my dog has just bitten my little girl

[heartsore]

and i am going to have to put him to sleep now and i am feeling horrific. i feel terrible that i let my daughter get bitten (by keeping my dog whom i love even though i know he isnt safe with kids) and that i am going to have to say goodbye to my dog.

am just grateful that he didnt get her face but her hand.

oh god, i cant talk about this in RL with anyone because they will all just tell me its my own fault and i know it is, but that doesnt mean im not going to miss my dog.

and my poor DD, god, i feel awful

sorry this is a bit scrambled i am just so so upset.

The trouble is, people often can't see the difference, IMO, between a dog that bites and a dog that attacks. Lots of bites occur, very few attacks. What people also sometimes don't seem to realise is that if a dog meant to do damage, it would do so, the bite would break the skin and cause serious harm.

As I said earlier in the thread, too many owners misunderstand dogs and take away their ability to let them know if they are unhappy in a situation, because they tell them off for growling etc and then they will say 'well, my dog wa shappy with my child petting him/climbing on him/cuddling him for years, then suddenly turned without warning'. Except the dog probably wasn't 'happy' with it for years, just put up with it and as it didn't feel able to say 'I don't like that, please stop' it progressed to the only thing it felt it could do and bit.

I personally believe that if it was't for the inherantly good nature of most dogs (even some of those who bite) there would be a lot more dog bites than there are.

wannabe, please note that I did say that there are rescues and sanctuaries out there who are willing and able to care for a dog themselves (ie within a controlled rescue environment, run by experienced professionals) rather than see him killed if it is not appropriate to rehabilitate and rehome.

I've no intention of sparking off the "shouldn't be in rescue all their lives" debate, as not only am I of a no-kill stance but, more importantly in this case, I know of rescues where the care, time and exercise given far exceeds that offered in a hell of a lot of pet homes so I don't think that argument holds water.

All I'm asking is that I'm given the chance to help in circumstances such as the ones detailed here. In the OPs case, as I said here way back, I've heard from her and know that it was impossible for me to help. In others, I may be able to.