Heartbroken my dog bit my toddler

[Motherofmonsters]

I'm so upset, I know what I need to do but it's so hard.

Ive had him for 10years and he is the soppiest dog in the world, if you're an adult. He's always been wary of children so I've kept them apart and they were getting on so much better.

But today he bit my DS on the face when he was behind him as we were leaving the house. Nothing serious but he has a couple marks by his mouth.

I'm so absolutely gutted

@Somethingorotherorother

Young children should always be supervised by dogs. When a normally placid dog bites, its probably because the child was pestering it. Its essentially like someone poking you with a stick repeatedly. Im presuming you'd only take so much before you lashed out.

Older children - 7-8 years plus are normally fine with dogs because if they know how to act around dogs. My parents had one dog when I was born. Nothing bad ever happened because I was always supervised. They got me my own dog when I was eight. I survived in one piece no bother and I know plenty of other people in the same situation.

Dogs in general aren't a public health risk to childreb's safety. If they were, hardly anyone with children would get one.

I would try rehoming. There are many elderly that prefer an older dog/cat because they are not physically able to keep up with active younger dog who would need longer walks etc.

Please don’t have him put to sleep. He’d be the perfect companion for someone with no children in their life. There are plenty of them. Take him to a shelter which will try to rehome him appropriately.

I would see a vet to check for problems and then rehome. I agree with posters who say PTS is extreme in this situation.

I'm sorry to hear that. I think the best answer would be to re-home. There are rehoming/animal welfare centres that will take in any dog, regardless of age and other conditions. There are indeed families that prefer elderly dogs - they provide good company to some - particularly the elderly. Please consider this when making a decision. I don't believe he did what he did out of malice. Animals don't have those type of emotions. He probably felt threatened.
Of course, that may mean his current environment is not suitable for him and vice versa, but he may thrive somewhere else.

We'd happily rehome an 'adults only' border collie. We got our first when he was about 10 and the youngest was 8, he was clearly a poorly treated farm collie, scared of things that might hit him or be thrown at him, and not used to children - he'd snap at them if they invaded his space ie went to poke or stroke him, so it was easy to shut him away in a run whenever kids visited.

Had your toddler done anything to provoke a reaction? Or was the dog being protective of you ? (Current collie does dislike other humans getting between her and her master and herds, so we never have visitors unless she's in her run for this reason)

Try the www.thebordercolliespot.com

Animals can seriously hurt people, especially children which is why I can't understand why anyone would take the risk. Sorry OP, but you can't and shouldn't keep the dog.

I would first take him to the vet wnd make sure he is not in pain especially when you say he has health problems.

Then i would rehome. Border collies are much better for older people i used to have one hard work not suitable for children households.

I would also ignore the dog haters who inevitably love piling on squaking kill him kill him theres no other option.

OP I rehomed an old dog that had unfortunately bitten a child and took care to ensure he was never around kids for the 2 years I had him before he died and he had a lovely life with me before he went. Please don't assume the worst you haven't even tried!

Dogs can be brilliant pets. They do not belong in houses with small children. utter bollocks. So would you say that e.g. a blind person with small children should not be permitted to own a guide dog for instance?

And before you say “but guide dogs are well trained ... yada yada yada,” when they’re in the house they’re off lead and are essentially pets. And after all, you said that no dog is safe around children ever.

Honestly the hysteria which always enters on to these threads is bizarre. Talking about how no household with small children should ever own dogs, and how OP must do something before the dog kills someone...

OP what happened here? Was it an unprovoked attack or did something happen which set the dog off? Because there is a difference.

While if it was a completely unprovoked attack I would absolutely say put the dog to sleep, but if e.g. the child crawled on top of the dog or pulled its tail etc then I think the dog can’t be entirely blamed.

I get sick of people saying “oh my dog is so lovely. The kids crawl all over him and pull his ears and his tail,” and then when the dog snaps they get rid of it because it’s deemed to be dangerous.... Obviously I’m not referring to the OP here, but these things are rarely black and white, and dogs who bite rarely do so unprovoked.

Please don’t advertise on Facebook. Speak to a reputable charity for advice and see if they can support you in rehoming

What a tough decision to make x

Go to your vet, and rule out any urgent medical issues that your dog may have. Make sure that you gate an area of the house off that your dog can stay in for immediate safety.

