I've been bitten by my parents dog twice

[Sapph1e]

I know the title sounds straightforward, but it's not.

They have two dogs; one an aged spaniel and one 18 month old retriever. I also have my own dogs.

Back in the summer I was staying and both my parents' dogs started scrapping under the table. I raised my legs so I didn't get in the way and unfortunately my movement coincided with the younger dog savagely trying to bite the other dog. In no way did he mean to strike me, but he bit hard, straight down to the muscle and the pain was immense; I was debilitated for days (literally hobbling) and I have a scar. Anyway, it wasn't his fault and I didn't think any more of it.

Until yesterday when I stood up in the kitchen and he thought I was the other dog and bit me AGAIN. It's not as bad but again, I'm in a lot of pain and though it was a quick snap he obviously did it violently because the bruising is bad.

I'm used to dogs, I own two and I grew up with them and I have never been bitten before. I am not one to overreact but I have two children and I am petrified that he will do this again to one of them. He does not mean to bite one of us, that is certain, but on neither occasion did I do anything that remotely antagonised him. It was literally wrong place, wrong time. The dog in question thought he was snapping at another dog.

I feel uncomfortable but am I BU??? Do tell!

Can you suggest that they take him to the vet?

As a child my sister was bit like this by a friend's dog - dog turned out to have a brain tumour, which just like in humans can affect reactions and personality.

I would definitely be doing as much as I could to keep children away!

I have always had dogs and love them to bits. But I would not put up with this at all. The dog is giving off massive red warning signals and it wont be long before it seriously attacks someone, possibly your DC.

YANBU. Your parents should be taking action and possibly even considering having the dog PTS.

This is an accident waiting to happen.

you would be irresponsible to take your DC there. Do you want to be the next parent in the news talking about how their DC had their face ripped off by the family pet that 'wouldn't hurt a fly'?

get a grip NOW.

Does the dog have sight problems? Odd that it seems to keep mistaking you for a dog (if I have understood correctly).

Oh, it's difficult, my mum has an aggressive dog and it's never the dogs fault. We did this, we did that, the dogs not used to kids/you/people breathing.
I only visit once a year, the dog worries me and I'm not scared of dogs. We have 3 dogs, my kids are dog savvy, they don't bother/mither the dog in any way. It's my mum's choice to put her dog before her GC. It is my choice to put my dd's before her dog.

If the dog can't be shut away, get yourself home any which way you can. It's not fair on the children that they are probably too afraid to move.

This is very serious.

I'm concerned by you saying you'd be punished - you're an adult, there's very little punishing of you your parents can reasonably do! You are a parent to your children and your need to protect them should be far greater than concern about punishments from your family.

This dog is a real risk to your children (and you're feeling pretty injured too!)

How did you get there? If your parents won't seperate the dog I would absolutely leave any way I could - taxi, bus, whatever. Things are still running today.

I don't think people understand the power of family dynamics here. It is really really hard to stand up to parents who have always had power over you. That fear can be stronger than the fear of even your children being bitten. I know that seems strange if you've not been in that sort of relationship, but it's how it is.

Certain he doesn't mean to bite, but then he keeps biting....

Neutering a nervous can exacerbate fear aggression and other behavioural issues. Fearful dogs are MUCH more likely to bite. Asserting pack dominance is nonsense - it's more likely he sees you as an outsider to his family (as you're visiting) and us worried by this. Unfortunately your DC will also be the same. Safety tips
Keep dog separate from DC as much as possible
Make sure DC know the following: do not run towards dog, try and chase, startle etc. do not disturb when eating or with treats or toys. Do not step over dog or disturb when asleep. These are all times when a highly reactive dog is more likely to snap.

Speak to your parents about your concerns - show them your bite, explain your fears for yourself and your DC. Ask them to take dog to a behaviourist. Check out www.apbc.org.uk to find a qualified behaviourist

Short term solution is the retriever needs muzzeling and keeping away from you all, in your parent's bedroom or something. As soon after xmas as possible he needs a vet check but it sounds like it could be a training issue so your parent's vet can refer them to a behaviourist.

I have dogs as do my parents, I would be taking it very seriously if any of the dogs started scrapping and a human got caught in the cross fire!

You say you don't have a car? How will you get yourself and your child to hospital when one or other of you gets bitten tomorrow?

How will your parents punish you if you make a fuss? This is a bizarre situation. Are you really saying that fear of being punished by your parents means you are prepared to put yourself and your child at risk of harm? Where is your DD's father? Why does he think about this?

I felt so sorry for all of you after I read this. Your parents need to realise how serious this is. They ate doing no favours to anybody (human or dog) by dismissing it or blaming it on you.

The dog is theirs to train. It's either badly trained to be so aggressive or it is just very aggressive. Either way it has to be dealt with appropriately before something else happens.

As the situation is so immediate, I would say appropriate translates as removing the dog from people and other dogs for now. Ifit cannot be retrained afterwards, there isn't really more than one option for a dog with a history of biting like that.

So sorry. I hope you have a lovely Christmas despite all this.

It's Christmas sunshine. While I'm all for checking out if the dogs ok, I don't see why at Christmas they should have to tiptoe nervously around him. After Christmas is the time to deal with the dog. Christmas is for kids and they should be able to enjoy it without being afraid of being bitten

The biting dog needs to live in a household with no other dogs or children. I don't know why you're so sure he didn't mean to bite you - he's done it twice and growls at you all the time! Immediately, he should be separated from you, the children and the other dogs - no question. If he isn't, leave - this nonsense about family dynamics isn't going to wash with social services as an explanation for why you failed to protect your child from a reasonably foreseeable risk should they get bitten.

