My dog nearly bit a child today.

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Just wanted to vent. I have a 6 year old terrier who is very much used to kids, I have two kids and never had any issues. She comes across other kids too but we don't have a lot of visitors.

we never really have any visitors in the house. Today a friend of mine was stuck somewhere and asked if I could pick her three kids up from school for an hour.

one of them has sen, which I totally get as one of mine do too.

whilst my back was turned for a couple seconds, the boy picked up my dog from a weird angle, dog welped, growled then went in like she was going to bite - she didn't, as I grabbed her quickly. Then I shut the dog in garden.

I then let dog back in (she was whining to come in) and growled and got defensive every time the kid went near her so had to shut her away in my bedroom upstairs.

I know my dog is a good dog and was provoked by being picked up. But I'm also worried sick that I will be accused of something even though it didn't really . She's come across as an Agro dog when she really isn't 😭 i am worried I will be accused of something.

not used to this kind of thing. Never had any issues before.

@StopStartStop

You are not right. Any dog, or any animal for that matter will lash out if someone hurts it enough. The dog could have badly bitten him as soon as he started hurting her but she chose not too. She warned him and then snapped at him when the warning went ignored. She wouldn't have understood what was happening. Maybe he was just trying to give her a hug but to her, he was attacking her and hurting her. I'll ask you again, if someone was hurting you and not stopping when you told them too, would you lash out?

She is six years old and never shown that behaviour before. The one time she does, she is being hurt and trying to defend herself. Or do you think that almost having her first taste of blood will turn her into a murderous monster?

Ty! Dog is fine. She has been known to hate being picked up by anyone apart from us - nor that I make a habit of picking her up but it does happen and she's fine with it. I think because she's so small people think it's okay to pick her up. Total moment of madness. Im not used to having a house full either. I was getting the dog to stay next to me or shut outside or at one point upstairs, just a momentary distraction.

@StopStartStop take the advice of your username

This is an awful thing to say
The dog was hurt and snapped. Nobody was injured

There isn't a dog alive that will never bite. The OP's dog sounds like a nice dog that was very provoked. She knows now to keep children who are not dog savvy (because they can't understand) away from her dog.

This is exactly why I keep a very close eye on my toddler around dogs and rather he steers clear of them. Even when the owner says their dog loves kids, which is what every owner says. Kids are unpredictable and dogs are unpredictable, not a good mix.

It’s safer to put your dog out of harms way - any visitor who doesn’t know or respect your dog won’t have the opportunity to do anything against your advice. Doggo might be offended, no doubt, but rather that (and lots of treats after visitors have gone) than something happening and them being blamed…

we do this for the cat…😁

Oh absolutely. My kids aren't toddlers and I do trust my dog and kids together (I might be flamed for that, but I'm not talking leaving them home alone together, I just mean leaving them downstairs together whilst I shower) but no I wouldn't trust my dog around other children as today has proven nor would I trust anyone else's dogs around my kids.l even though they've always been around dogs since being babies but you just don't know. My own daughter was bitten and had skin broken on chin by my mothers dog whilst being 'watched' by my parents! Same dog also bit my grandparent and other people and I do not go round there anymore, that is aggression and often jealously (it's awfully possessive over its owners), it bites unprovoked. My dog acted out of fear and likely pain and I have started to calm about it now, mentioned to to their mum who didn't seem fussed, her daughter was not bothered either.

This really was a moment of madness in our case though. All other kids were in living room, it was me, dog and said child in another room, I was watching them both but a brief look out their window to see if their parents had arrived and the dog was picked up! Thing is the dog was pretty happy to he played with in a nice way with me supervising, it was just the whole being picked up thing she didn't like!

Not the dog or childs fault. If someone is coming round with children you put your dog/chimp/python away so neither party can hurt the other. They are both unpredictable, however theyve behaved in the past.

The child should not have picked him up or even been allowed to get to that point. No dog should have to put up with being hurt by any child.

In future, I would just pre-empt the situation. 'This is Simon the dog, he's very friendly, but he doesn't like being picked up- so it's important we respect this.'

We had a rescue cat- super soft, super friendly, but couldn't tolerate anyone touching his stomach- the rescue centre thought he had been hurt by someone in his stomach area before he was rescued. So we would say, 'This is Jeff, he's a rescue cat- he's very friendly but he doesn't like being touched on his stomach.' Adults- we would explain about the abuse, kids we wouldn't. Once every single person accepted this, he lived a peaceful life with us and lived out his days quietly.

I know 😩 it's not the child's nor is it the dogs fault. When the kids first turned up they were all stroking the dog etc and dog was loving the attention at first and was not picked up. I was either watching the dog or had her shut away. I thought the kids would be dog savvy as they have a few dogs themselves. It was just a brief fail on my behalf. I was right there, just not close enough to prevent it.

No, you aren't right. Not even slightly. A dog that WARNS will only bite if seriously abused. This dog was hurt and it warned.

By your logic if I came up to you, punched you in the face, and you reacted, you'd be the one in the wrong.

Moron.

Just explain ex picked dog up, dog didn't like it and growled so you moved to dog to another room. Sounds totally reasonable, if they come round again you know to separate the dog.

That is utterly ridiculous. You do not get a dog put down for yelping and growling when hurt by a child. Theres never been an issue before and the op will ensure there won't be an issue in future.
The dog didn't bite the child

The reality is that any dog has the potential to growl, even nip, if they feel threatened, are frightened suddenly, or are mishandled/hurt and I like to think most adults totally understand that, especially fellow dog owners, so I wouldn't worry OP.
You and your pup have done nothinf wrong. It's just one of those things.
As a PP said, chalk it up as experience and maybe give her her own peaceful space next time or ask any guests not to pick her up.

Don't be so utterly ridiculous!

the kid picked her up & hurt her, she growled.

she didn't bite the kid, & it wasn't unprovoked.

@op. Honestly get your eyes sewn open, You Must Not Blink!

Stop stressing, nothing happened except a kid getting a warning growl (which he ignored!)

The child probably hurt something and terriers are not the most forgiving. Used to have a Patterdale, great dog, so smart but mess with him and he was going to let you know. Explain to the Mum and then make a Special spot for doggy when visitors come round. That way she's safe, they are safe and she won't feel punished for something that she hadn't done. Good good luck.