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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Mother in laws dog bit my child's face

44 replies

Eloisedublin123 · 23/02/2015 22:26

Just this. We are staying with her for the weekend. Dog is 7 and a JR mix. My DD age 4 gave the dog a fright by waking her suddenly as she was napping and the dog lunged and bit her on the face- it pierced the skin a little but not much damage done. Child v upset. MIL said she will put dog down if WE want. Dogs bitten three people now, it's nervous and unsocialised and untrained. Thoughts?

OP posts:

Arudonto · 24/02/2015 18:59

So its been left unsupervised with children inspite of a known bite history....its not the dog thats the main problems its your mil.

I would be asking for it to be pts to save further people from further injury.

I cant believe she is happy and wants to keep a dog who has bitten her grandchildren!and thats shes throwing the responsibilty on making the pts decision on ye!

Original poster

Eloisedublin123 · 24/02/2015 20:38

Thanks all

OP posts:

bronya · 25/02/2015 10:15

Basket muzzle at all times when there are any visitors in the house. They can drink through those and she could put the dog outside or in another room the rest of the time.

Floralnomad · 25/02/2015 11:32

I wouldn't have the dog PTS ,I'd just be very careful going forward . My mum has a JRTx that has bitten ( my sister) and would bite other people - she is quite old and a bit temperamental . It's very easy to manage her - she is not allowed near any visitors she doesn't know and all the family know to be wary of how you deal with her . My DC were 8 and 2 ish when mum got her and they are now 22 and 15 and no one has been bitten - it's simple management . Your MIL just needs to manage the dog better and if she cannot or will not do that then don't take your dc to visit anymore . Hope your child is feeling better but please be more careful in future about her interactions with dogs .

BinarySolo · 25/02/2015 11:48

I think the dog needs crate training so that it has a safe area to retreat too. Your mil needs I take responsibility for this too

I Would insist the dog is kennelled for any future visits and point out to your mil that it's only because te dog is small that the consequences haven't been far worse.

AuntieDee · 25/02/2015 11:55

Dogs may snap when disturbed from sleep but all dogs have a threshold. Most warning nips will not even bruise - and dog that has so little a threshold that they think nothing of breaking the skin has no business being in any family environment.

Fwiw - I foster dogs and have had 42 pass through my door. Any dog that bit hard enought to break the skin would be getting a one way trip to the vets.

tabulahrasa · 25/02/2015 12:06

I wouldn't muzzle a dog if it's bitten children in the face...a muzzle to the face is pretty sore and you've still got the potential for injury, broken nose, burst lip, broken teeth even.

I'd just put the dog in a room visitors aren't going to go in, easier all round.

tabulahrasa · 25/02/2015 12:08

Though after typing that I noticed you were staying for the weekend...that wouldn't work then, lol.

I'd still be separating them rather than muzzling though, stairgates and supervision of both dog and child would be more do-able.

PatterofaMinion · 25/02/2015 12:15

It sounds like a miserable life for a dog and that makes me sad. Can she be persuaded to rehome it with someone capable of offering the necessary training?

starfishmummy · 25/02/2015 12:17

I agree with pp, she should habe the dog pts, but if you insist that she does, she will hold it against you for ever. Also I would not trust her to put the dog into kennels when you visit. I can just imagine you arriving to find that there was a "problem" with the booking or something.and the dog at home.

BinarySolo · 25/02/2015 13:36

I have 2 toddlers and 2 springers. One of the dogs is exceptionally grumpy. She's nipped me a few times, always when I've been taking things off her or grooming/examining wounds. She caught me once in such a way that she drew blood. We've spent a long time training her to give things up etc. She'll grumble at my children if they get too close and is sent to her bed for it. My nephew once woke her from sleeping by jumping on her and she woke with a growl then immediately rolled onto her back.

We're careful because of her history and if she bit anyone other than me then I think unless the circumstances were exceptional then we'd have her PTS.

I think your mils dog sounds permanently stressed tho and she really needs to address that with training. She seems to have ignored the dogs issues and even now isn't taking responsibility. Really I think the dog needs rehoming somewhere with no children where the owner is prepared to put in the masses of work needed to effectively deal with and manage fear aggression.

BinarySolo · 25/02/2015 13:39

Just to clarify because I've made my dog sound like a hell hound! She'll grumble at the kids if they're being boisterous near her, not if they just come past her etc.

They've accidentally crashed into her in the past, and been corrected for it. It's about managing behaviour on both sides really.

Floralnomad · 25/02/2015 13:40

The dog in question may be perfectly settled and happy when it is only the dog and the MIL in the house , the OPs assessment that it is nervous all the time may well be because it's usually calm environment has been invaded by lots more people and children that it is not used to .

BinarySolo · 25/02/2015 13:56

If that's right then she could probably crate train the dog for when she has visitors.

honeyroar · 25/02/2015 23:40

Or give me, but if the dog had already bitten your niece/nephew why would you let your young child go near enough to the dog that they could get bitten??

The dog needs crate training and to be put there when visitors are there. MIL needs training to train her dog, and you as parents need to teach your children to avoid the dog and watch them like a hawk if you have to visit.

Another question -does MIL live alone and far from you? This dog may be her best friend and companion so I wouldn't press for it to be PTS at this point.

ps, i do feel for your child too, and understand why you're upset.

honeyroar · 25/02/2015 23:50

Should have started with forgive me!

Malabrig0 · 25/02/2015 23:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Booboostoo · 26/02/2015 06:43

No one can assess an aggressive dog over the internet. Your MIL should either seek professional help from a behaviourist or have the dog PTS.

For safety reasons, and not in any way as a judgement of blame, you should talk to your DD about how she interacts with dogs. There is a lot of useful advice on another thread but as a general rule children should not approach a dog that is sleeping or eating. I am very glad your DD was not more seriously hurt and I hope she's not scared of dogs now.

Original poster

Eloisedublin123 · 26/02/2015 20:52

Thanks for the advice. As I mentioned, we didn't know before that the dog had bitten another child before our event. We had spoken to my DD about appropriate behaviour round dogs and will continue to do so. She got over excited. We won't visit the house ever again with dog there, it's been agreed it's going to kennels when we visit. I feel sorry for the dog too. It's not happy generally. Anyway thanks for the posts

OP posts:

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