Then contact a collie rescue, I'm sure there will be a foster or permanent home for a dog of any age that can see its final years out in peace. I've just read spaniel assist who took in a 14 year old today. Don't have your dog PTS unless you've explored all avenues.

A simple google search of border collie rescue brought up lots of organisations.

We had a snappy collie dog when I grew up. I was ten when we got her. We learned to live with her (she had been abused and for some reason snapped if you stroked her/touched her head in the house, but you could stroke her with your feet or stroke her with your hands in the garden). She wasn't savage/didn't pursue a sustained attack, but would snap once and then cower. We made sure that she was locked away in the utility room if we had visitors or guests staying. I think that she could be rehomed in an adult only house, if the owners were prepared to take precautions/lock the dog up when people visit. However, at ten years old, putting your dog into an animal shelter may be stressful and unkind.

I agree @AlternativePerspective

It’s not hard to see who the hates dogs, Please don’t PTS the dog, Get it a full health check to rule out any underlying issues, Your child was behind the dog, did they step on the tail or paw, press on his back or hips, It may have arthritis, would you PTS your child if it attacked another child?

Please don’t minimize OP. It is very serious.

But today he bit my DS on the face when he was behind him as we were leaving the house. Nothing serious but he has a couple marks by his mouth.

Your child has no choice but relies on you to keep him safe. This is a child protection issue.

I'm sorry OP, what a terrible terrible situation.

However, if the dog has not snapped for ten years what has changed? Has he got an ear infection? Is there something wrong with his mouth? Did your son grab his tail?

It's rare that dogs immediately snap after no indicators/for no reason. Especially if they're usually OK with the children they live with.

I'm sorry no relatives can take him but definitely take him to the vets to ensure everything is OK.

@Littlemeadow123 as a parent, i can tell you with complete certainty that it is impossible to supervise your children perfectly 24/7. There will always be a pot boiling over or another child yelling or some other emergency, and you drop a ball, just for a second. Toddlers are faster and cleverer and stupider than you expect them to be, every time. It's just never going to be possibly to ensure your little children's safety around a dog!

I agree with your latter point though - i did specifically say that you couldn't safely have dogs around small children. 7/8ish i would say should be fine, dog and kids depending.

I suppose I would think, what if some-one else's dog had bitten my child? How would I feel about that dog?

The dog culture on MN never ceases to amaze me.

On the one hand we have threads like this one, where dogs are painted as monsters who are just waiting for the opportunity to kill our children.

And then there was that thread last week where posters were deemed to be awful awful people if they didn’t think the love for their dogs was the same as a the love for their children....

Where exactly is the middle ground?

Honestly the hysteria which always enters on to these threads is bizarre. Talking about how no household with small children should ever own dogs, and how OP must do something before the dog kills someone...

Indeed. It’s ridiculous and unhelpful.

I rehomed an 11 year old collie. There are plenty of people who will rehome older dogs - you need to contact a charity.

OP don't put your dog down because of this. I'd move this to the dog section rather than chat where there will be some more informed responses.

When you say marks, did his teeth break the skin or are we taking red marks where his teeth met your toddler's face. I'm assuming the dog didn't hold on? Did it draw blood?

Really I'd go to the vet, it could be your dog is in pain, or his hearing is poor and he was surprised by your DS. I'd guess your dog wasn't aiming to hurt him, or he would have bitten him and held on, or snapped at the area tearing skin etc.

My dog bit me in the face. It sounds dramatic to put it that way. I was leaning over her to shift her on the sofa and she twisted around at me with her month open. She was in pain and was trying to stop me. Her teeth caught my nose and it did hurt and I did bleed, but she wasn't attacking me. From the sounds of it your dog wasn't attacking your DS.

Yes you need to do something, but you don't need to PTS your dog.

Hi OP. You need to get your child checked out too. your child may need some antibiotics or a tetanus injection depending on the severity of the bite. I'm not sure what you mean when you say there are marks. Has the skin been broken?

If you decide to rehome you need to be honest about what has happened. You cannot keep your dog now the trust has gone. I grew up with dogs but now I'm an adult I haven't chose to have one alongside children. Situations can develop and you can't be there all the time to stop things happening. I personally don't think it is a good mix.