Get yourself and your kids out of the house and straight to the petshop. Buy a muzzle and insist that it stays on at all times. I hate them, but it solves the safe Christmas in the house problem. Have a good and sfe Christmas, then decide what to do about future visites at a less emotionally charged time.

Agree you need to leave if your parents won't agree to muzzle and separate the dog. I would take their other dog too. If the retrieve r is biting that hard it means to do damage, poor elderly spaniel, it is cruel to make it live under constant fear.
If your mum and dad don't grasp the serious ness of the situation it is unfortunate but your duty of care is to your child. You are a mother first, a daughter second. How would you feel at hospital having to explain these injuries? And that you all knew the dog was capable of severe aggression and yet didn't protect your child?

I really feel for you, the situation is awful, but however hard, you know what you have to do.

Your parents are bad dog owners if they excuse his bad behaviour and make you feel that way. Really they shouldn't own an animal at all if they can't be responsible.

Agree with those saying insist he's separated from you and muzzled. He sounds ad tempered and aggressive, they don't help matters at all by not disciplining him. Do not go around there again after this if they insist on putting him first. I love dogs, if one attacked someone with so much force (twice!) and obviously had the intent to attack a much older dog with that force then I'd be worried about everyone-including the other dog's- safety.

The DC shouldn't have to tiptoe around the dog. But surely it's better that than risking a bite? the OP asked for practical advice on what she could go to minimise risks and I think it's better to offer that than say 'children shouldn't have to compromise' and risk a bite. Ideally the dog should be completely separate but I don't know if OP's parents will agree to that so I'm offerring practical advice to keep the kids safe - to me that's more important than anything.

Re: the muzzle suggestions - thus may not be practical - you need a Baskerville (basket) muzzle to ensure the dog can pant and drink adequately, and fitting a muzzle to a nervousness aggressive dog that is not muzzle trained is no mean feat and risks further bites if not handled properly

Sunshine I agree up to a point but its unlikely that children are going to remember, especially at an exciting timelike Christmas when over-excitement is common. The dog will be out of routine and stressed already cause of extra visitors, new dog etc - that plus children seems a recipe for disaster.

OP, if you want to keep your children safe this dog needs to be shut away from them (you could shut your dog away too to be polite). Or leave. I recommend the latter if your parents would really 'punish' you for keeping your dc safe. But please don't put your dc in harm's way to prevent a row - you being in the same room as them may stop them getting killed but won't stop them being badly hurt if they are 'in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

I recently saw patient with half her face gone, who nearly died from blood loss - a friendly dog always, she said except perhaps a few nips - owner knew it had previously attacked children 'a bit' yet still allowed children to visit house. Immediate child safety alarm bells, immediate life threatening injury to someone else. Do not take any risks with your children's lives -owners may underestimate, minimise risk and protect their dogs.

What a shame you minimised it.

Can't see what you do now

It's not uncommon or unusual for dogs to display aggression amongst each other, it's in fact, fairly normal behaviour for them. They are NOT naturally pack animals as many people think, this theory was flawed from the off and it has been shown that feral dogs do not live in packs. However, most domestic dogs are sufficiently trained and socialised to mean they do not display overt aggression to other dogs and as they are social animals they enjoy dog/dog interactions. That doesn't mean they have to like every dog they meet though.

You don't really mention whether the dogs have injured each other? Requiring vet treatment? Bloody fights? I would assume so due to what you've mentioned. As they are two dogs and not bitches then the situation may not be completely dire and a good behaviourist (an APBC one as mentioned above) may be able to help. They will require you to have a vet check first and it may be possible to claim on insurance.

In the meantime, it would be wise to keep the dogs seperate and this would no doubt make the retriever more relaxed and happy in any case. Could a stairgate be used? I do think it's doubtful that this dog would now anyone deliberately, but if a person vets in the way of a dog fight or he is so anxious he is confusing people for dogs when they are near him, people are going to get bitten sadly. It's not really the dogs fault though, it sounds like he is unhappy.

FWIW, I had two bitches that fought. Immediately, as soon as thy were together. Both required vet treatment and we kept them seperate for three years. (We had four dogs, so each had another dog for company) neither do had a problem with any other dog at all though, both were well socialised, but my husband did get bitten once whilst putting his hand in the middle of a fight. (Entirely his own fault!) neither dog has ever fought with any other dog and never bitten anyone else. I trust them both completely around my DC. In fact, both dogs are very good with other 'difficult' dogs. They just really don't like each other.

I agree with the posters encouraging separation in the short term. There is an imminent risk to your dogs and family because the young dog is in a state of distress. The growling that he does IS a warning and biting is the next stage.

If he's doing this frequently, then he is demonstrating that he is a very unhappy dog. It can be corrected with effort and training on your parent's part, but they need to seek advice and stick to what they are taught.

Agree that the dog immediately needs to be kept away from the kids and other dogs.

Then vet and behaviourist.

My dogs do rough play fighting with a lot of mouthing but they don't actually bite each other. Also if I go near them to break them up, they never turn on me. Well socialised dogs actually have a lot of control over who/when they bite.

The fact that it has happened in the kitchen/near food sounds significant.

Feral dogs do live in packs in Moscow midori, although the packs don't function in quite the same way as wolf packs. And most dogs are, by nature, adapted to live in the company of humans and other dogs. This is normal for them and has been for thousands of years.