to think the dog who bit my friends dd today should be put down?

[sparklyfairypie]

little yappy thing bit her today at nursery (in the nursery garden) GGRR

The parents should report the incident to the police. They can then keep a record and if it does recur and is reported again the dog will be put down. This is the only way of being sure that people in different areas are protected. It gives the dog one chance.

We did this with a dog that bit me when I was a child. The owners said it was totally out of character, etc etc. 2 months later it bit another, smaller child. Luckily we'd reported it, so did they and that was that. I just don't believe in 'rehabilitated' dogs - surely they're only rehabilitated up till now, who knows what will happen tomorrow. And the risk you're wrong is just not worth it.

I would expect ANY dog that bit a child to be destroyed regardless of the circumstances.

omg!is wee girl ok?scary for her and her parents.one bite too many.dog has to go

WM, so if the child was repeatedly kicking the dog it should still be put down??

That is just stupid - my dog has had his head down a rabbit hole before and this idiot parent let their 8 year old son run up and grab him from behind - naturally my dog was surprised and turned round and barked at him

The parent shouted at me that my dog had nearly bitten their child. I explained in extremely forceful terms that they had to train their children not to grab dogs from behind.

Dogs are animals and distance needs to be respected - it is not ok to let/encourage your child to approach excitedly where they can't see you.

That is not what happened here but have to respond to the unkindness displayed when people say if it bites once it should be put down. The dog should not have been put in a highly stressful situation by their owner

YABU

My friend's 2 year old dog bit a teenage boy in the park recently (friend was absolutely horrified)

Dog has previously shown not the slightest inclination to aggression and this was a complete and utter bolt from the blue. Her dog shouldn't be put down. She is however now consistently keeping him on a lead and has sought advice from her vet

Dogs often bite or go for children because they have moving fingers and hands at their eye level and they think they are under threat. It might be worth telling the poor wee bitten girl that hands should go in pockets or at least try and keep still when you go past a dog? I can see how this would scare her but she will be scared now anyway.

Echo others' sentiments that the dog should NOT be anywhere near nursery unattended. I hope she isn't badly hurt.

complain to nursery manager and ofsted the nursery manager is the named accountable person for maintaining safety.

Not really commenting direcly about the OP but all dog bites.I think it depends on the circumstances: If it was a totally unprovoked attack then there is cause for concern and the dog needs to be put to sleep. If it is a case of poor ownership: rehome the dog following extensive training and assesment. If it was provoked then no i definately think the dog entitled to defend itself, to a degree.

He is a for instance, that i am bound to get flamed for. My dog bit right through my DDs foot, she had to go to hospital, it wasnt stitched but she was told that he had narrowly missed the tendon and that would have caused big problems. My initial reaction was that the dog needed to be rehomed immediately. DD1 was 16 at the time, but we had DD2 who was less than a year old. DD1 was adamant that it wasnt the dogs fault, that she trod on his foot when he was asleep and he just snapped and bit her, then looked horrified, she was able to put him in the kitchen and call an ambulance (which was OTT to be fair, but she was on her own and panicked, she said she called an ambulance because it wasnt bleeding big hole thoigh). I still was insisting that we rehomed the dog but he was a rescue that we had taken on before DD2 and coudlnt go back to kennels due to major kennel stress. So i agreed to keep him and look for a new home, i coudlnt have him around when DD2 was mobile as i coudlnt garuntee to keep separate, he was a huge hulking dog so it would have been a disaster. Anyway, it turned out, very shortly after, we discovered that he had bone cancer, in the leg that my DD trod on by accident, so no wonder he bit her, it must have been agony - yes he was a rotweiller, but please dont think i could ever accept that my dog should have been punished by death for a split second reaction. As it was we did have to have him put to sleep - that dog never grumbled or complained or even so much as curled a lip despite being in terrible pain (the cancer was missed so he went through hell). Imagine how i would have felt if i rehomed him and the last few months of his life were spent with strangers on in kennels .

i value children more than dogs.doggy bite doggy go-go.end of.no ohhh and ahhh and reflection.

Yes well I value children more than dogs too funnily enough (doh!). I also value considered opinions more than emotive / irrational reflex responses

i think it is a drastic measure to request the destruction of a family pet. this dog is being housed with two small children so i am sure that the owner must have been jsut as shocked as she obviosuly never doubted her dogs behaviour wiht her own children.
i own a boxer and up until recently had two. i also have a 13 month old ds. he has never shown aggression but the day he does he will be rehomed. i try to avoid kiddies on walks as they can be over enthusiastic at times and my dog does not bite he just wants to jump and play and is quite heavy and so could easily knock over a child.
i think having a word with the owner as i am sure she has a side to tell to. perhaps the dog is old and they can get snappy in old age jsut like us! i am not justifying the bite just think you may be a bit hasty demading the death of an animal especially when it was not even your child being bitten.

