Mumsnet Talk

Posting this on behalf on friend who doesn't know what to do.

She has a 4 yr old DD & 8 year old DS, is also in a relationship with DP who has 8 year old DD who stays at the house regularly.

She bought a Dalmatian puppy at Xmas who up until now has been playful & boisterous. She has been taking him to puppy classes & he seems to be training well. Last night however she was in the kitchen, heard a scream & found the dog had jumped up on DD & bitten her behind the ear whilst trying to retrieve a toy. Resulted in a hospital visit, tetanus jag & stitches.

Her DP (as well as his ex) now understandably don't want the dog round their daughter. My opinion is also that she should get rid of the dog as its too big a risk. However she has spoken to otherswho advise that the dog is merely being playful & she should persevere. Basically she just wants to see what the common consensus is, it's already causing arguments between her & DP. My opinion is she's being unreasonable to keep the puppy but what do others think?

Was the puppy being teased or overexcited perhaps ? Unfortunate incident but it could probably be trained and the children better supervised.

She should re-home the dog now while he's still a puppy.
How would she feel if next time the dog 'playfully' bites her Dd's ear off, or worse? It's a risk.
Will be more difficult to rehome him when he's older.

You cannot leave dogs and children unsupervised, especially a new puppy that you have only had a few weeks. Do people honestly not get this?

I am no expert but I believe puppies do 'play' bite, so it may well not have been aggressive. I would advise your friend to seek advice from her vet, rather than make a snap decision.

It's a puppy FFS not a piranha!
.It has to be supervised at this stage though, why did she leave a child with it.
She should just get a grip.
YABU

Sorry to hear that your friend has this problem. I doubt you will get any sort of consensus of advice on here about what she should do. Half of us will say she should get rid of the puppy. Half will say its just a puppy and she should persevere/train etc. A handful will express disgust at yet another person who buys a dog at Christmas and basicially changes their mind. FWIW I think Dalmations are generally acknowledged to be quite headstrong (untrainable) and probably need someone who is very familiar with dogs. I'm afraid I don't like dogs at all, so I'd say get rid, but that won't make me popular I know!

And just for the record, he will be difficult to rehome now. Look how many dogs are in rescue ATM

She should be supervising a young puppy who is not fully trainedwhen there are children. That is simple common sense, and if she doesnt realise that, then she shouldnt have a dog in the first place.

Puppies are bitey and need to be supervised around children (even my lovely Andrex retriever puppy went through a bitey stage - I remember her hanging off my kneecap once....). If she cannot look after it properly, she should rehome it now.

get rid.

DP & I got a puppy about a year ago. He also has a DC who is around the same age as the children in question. We don't ever leave the dog unsupervised with DC. Your friend couldn't possibly know exactly what happened leading upto the dog biting the DD - I would advise her to not get rid of the puppy but make sure the children and the dog aren't left without adult supervision. I have a baby gate between my living room and kitchen and when DC is in the living room and I'm going in the kitchen i take the dog with me and shut the gate, also the same with upstairs. I have another gate at the bottom of my stairs. And we have made sure DC knows to not tease the dog and also to keep her face/hands away from the dogs mouth. It has worked well for us and (touchwood) haven't had any problems.

It was trying to retrieve a toy the DD was holding? It's just a playful puppy who was excited and hurt the DD by accident, not because it is agressive. it wasn't an attack. Unlikely to be risky just because of that - they just need to train the dog not to jump and of course should not leave the kids and dog unsupervised.

I don't think this is going to end well...

FWIW, it's a puppy, Christmas wasn't that long ago, they shouldn't have been left alone together. I wouldn't rehome.

How old is the dog?

Is it a few weeks (ie: just been separated from its mother) and still really playful, or a good few months older (and personality already starting to set) and starting to get big?

Dalmations are prone to being deaf and therefore not able to be as trainable and could need specialist training.

A dog is NOT just for Christmas more thought should have been given!

I agree with tantrums the puppy should not have been left alone with the dc's. It's a baby, it hasn't learnt that biting is wrong it was probably being playful. Also if she hasn't had the puppy long the children won't have learnt yet not to mess around with it.

FWIW i also remember my dog going through a "bitey" stage ... But it was just that .. A stage. But she is a Shih Tzu and is tiny!!

I hate dogs - find them disgusting and utterly annoying BUT your friend took this dog on and ignored the most basic advice - Never leave a dog with a child unattended. Even I know this and I don't have a dog and never will. She should keep the dog and behave in a more responsible way. I am not surprised that dog lovers get fed up of other dog owners when people are so stupid. He is a dog that will grow up very quickly into a large animal. I think she wants a cute docile puppy for ever.

In the nicest possible way they do not have a clue so should rehome for everyone's sake including the pup.

Our labroador pup bit me when I was 9, I had her toy, it wasn't done viciously she was being a puppy, we had her 16yrs and she never hurt anyone again.

I hate dog owners like this

At 4yo, the dd is far too young to be playing unsupervised with a puppy.
The dog bit her trying to get to a toy, so it doesn't sound like an aggression problem.
IMO, this should be written down to experience, stair gates/crates put into place to allow dog and dc to be separated unless supervised, and the children taught appropriate behaviour around dogs.

That sounds like I'm being harsh, but it's not meant to come across that way!
I really can't stress enough though that dogs and children should not be unsupervised when together.

Sorry just re read and realised it is the partner who wants rid and not your friend.

why the fuck do people BUY a cute puppy with no experience or clue and then just get rid like theyre disposable. FFs

Anyone who is considering getting a puppy for a present when they know fuck all about dogs should be made to read this, or any of the other million threads about this very subject before bringing a puppy into a their home. Its ridiculous.

Sounds like an accident to me. Puppies are very bouncy and have sharp teeth. If the girl was waving a toy around and playing with the dog, you can't really blame the dog, can you?