I want to get rid of my dog, am I getting this out of perspective

[hmc]

She is a jack Russell / daschund cross. We've had her since a puppy and she is now 6. Temperament - total lap dog, likes to curl up on lap and be fussed, fixes you with adoring gaze etc. A little nervous however and if she does something wrong you simply cannot raise your voice at her since she pees on the floor in fright! She has been a very easy, placid dog.

Yesterday out of the blue she bit a friend of 7 year old ds. He had only just met her but is confident with dogs (with one of his own) and was kneeling over her petting her. I was about 4 feet away and wasn't watching intently but observed that he was doing nothing wrong. I suppose she was unsure of him but without warning she snarled and bit his lip. His lip bled for around 5 minutes and the poor boy was so upset - shocked more than anything. I reassured him and he managed to calm down within ten minutes or so and started playing with ds again as if nothing had happened. However I am horrified - that poor child....and how can I ever trust that dog again? Her attack was sudden and unwarranted. I want rid of her - dh and dcs disagree. WWYD ?

I'd take her to the vet, not urgent out of hours vet, but beginning of next week.

Sudden aggression in a normally placid dog might be due to her being in pain or being otherwise unwell.

I certainly would not re-home over one incident as you've described it.

I don't know - mine is a JRT/Border T who is also super submissive. Pees with fright if anyone admonishes him. I clap my hands and say his name and he comes in from outside. No one has EVER upset or hurt him - so if I was 6 years on with him (he is 1.5) umm, I wouldn't want to keep a biter as I want grandkids around.

I might call a dog whisperer first and then get rid if I couldn't get to the root of it.

Yes, I will take her to the vet - don't think she is ill or in pain as she presumably would be off her food and showing other signs, but I suppose vet will be good for advice

Ditto vet but also surely your dog is just even more nervous than you thought. The boy 'was kneeling over her petting her'. She probably felt hemmed in and confident 7 year olds might be even more likely to pet a dog in ways that new dogs won't enjoy even if their home dog does.

Work with a trainer/keep her away from visiting children. She probably did give warnings in her body language but no one was reading them, I had dogs for years before working with a great behaviourist taught me lots about reading my own dogs. Some stress signs are subtle.

Rehoming would be bonkers. Dogs aren't either a biter or not, most dogs can bite with the right wrong circumstances. We need to educate ourselves better about how to manage those things for our dogs.

Hmm vet might be good for advice but not always, behaviourist would be better.

Yes, it had occurred to me that the child, who has a dog, may have been unwittingly handling her too firmly ( I was in the room but not watching intently in the few seconds that it happened so can't be sure if there were body language signs)- he has a large breed dog at home.....Perhaps I should try to understand it a little more from her perspective. Once I have calmed down I suppose we will be keeping her - but I will always have to shut her away in the spare room when we have visiting children. I am nervous however that she might turn on my two - very unlikely? Big chat to them about reading her body language (she would normally do tail between legs when unhappy)?

I think the idea that a dog can suddenly turn is pretty much a myth, yours will be just the same with your children. Safer if you get better at reading her. I think stress signs vary fog to dog but tails down or up sometimes,yawning, avoidance eyes, ears fixed etc. One of mine bit one of my children but it was never repeated, we all learned stuff. They were best friends until we lost her.

How were the boys parents? An awkward conversation. Hope it is all feeling better...

I would get her checked over at the vet. Ask them to particularly look at ears and teeth - often "silent" causes of pain. Dogs are very stoical and will/can endure things like toothache or an ear infection without you necessarily knowing. I would want to see these eliminated as reasons as I've seen otherwise very gentle dogs become bad tempered because (understandably) they were in pain.

It does sound though as if she was being leaned over by someone who she didn't know and she probably felt vulnerable and boxed in. She could well have given warning signals via body language. Definitely sensible to keep her well away from visiting children.

Thanks everyone for talking some sense into me. A crate for a safe place is a good idea. Readyveg - the boys dad was remarkably reasonable about it, thank goodness

Stupid question! With the dog being a dac cross does it have a long low back. Could little one have leant on it and hurt it without realising. Poor kid and poor you for the worry. Perhaps explore seeing an animal behaviourist?

Everything Readyveg said.

Good advice on here. I imagine she is nervous and a child can look enormous and scary to a dog. What we think is petting the dog could easily perceive as a threat. Or a child can hurt a dog and it wouldn't be immediately obvious.

A friend's child likes to be all over our sheltie, stroking, hugging etc and will not listen to requests to leave him alone. A couple of weeks ago I noticed him snarl at her. I immediately put him in another room and now he always goes in his crate out of the way. It's not a punishment for him; it's just giving him some quiet space where he doesn't have to be bothered. He's 10 and is less tolerant than he used to be; he wants a quiet life.

I wouldn't get rid of. But I would keep the dog out of the way when other children are over, for her sake and theirs. I usually put our old boy in his crate with a special treat or a toy so it feels like a treat and not a punishment. He loves his crate anyway.

I would also ask children to leave her alone (I know other people's don't always listen). Let the dog come to them if she wants fussing.

Yes wolfie -she has a long low back - so maybe ds' friend may have inadvertently put pressure on her back..... This thread has been very useful - I like the idea of giving her a treat / toy when she is confined to the crate during childrens visits

Thanks again everyone - the doghouse rocks