I don't care if a dog was upset or was sick. If it's a danger to children it should be put down. The argument that dogs will bite so kids should be trained to keep their distance makes me sick.

If I wave a chain saw around in the playground can I say "but didn't you teach them that chain saws are dangerous?" and make it the kids fault?

Our school and pre-school has banned dogs from their grounds due to health and safety which I think is a bit OTT because the school run is a perfect time to walk the dogs HOWEVER I am also of the view that all dogs should be muzzled when out in public. It does them NO harm and it protects over-excited children who obviously want to fuss them. I have 2 dogs and they are very gentle but I always muzzle because it's safer. Of course there are problems with dogs wanting to go for each other and I think that in that case the owner needs to be responsible and decide not to take their dogs to school if that's how they react. A dog that constantly bites needs to probably be put down before it does serious harm but then there's bite and a little nip.

Greyriverside, your argument is a little flawed. Dogs MIGHT bite, and i agree that they should not be in the school playground at all. But children most definately should be made aware that strange dogs are potentially dangerous and should not be approached, This includes running around in the immediate vicinity to the animal as well. There are two elements of responsibility - firstly, the owners to ensure that their dog is under full control. Secondly, the parents to ensure that their child does not go running up to strange dogs in case they frighten them. This is what i say to DD, who loves dogs. I just say "dont touch the doggie darling, you might frighten him" in that way, she doesnt see the dog as a threat and the owner isnt insulted by the insinuation that their dog is vicious. The school of course should have a no dogs in the play ground policy and enforce it.

our dog bit ds and drew blood recently - she is a small dog and he (age 2) sat on her forcefully - it was a swift nip and she had no other way of saying "get off it hurts". I'm letting this one go as I don't consider it was her fault - but am keeping a watchful eye out to check for any sign that she is developing ideas above her station, as that would worry me with the children

crumpet, you are doing the right thing, my dd is sometimes too rough with our dog - i have told her, that dog will bite you, and i'll laugh! But bless him, he never does.

lol ...many of the posters here make this dog sound like one of those lions or sharks in the wild who apparently 'get a taste for man' once they've eaten one!! ooh shoot it, shoot it incase it gives up deer and goes for another!!!

Worzel you are clearly not a dog owner. what an extreme reaction. ALL dogs will bite given the wrong circumstances.

Do you want them all banned?

Of course not. The owner should not have left her dog unattended around fast moving fur grabbing little children.

btw my cat scratches my dd if provoked. Should I put her down?

I'd blame the owner and make sure she gets a severe telling off for leaving her dog at the school gate where children HAVE to walk past it.

No it shouldn't be put down. Others have already pointed out the fact that the dog shouldn't have been there, children should always be told not to approach a strange dog without an adult being there. Hope the owner learns a lesson.

I am a bit as to why anyone would tie up any dog anywhere near children and not be right next to it. Very bad dog ownership.
I dont think parents in this case should be blamed as you wouldnt expect to see a dog in a playground so cant be constantly watching out for this.

If I were the dog owner I would be very concerned about what happened and want to know the exact circumstances which as they werent there couldnt know.

Without knowing that there was a justified explanation ie the child was teasing the dog in a big way I'd have to rehome the dog or pts on advice from trusted dog trainer.

some people with dogs behave like twats. my dd is terrified of dogs and last week at the school gates a smallish dog was being held on a lead. instead of holding it on a short lead the dog was running around and jumping. my dd and her friend were practically climbing the fence to get away from it. when i said to the owner POLITELY,' they're scared of dogs', she did the usual doggy lovers crap. 'oh but he won't hurt them' and came even closer. the fact that he won't hurt them wasn't the point, they were scared and she should have respected this. i had to grab the lead myself in the end and pull the dog back.

coco...she did the usual doggy lovers crap. 'oh but he won't hurt them'

That is so pants, any decent dog owner should warn kids to keep away from a dog they do not know, for the sakes of the dog and the child. I do get cross with unknown owners who encourage my children to pet their dog.I've taught them to keep away (and I love dogs!)

A parent should teach their children to stay away from unknown dogs.
A dog owner should keep their dogs away from unfamilar children.