If a dog bites, should it be pts?

[Snappedandfarted1]

After a discussion with my dog loving friend, I’m curious as to how many of you dog owners would have your pet pts if it bit you or a member of your family? I don’t mean just a nip, I mean a bite which bleeds a fair amount and requires stitches.

To me, that says that a dog cannot be trusted around a human at all and should be pts, but my friends opinion is that unless the bite causes serious damage it should ultimately be ignored. She did agree that an elderly dog should be pts in this situation but not a young or middle aged dog.

Opinions?

Second dog bite thread on here this evening

I would take precautions around ddog not being with the dc, but I wouldn't have her pts.

The first dog bite thread was actually what got us talking!

@stompythedinosaur even if you had to go to hospital and have stitches and the bite left a permanent scar?

I wouldn’t even think twice about putting my dog down if she bit someone.

Depends on the circumstances. If my dog bit me for no apparent reason I’d be checking for illness as it’s out of character. If my dog bit me during fireworks/a storm I would be able to explain it as he is terrified during them.

@notumbongounchained even if she bit you?

I also don’t have children in the house so I could ensure that only my own safety was at risk by that decision iyswim.

It would very much depend on the circumstances for me. If the dog had been goaded and provoked into biting, then no I don't think they should be pts. If they have attacked someone without being provoked or with the provocation being very minor, such as someone making them startle or something, then yes I would think they should be pts or at very least muzzled.

Yes. Of course.

Depends on the situation. There have been posts on here where dogs have bitten but it turns out the owner knew the dog was uncomfortable with x y or z & continued to allow it anyway. No way would i PTS.

Surely whatever you do after a bite depends entirely on what caused it?

Depends on circumstances, not all bites are purely down to the dog

@stompythedinosaureven if you had to go to hospital and have stitches and the bite left a permanent scar?

Yes, even then. I love her.

Wow you'd have a dog PTS for reacting to being startled Stormwhale?

Especially if she bit me!

Yes I suppose the circumstances surrounding the bite would determine the decision. Suppose the dog wasn’t in a threatening situation and was unprovoked?

No I wouldn’t. I would keep it away from people in the future though.

It would depend on the circumstances, really. For instance, an unprovoked bite vs. a situation where the human involved behaved in a way that could predictably lead to the dog biting. ...Or a potentially life-threatening attack (dog repeatedly biting or refusing to let go) vs. a single, quick bite and then the dog retreating.

It would certainly change the way I looked at the dog, and I'd be (even more) vigilant about keeping the dog away from vulnerable people and out of situations that might make a bite more likely. But no, I wouldn't automatically have my dog pts just because it bit someone.

Suppose the dog wasn’t in a threatening situation and was unprovoked?

Then I'd be taking them to the vets if it was entirely out of character.

Unfortunately I've known some dogs where it is in their character. They have been PTS. But I definitely wouldn't jump to that without assessing first.

I'm firmly of the 'there is always a reason' camp. Be that injury, illness, reaction to something. One of my rescues used to attack the door if the postie turned up. Only the postie, nobody else. Turned out the postie at the home before me used to kick him 😡

It depends on the circumstances. My mom was grooming her dog and she was combing out a knot and pulled his hair. He bit her ear, and it required a couple of stitches. That was the only time in his life (17 years) that he ever bit, or even acted like he was going to bite. Putting him to sleep because of that would have been a bit of an over reaction, IMO.

No I wouldn’t.

If unprovoked and they bit me or a close family member very familiar to the dog I would have to consider PTS.

I can’t imagine that situation ever occurring but never say never.

My dog bit my mum's hand once and she had to have it stitched up. We didn't have him pts. He was very quirky and needed careful handling but was never ever a risk to strangers, as he actively avoided people and would never dream of approaching anyone. My mum blamed herself, as we all knew how to manage him and she did something different than usual. We all adored him and were devastated when his time came. All that said, I'm not adverse to a dog being pts for biting. There's a lot worse things that can happen to an animal than being pts.

I would normally think yes a dog that bites is dangerous , but then I remembered years ago when I was a kid , our then dog bit a neighbour who for some unknown reason walked past and roared in the dogs face whilst pushing his hand towards her quickly. The dog had never bitten anyone before and was probably thinking he was going to get attacked , god knows why the bloke did it, he was very apologetic . Strange bloke