My rescue dog has just bitten someone

[LastTango]

We are not having a lot of luck with our 2 rescue dogs - we got them last Saturday. On the advice of Dogs Trust the Yorkie went back because she constantly full-on attacked the JRT.

Tonight the JRT bit someone when he was out on his evening walk. My son said he went for her flappy trousers, but bit into her leg. Oh shit!

Quote's post is very sensible, especially regarding using a muzzle.

Oh no. I thought my dog had his favourite walks! Now you tell me he is bored.

There are lots of other dogs that need a home. I think you should give another rescue a chance. The next one may not be a biter. This is not you're fault, you took the dog with good intentions.

Your

I'd be concerned by the lack of warning. Either the dog was play-biting, which means he missed a vital chunk of socialisation including bite inhibition at a crucial stage, or he was stressed and has been conditioned (probably by scolding) to suppress the growling / snarling that does not signify aggression, as people mistakenly believe, but is the dog's way of communicating "I am unhappy / unsure / uncomfortable here". If the latter, you have a dangerous dog on your hands as he has learned he has to shut down his initial stress communicators and escalate straight to "bite", which can make it very difficult to predict what may act as a trigger.

I would hope that it's the former though as that's easier to fix; terriers are hard wired to pounce on small moving things, maybe he has been encouraged to play with fabric toys previously and was just aiming for the moving trouser leg but misjudged. Did your son notice his body language immediately prior to the bite; was he exhibiting any play behaviours, did he seem calm or was he showing any tension?

YY to muzzle and to an assessment with a good behaviourist ASAP.

There will have been warning - it is just that the OP did not pickup on it.

Dogs love to walk in the same area so not sure why not walking in the same place for 3 months will stop fear aggression .

I can't imagine it was a bad bite because otherwise I'm sure the woman would have made more fuss ,perhaps he was just going for the trousers and caught her by accident - you still need to be more aware of what he's doing but it's hardly a hanging offence , do try to keep it in perspective and keep him away from strangers.

A dog biting isn't a 'hanging offence', but it does meant that the owner has behaved unlawfully.

OK - UPDATE.

Dogs Trust were brilliant and they said, more or less, what Quoteunquote said in her post. Because he had been badly abused, including kicking, by some teenagers before he went into kennels they think that he was just frightened by her flappy trousers.

Anyhow, she has told me where to get the special muzzle and we will continue his training.

She did re-iterate that DT do not pts and she has never had to say those words in all the time she's worked there.

Great news, OP

Will you keep us updated with your successes,please?

Help show how great rescue dogs can be

That's good to hear. Hope you work it out. My rescue greyhound bit after about 7 weeks, different circs but we didn't give up. Best of luck OP.

Well, the lady has just been round to see me. She went to the doctors and had a tetanus injection. She showed me the bite and it is 4 teeth punctures.

I have never been so embarrassed in my life, especially as my brother (46 and should know better) opened the door and let the dog out. Fortunately it ignored her.

She doesn't want compensation just to make sure it can't happen to anyone else.

How do I tell my son that I don't want the dog anymore? If I can't walk him or get a muzzle on him myself, nor take him to my elderly mother's when we go up there to stay, I don't know what to do. I am so upset.

I am shocked you allowed him to be let out of the house, I know it was your brother but it doesn't sound like people's safety is being made a priority at all. What on earth would you have done if he bit her again?

So sorry Tango. If you don't want the dog just be honest, it's all you can do. I'm sure son will understand given the circumstances.

Contact Dogs Trust and explain that on reflection, you don't feel confident dealing with his issues and you need to return him before the problem escalates.

Explain to your son that not every dog suits every home and vice versa, and this way the DT behaviourist will be able to do some intensive 1-2-1 work with the dog before finding him a more suitable home. You need to feel confident that you can anticipate problems before they arise with a dog like this, and the fact he managed to slip out of the front door at the arrival of a visitor suggests that's not the case. Also, if you feel stressed or anxious about what he might or might not do, or nervous when approaching him with the muzzle, he will pick up on that and it may make him worse.

You tried, OP, and you deserve credit for that.

How is giving him back to dogs trust going to prevent him from doing it again?
He needs training and a stable home. If he has settling anxieties sending him back to the rescue again is just going to make it worse.

You've received advice on how to train him and use a muzzle when out and about. Why would you not be able to put the muzzle on yourself? Why can your son not do the walks and training?

