Chihuahua just bit toddler

[jacrispy]

My chi just bit my toddler on the face and either side of his nose he has a scratch. Ds did nothing to provoke this all he did was run towards me and the dog just bit him. Wwud? Should I rehome the dog as he he quite protective of me anyway. I’m heartbroken as ds is hurt but I know in my heart I have to get rid of the dog. Anybody’s advice would be welcome now.

I really would recommend rehoming him via a rescue who will be able to find him an appropriate home and offer ongoing back up. If you don't trust the rescue he came from then have a look for others, if you can give a vague location there may be MNetters who can recommend specific ones worth approaching.

If you're set on rehoming him yourself you need to be absolutely honest about his issues. Not just that he "needs a child free home" (which could mean all sorts) but that he's nervous, anxious and now has a bite history. It would be a very good idea to get a professional in to do a proper evaluation of his behaviour so you can give his new home as much information as possible about his behaviour and how best to manage it.

"I really tried my best."

I'm not having a go at you btw, because it is totally understandable that you'd not try to intervene when you didn't know there was an issue.

But, Its hugely hugely unlikely that your dog suddenly became unable to cope with living with an unpredictable child today and was quite happy about it yesterday.

So as well as sorting out what you're going to do with this dog, it really is a good idea to learn more about dog stress signals.

You can argue that no dog bites/attacks are ever really the dogs fault but I think it is a bit unfair to blame OP quite so harshly on this occasion. A dog who bites purely because a toddler ran to his mother is not safe to be around children and of course should be rehomed. The safety of the child comes first. Children should absolutely learn to behave around dogs and certain boundaries shouldn't be crossed, but they shouldn't have to tiptoe on eggshells as much as some of the posts you seen on this forum suggest. That's just avoiding behaviours, not dealing with them.

There's always a push for people to rescue rather than go down the pup route and I've seen so many posters who have been turned down by rescues due to having small children, be encouraged to keep looking until they find a rescue that will. This is why many rescues just won't rehome to families with young children, and rightly so. A dog that has grown up from a pup around young children is far more likely to be able to tolerate the situations that arise. The fact that this dog hadn't previously shown aggression means very little as it may never have been in that situation.

OP, I've been in a similar situation. I've been around terriers my whole life and have seen the wide range of temperaments and know just how fast they can snap so am always very vigilant. I was visiting family who had two Tibetan terriers (not really terriers I know) who lived with the families two children with no problems. I had my then three year old with me who was minding her own business playing beside me. I was not very familiar with the dogs so sat on the floor between them and my daughter. My friend was also sat on the floor beside the dogs. One dog was lying flat out on his side, head on the floor, really calm getting his belly scratched. Didn't lift his head, didn't make a single movement until he launched himself from sleeping over to my daughter. She hadn't looked at him, she hadn't walked toward him (she had her back to him), she didn't make any startling noises, he just launched. Me and my friend were close enough that as he launched she grabbed him and I grabbed my daughter but he still managed to bite her thigh. It happened so quickly that the other people in the room didn't even see it. Now if you really analyse the situation things could have been done differently. I could have insisted the dogs not be in the room, I could have sat even further away (we were already several feet away), but this dog gave no signal. No sign that he was unhappy with the situation, no change in body language. Technically any situation could be avoided but the only way to have avoided this was to insist that these dogs were never in the same room as a child........and that makes them completely unsuitable as family dogs.

@Oops4 totally agree. Your post perfectly illustrates.

Entirely agree Oops about rehoming to families with young children.
We had 2 cats, brother and sister, growing up, got them as kittens. They had to be rehomed at about 7 as my mother moved abroad, I wasn't in a position to have them, nor were my siblings . She (stupidly) rehomed them to a family with a toddler. My siblings and I were much older kids/ teens when we had got them so cats had no experience of toddlers. Girl was fine. Boy cat FREAKED. Attacked his sister, the new family, scratched, bit, you name it. DM had to collect him. He slept for days He was successfully rehomed to a single guy in the end.
There is a reason reputable rescues don't rehome to families with small kids.

OP, what a horrible thing to happen. I hope your DS is ok and has recovered from the fright.

I don't think you sound irresponsible OP, but frankly the rescue shouldn't have rehomed a chi with a young family. Dogs can flip with very few warning signs, my relative shows and trains dogs and she says she would never trust her impeccably trained dogs around a baby or small child. DP has a relative with a chihuahua cross dog, it has had many different homes and isn't trained at all. Said relative refused to shut the dog away from our DD when we visit, meanwhile dog is clearly stressed and jealous when the relative shows dd any attention and sure enough once DD was toddling about (and crucially I wasn't there to enforce the dog being held/on a short lead inside around the baby, said relative always ignores my rules if I'm not there, she has also given my 15 month old 'tastes' of beer and wine ) the dog knocked her over and tried to bite her. Thankfully DP managed to shove the dog off but it could have been much much worse than a nasty tumble. Unfortunately I can't make said relative rehome her dog, but I am no longer allowing visits if I'm not there. You know what you need to do OP, it's sad but hopefully the dog will find a new home that suits its needs.

Christ Wolfe there are some really unkind comments here.

I agree with you OP that maybe this dog will be better in a child free home. Your d's will only become more boisterous (just as he should!) And that can be scary for a little dog like a chi . They are vulnerable and therefore defensive. regardless of whether he might bite again he will be happier in a quieter home. I hope your friends can take him.

Our chi used to bite. There's no way I'd have this breed with a toddler. They are known for having short fuses.

If my friends can take him I know this lovely elderly man who’s dog died last year who he doted on. I can’t risk it again. Ds is absolutely fine now he cried for 2 seconds and then got on with it.

We have a staffy who worships the toddler and our 4 month old. Fantastic dog for families. You will find someone. It'll be better for the dog to find a quiet home. I'd also be cautious with the shitzu too.

I’ve had shih tzu shine he was a puppy. He’s rarely downstairs anyway he just spends all day sleeping and eating.

I’ll update later when I’ve spoken to who needs speaking to and sorted something out. But I do think a child free home will be so much better.

Sorry for typos. I don’t think my phone likes me much.

It's fear. My dog will attack a child if it directly runs up to her (not a Chihuahua but another rescue dog) as she thinks the child is going to attack her (from her unhappy past experiences).

Op you have had so much stick. I hope you find a home for the pup.

If you cannot rehome please PM me 🙂

I’ll be back to update as soon as I can. I’m cleaning up so much vomit it’s untrue! We’ve all come down with the sickness bug. Talk about a bad week