15ft around the corner. But like I said about where the damage was, pretty god damn close to the eyes, that's scary.
 

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Galesburg, IL
So you didnt actually see how it all went down? What alerted you? Your son crying or noise from your dog or both?

Just trying to process everything as I read through this.

We heard, the rattle of claws on the hardwood and the growl/snarl that a dog would make when protecting territory. Like I said, it wasn't a, I'm gonna bite and shake you type of bite, more of a quick snap to get him away, lasted a split second, then she was done and he was crying.
 

Mook

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I just hate how everyone is so quick to yell "put the dog down! its dangerous! its going to happen again!!". Not every single bite is a recipe for disaster.

Example, my sisters lab is 5 or 6 (?)...my niece is 2. There was ONE incident where he nipped at her, I forget why. My sister and husband debated if this was going to be an issue and whether or not he needed to go. But guess what, they evaluated, and decided to TEACH my niece right and wrong w/ animals. And they also KEPT AN EYE ON THEIR NEWLY WALKING CHILD. I cant believe how many incidents happen b/c the kid walked out of sight. And now this is the scene every night:

2djhtIH.jpg


She climbs all over him and hes gentle as can be.

Now, this is obviously not the perfect scenario everyone sees and unfortunately some dogs just arent good with kids (especially dogs of age). But EVALUATE what happened first before jumping to conclusions.

I am not a father, do not own a dog but have been around dogs most of my life and most of my friends have dogs with kids. A solo bite is cause for alarm but not cause for defcon orange.

Ok fathers, tear me apart.
 

Dan00Hawk

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Parent of a 2-1/2 year old and have 3 full size dogs (2 goldens, 1 Weimaraner mix) giving my perspective:

My wife and I both agreed ahead of time what we would do if one of our dogs "attacked" our daughter. Now, there is a difference between a warning growl, a dog defending itself with a non flesh piercing nip that might leave a mark, and drawing blood. We'd get rid of the dog to a family member or animal shelter if an incident drew blood from my daughter. If I was present and a "drawing blood" situation occurred, I believe I might possibly choke the life out of the dog right then and there.

A little 12 month old boy at our daycare has had to have plastic surgery and currently has scars on his face due to their family dog. I can't imagine having that happen and wondering if/when it will happen again if I kept the dog.

While giving up the dog doesn't sound "fair" to the dog that's been part of your family for so long, you have to ask yourself if this was just the tip of the iceberg and how you would deal with a second incident. While it's reasonable to discuss options, I think just keeping them separated and/or muzzling the dog isn't the answer. If you're going to keep the dog, you MUST actively work on training the dog to be food and toy passive. While that won't be easy (or cheap if you get a good trainer) with an 11 year old dog, that's the only way that you should choose to keep the dog. You really need to do the "Dog Whisperer" type of approach by changing the way you and your family deal with the dog and have the dog corrected at any sign or pre-sign of aggression in those situations. By allowing your dog to be food and toy aggressive all these years, you've established a precedent that the dog has already deemed to be "acceptable". Now, you've got to undo all those years of bad behavior...

Ultimately, if you aren't willing to change your and the dog's behavior, then you should give up the dog. That option is sincerely in the best interest of your child and your dog.
 

Mook

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Just reread first post again....a bite near the eye is a bit more alarming....granted a toddler standing is going to be level w/ the dogs head.....but i would have expected a bite on the hand or something if he was messing w/ the food....Makes me wonder how the situation actually played out.

This changes things a bit for me but I still stand by my comment (and its one Ive posted before).

[MENTION=112]ktraver97ss[/MENTION] had a similar issue...I'm cant remember what he ended up doing.
 

FrenchLicker

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KEPT AN EYE ON THEIR NEWLY WALKING CHILD.
Ok fathers, tear me apart.

This.

Wife and I want a dog so our daughter can grow up with a pet as we both grew up with dogs, but this is the most important thing. Vigilance. My Australian shepherd was amazing with kids but was put down due to health reasons (14 years old and had some tumors) but she would show her teeth if she thought the kids were getting out of line, no barking. It's funny because the only time she broke any skin was when my mom smacked me and she nipped my moms hand on the follow through.... But even though she'd be perfect 99% of the time! there is always the chance of something happening and watching the dog and teaching the kid are the first steps to prevention.

Walloftext
 

importcrew

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Parent of a 2-1/2 year old and have 3 full size dogs (2 goldens, 1 Weimaraner mix) giving my perspective:

My wife and I both agreed ahead of time what we would do if one of our dogs "attacked" our daughter. Now, there is a difference between a warning growl, a dog defending itself with a non flesh piercing nip that might leave a mark, and drawing blood. We'd get rid of the dog to a family member or animal shelter if an incident drew blood from my daughter. If I was present and a "drawing blood" situation occurred, I believe I might possibly choke the life out of the dog right then and there.

A little 12 month old boy at our daycare has had to have plastic surgery and currently has scars on his face due to their family dog. I can't imagine having that happen and wondering if/when it will happen again if I kept the dog.