I have two rescue dogs both homed as puppies one is fine a terrier who has no issues. But the Labrador cross has fear of other dogs after being attacked. He now growls at other dogs and it makes walks difficult but we work with him. We sought help from a behaviourist who said to ignore bad behaviour, for h to walk him as it's only h that he has a proper recall to.

You demonstrate to the woman that he bit that he's being trained and that you have taken steps to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Unless really you are just looking for an excuse to send him back.

Help Because the dog could be transferred to one of the DT's STAR centres where it would be handled by experienced specialist staff and be given 1-2-1 rehabilitation. That would then set the dog up for more success next time.

Not everyone who takes on a rescue feels comfortable or confident dealing with every issue a rescue dog can throw up, and if at the time of rehoming you aren't aware the X or Y could be a problem, there's nothing unreasonable or reprehensible about saying "I don't feel able to cope with this" if your course of action is then to move the dog responsibly, as returning it to the DT would be.

I was thinking about this thread yesterday, not least because I got bitten by a dog (also yesterday). I've had all my lifetime tetanus jabs, so no worries there (barely drew any blood, anyway).

When I was 1yo my parents got a 1yo guard-dog breed. She turned out to be a chronic biter (5 or 6 times). But totally trustworthy within the family, she was my best mate when I was like 5yo & I was told to take her on all my walks.

Try not to despair, L-Tango. I think you can work this out but any decision you take will be reasonable.

This sounds like a challenging dog who will need a lot of help and attention to get over his problems. If you feel you cannot provide this the most sensible thing, as well as being kind to the dog itself, is to return him ASAP. The DT can give him a thorough assessment, work with him and find him a more suitable home. I don't think anyone should blame you for not feeling confident enough to take on a problem dog.

I agree with Booboo. DT are no kill and I have it on good authority that their criteria for a dog being put down on grounds of health are very high.

If you have the time and resources to work with him, he could well end up a lovely pet. But if you do not feel you can handle it there is no shame in that at all. You were not expecting this issue and not everyone can be expected to be willing or able to deal with biting. There will be many more suitable dogs out there who are a much lower bite risk.

I would say that you need to decide quite quickly though as it would be kinder for him to go back before he bonds any further with your family

I'm really sorry OP that you've had such a tough time. I don't know all the ins and outs but from your posts the rehoming wasn't matched or handled very well by the centre.

Wow. The woman bitten by the dog sounds amazingly tolerant.

And the only way to ensure that the dog doesn't bite anyone else is to ensure that its muzzled every time it goes outside (and that's assuming that its safe inside).

If you don't feel able to manage this - and I personally wouldn't - then yes you must return the dog.

I'm sure that it's upsetting, but not as upsetting as your dog biting a child, surely?

Quote from Dogs Trust "However, there are times when we feel that a dog’s mental state is such that he or she is not enjoying any quality of life. In such cases, if there is little or no hope of recovery, we will consider euthanasia as we feel it is in the dog’s best interests to relieve incurable mental suffering."

Dogs are PTS by the Dogs Trust for behavioural issues.

It sounds like the dog that OP has is some way away from that mutty.

Not disputing that mutty, but someone that worked for them for a decent period and was involved in those decisions told me that they thought DT if anything set the bar too high for PTS. My impression is a dog like OP's would not be in danger but I may be completely wrong as that is based on hearsay and a subjective account.

I have worked with ex-DT dogs with a much more severe bite history than the OP's dog - they were rehomed very carefully to experienced homes with owners who were well aware of the situation. I would doubt this dog will be PTS.

Having said that, putting dogs to sleep due to behaviour problems is not always a terrible thing IMO. Some have extremely deep-seated and longstanding problems which cause them to be miserable and stressed day to day. There is a huge number of dogs like this, and very few capable homes looking for dogs with problems. When the alternative is months, perhaps years of kennelling then I don't think there's anything wrong with euthanasia. Yes, almost any problem is fixable with the right approach, but there aren't enough homes able to offer this and in the meantime these dogs are not always enjoying a brilliant quality of life.

Probably not a popular view but a pragmatic one. Sorry for the derail OP. Incidentally, tetanus is virtually unheard of in dog bites, I have no idea why medics worry about it. Pasteurella infection is far more common and very nasty, so I would advise her to monitor the wounds really carefully for any signs of redness and swelling.

Wishing you well, whatever you decide.