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

I have a border collie he is lovely and very gentle with us and my kids are teenagers , but he isnt keen on younger children he will get anxious if they are too over the top and go and hide or similar , we know when he is uncomfortable so i will put him somewhere on his own if he seems stressed , he is our third collie and i have found they can be stressed easily at times
Our firsf 2 were a couple years old when kids were born and were fine with the kids but we kept them locked in outhouse if we had to go upstairs i never left them alone and watched interactions carefully , as i was warned collies will often try and herd kids
Speak to you vet for guidance , only ypu know what happened and you must make sure they are in separate rooms in the meantime , and no chance of dog being able to get to your toddler

I have a border collie he is lovely and very gentle with us and my kids are teenagers , but he isnt keen on younger children he will get anxious if they are too over the top and go and hide or similar , we know when he is uncomfortable so i will put him somewhere on his own if he seems stressed , he is our third collie and i have found they can be stressed easily at times
Our firsf 2 were a couple years old when kids were born and were fine with the kids but we kept them locked in outhouse if we had to go upstairs i never left them alone and watched interactions carefully , as i was warned collies will often try and herd kids
Speak to you vet for guidance , only ypu know what happened and you must make sure they are in separate rooms in the meantime , and no chance of dog being able to get to your toddler

Us dog loving folks have quite often had dogs our whole lives, know a lot about them and understand their behaviour. It is the people who have never had dogs before, don't have enough knowledge on them to fill a postage stamp but have the audacity to say anyone who loves dogs or who objects to a dog unnecessarily being pts

I love dogs, owned and adored one for eighteen years and I still say that a dog cannot be 100% trusted with young children. If a dog bites once, it is a warning that it can bite again.
I don’t think the dog has to be PTS but it certainly has to be rehomed if the OP values her child’s safety over her beloved pet’s safety. It is a heartbreaking decision/realisation to have to make but without question a necessary one.

There are some very defensive dog people here.

With your greater-than-postage-stamp-sized-knowledge, you may be able to step back far enough to see that one person's ANECDOTAL EXPERIENCE (I've had a dog my whole life and nothing bad ever happened to me, my aunt's dogs don't mind if toddlers climb on them, we had border collies and no-one ever got hurt etc etc etc etc) doesn't equate to a factual statement beyond a summary of your experience! The facts are that SOME dogs are dangerous, and we have no foolproof way of knowing which ones they are. You can be emotionally blinded by your own affection for dogs about it, but you can't know for sure. What you can do is look at track record. If a dog has attacked a toddler, then the fact is they can attack toddlers.

You could be a cautious person and never have dogs at all around young children because you want zero risk whatsoever. Or you could be slightly less cautious and say you are ok with the risk of a well behaved, well trained dog that is known to you, under close supervision, is acceptable. But what is reckless is the person who said it's fine to have a dog that bit a toddler stay around that toddler because it will make everyone pay closer attention?

As I said, let's hope the people making these crazy statements aren't the ones who end up on the front page of the sun because their kid got mauled to death or serious injury by a beloved pet.

Let it be noted though that I never said the dog should be put to sleep. There are other options that can and should be investigated and it's the owner's responsibility to do just that.

If you rehome, just be honest about the dog not liking children.

My XP took on a Labrador. He was fed some story about why they needed to rehome the dog - once he took her on he found that she was generally aggressive, and, as her family of origin had several small children, we strongly suspect that she bit at least one of them.

She now lives in a child free environment, but is still prone to jumping and snapping at people she doesn't know. And this is a Labrador, so people don't expect it.

If you rehome, just be honest about the dog not liking children.

Jesus yes. It goes without saying that you must stipulate that’s the dog CANNOT be homed with or around children. Ever.

If you ever look at dog foster and adoption shelters, it is a really common stipulation and it shouldn’t put a new forever owner off, once they are know in advance. It is the responsible thing to do both for the dog and the new owner because otherwise should it bite again, it could be pts immediately or worse abandoned to fend for itself on the streets which is a cruel outcome for what was once a cherished family pet.

@Alongcameacat

I've been arguing for the dog to be rehomed this whole time. Because it can't be trusted but it's not necessary to pts in this situation.

Yeah dogs can't be trusted around unsupervised small children. As I've said in previous posts, my parents had a dog when I was born. They always supervised me with her and we rubbed along just fine. I know plenty of other families who have managed just fine with young children and dogs.

@newwnamme

I never said that they should keep the dog. In fact, I have argued that the dog should be rehomed to a family with no children.

I'm not just basing this off my own experience. I studied animal behaviour as part of my uni course.

There is a big difference between a dog attacking a toddler and a dog nipping a toddler that has been pestering it. Imagine someone is poking you with a stick. You ask them to stop. They don't. Surely, you will eventually lash out. It's like that for dogs with a toddler that is pestering them, only they can't talk. They can't explain to the toddler that they don't like that beaviour and ask them to stop. So they bite.

There is no reason why a dog that has bitten a toddler can't be rehomed with a family who don't have young children.

And yes I do get defensive when people who don't really understand dogs or their behaviour are arguing for one to unnecessarily be put to sleep. And I'm not going to apologize for that.

Goodbye, dog.

No flaming from me op. What a awful situation

My friend had a little dog that they’d had since it was a puppy, it was then 7 years old. One day it snapped and bit her 3 year old who was just sitting and doing a puzzle. Luckily it wasn’t bad or didn’t break the skin. But after that the dog moved in with the grandparents, who as a elderly couple lived on there own. When the grandchildren (or anyone actually) visit the dog is strictly in another room or in the garden at all times.