While giving up the dog doesn't sound "fair" to the dog that's been part of your family for so long, you have to ask yourself if this was just the tip of the iceberg and how you would deal with a second incident. While it's reasonable to discuss options, I think just keeping them separated and/or muzzling the dog isn't the answer. If you're going to keep the dog, you MUST actively work on training the dog to be food and toy passive. While that won't be easy (or cheap if you get a good trainer) with an 11 year old dog, that's the only way that you should choose to keep the dog. You really need to do the "Dog Whisperer" type of approach by changing the way you and your family deal with the dog and have the dog corrected at any sign or pre-sign of aggression in those situations. By allowing your dog to be food and toy aggressive all these years, you've established a precedent that the dog has already deemed to be "acceptable". Now, you've got to undo all those years of bad behavior...

Ultimately, if you aren't willing to change your and the dog's behavior, then you should give up the dog. That option is sincerely in the best interest of your child and your dog.

The trainer my wife and I used for a puppy we had bought told us about his dogs. One of them was a rescue dog that was fairly aggressive. Especially with food and possessions. The trainer also has a 6 year old (iirc). Well the dog would usually always growl at the child when he came near the dog. The trainer taught the dog how to not be aggressive to kids and also taught his son commands to the dog. The boy can now tell the dog "no" and the dog will obey at every command.

All it takes is a lot of time, patience, and repetitiveness. Always keep an eye on both child and dog until you know 100% that everything will be fine.
 

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Galesburg, IL
The current plan while we figure this out is to not allow him to get within a few feet of the dog, luckily the dog and 14 month old do listen rather well. If she is going in his direction, calling her back to the other side of the room or into another room will work fine. The boy, even though 14 months old, will stop in his tracks if you tell him to stop. The dog doesn't want to be around him, she sleeps behind the recliner in the corner since he started walking about 4 months ago, cause the boy won't go back there and bother her.
 

ChrisRac

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This is a tough decision because animals do become family, especially when you've had them for an extended amount of time. But as a father, there is nothing that would come between my son and I. While the post by [MENTION=5219]ZXMustang[/MENTION] may have been a little rough around the edges, he's right. I wouldn't put the dog down or anything but find it a home where it's better off.

It's a dog. And it's your son. To me, the decision is clear as day. [MENTION=5]Mook[/MENTION] has a good point too about teaching the child and the dog about right and wrong. But do you really want to chance it again?
 

P40E

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Well it attacked to the face . That is not good .

The lady of the house should have punished the dog and let it know that it just attacked her child . Make it understand what it did . It's up to you and her on how you hard you punish . It's actually too late now anyways .
 

budsang1

From 45's to STi's
Jan 25, 2010
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Galesburg, IL
Well it attacked to the face . That is not good .

The lady of the house should have punished the dog and let it know that it just attacked her child . Make it understand what it did . It's up to you and her on how you hard you punish . It's actually too late now anyways .


The lady didn't punish her, but if you think I didn't deal out a swift punishment immediately after it happened, you would be wrong. She definitely knows what she did was wrong
 

torquelover

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Pretty simple here. You have to decide what's more important to you. The dog or your son. Consider what happened a warning. Your son could have lost vision in that eye or worse. Old dog that's not going to be easy to train and a toddler that does not and cannot know any better is a bad combination.
 

Mook

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If you don't mind asking... You've known for 9 or so years that the dog was food aggressive... Why was nothing ever done to curb that?

Also, I feel like a total asshole for not having said it yet but glad your son is OK.
 

Mike K

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If you don't mind asking... You've known for 9 or so years that the dog was food aggressive... Why was nothing ever done to curb that?

Often times there's not a lot you can do. We had a food aggressive dog that was just a mess no matter what we did. We had to get rid of it which meant we got a lot of crap from the "a pet is yours for life" crowd but I'm not trying to seek the approval of child-less 50-somethings so it didn't matter all that much. An animal is an animal and if it's causing more grief than it's bringing me joy it's getting the boot. Sorry. It's not your kid, it's not your wife. It's an animal.

I'd have no patience for this. The dog would be in a shelter that night. The precedent has been set. If it was done once there is absolutely nothing to stop a reasonable person from thinking it can happen again. You might try to eliminate scenarios which you think could trigger the dog but you just can't be there every waking moment and in an instant you might find that something else has now triggered the dog.

I'm not saying you did the wrong thing. I know if you love a pet it might seem impossible to give it up so I can certainly empathize with that.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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Train your son on how to act around an animal. See this as an opportunity to teach your son. Teach him when theres times to play/pet the dog and times when you leave him alone... Like dinner time.

Train your dog by taking his food from him, while eating, regularly. This will get him used to it and will start making him non-aggressive with his food. Have set eating times (dont leave food out all day) and do not let the dog remove the food from the dish to go elsewhere. Getting them to not remove their food is very easy, i had to do it to my puggle, it just takes some time and you just have to correct her everytime she trys to remove the food.
 
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