My dog bit my child, not dogs fault.

[CollyWombles]

She is okay first off, cut her lip a little and just under her eye, gave her a terrible fright. She is 13 and for some unfathomable reason, blew on his ear.

My dog is a rescue. I got him when he was 10, he is now 13. He has never been a huge fan of the children, however he has never bit any of them. The children have all been brought up to be respectful towards dogs and respectful to him in the three years he has been with us. I cannot think why she took the notion to do that.

My stance is that he bit for a reason. It wasn't unprovoked. My husband however, wants my dog put to sleep. My daughter does not want the dog in the house.

I adore my dog, he isn't everyone's cup of tea, he had it rough and I think how he has come on is amazing. I don't think he deserves to lose his home, or his life for biting for a reason.

In the same breath, my children come before any dog and it feels like I can't win no matter what I do. I'm either a bad parent or a bad dog owner. Please help me work out what is the right thing to do for my dog and also for my family.

[IslaBoots]

So GrannyPants. The question was are you a dog owner and if so did you teach your dc to respect the dog?

[BertrandRussell]

I am a dog owner. I taught my children to respect my dog. But I would not have a dog in my family that obviously didn't like the children (many dogs don't-perfectly fine for a non family dog not to) and was so sensitive that its reaction to a quite minor provocation was a bite. Because accidents happen. That's why they are called "accidents"

[BigGrannyPants]

I am not currently a dog owner, not sure what that has to do with anything. I have had dogs in the past and no dog has ever been allowed to behave that way. My children have and always will feel safe and respected in their own home.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I don't see how OP puts the dog first. The way I see it she put her family first, as a whole.

If anything this episode teaches her DD a very good lesson. Respect for the private space of others and forgiveness.

[IslaBoots]

Yep. Mine too. That's why they have been taught to let sleeping dogs lie. My children would not have blown in a sleeping dogs ear. That's asking for trouble... no?

My children have been around dogs for 20 years. Not had a problem. The children respect the dogs and the dogs respect the children. The grandchildren are learning too.. Let sleeping dogs lie... My pet hate is people who rehome their dog( or worse put their dog down) because they haven't bothered to teach mutual respect!

[Honeyroar]

Granny pants you need to read the thread again. It's not an aggressive dog, it's a dog that was surprised in its sleep. It needs a place to sleep away from the kids (op has arranged it and also will be keeping it away from the family areas permanently as a safeguard) and all will be fine. She's not being a bad parent, she's not being over dramatic either.

[BigGrannyPants]

@Honeyroar I have read the thread. The dog bit her child in the face. That is aggression. I disagree with the OPs handling of the situation completely and disagree that she is not putting the dog before her family. There seems to be an element of her DC deserving it, a kind of that'll teach her undertone. It's awful.

[IslaBoots]

The sleeping dog snapped beause a teen blew in its ear.. Do you blow in your dogs ear Granny? If not maybe you can educate us as to why not...

There again most of us already know why it's not a great idea to blow in a sleeping dogs ear... OP included. Hence the thread stating why her teen is responsible and the dog is not... Get it??

[BertrandRussell]

Of course she ahouldn't have blown in the dog's ear. Nobody is saying she should have. It was completely stupid. But. The dog reacted to quite mild bit of provocation by biting. So he is not a suitable dog to be in a family. Accidents happen- I stood on my dog's tail a while ago-and she spent 10 minutes apologising for leaving her tail in such an inconvenient place. The OP's dog may well have bitten me Or a child who did the same.

[BigGrannyPants]

No @Isla I do not get it. I wholly agree with @BertrandRussell

[IslaBoots]

There you go Granny.... There are dog owners and there are responsible dog owners.... I guess you can't tell the difference because you are neither. Not worth wasting time over tbh. You know best. .. 🙄

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

Oh please, blowing in a dog's ear is not a mild bit of provocation. Their ears are very sensitive, and the dog was sleeping.

I've been snapped at by my lovely boy once when I startled him. while he was sleeping. Entirely my fault.

[VetOnCall]

My children have and always will feel safe and respected in their own home

Great, but if you choose to have a dog then you need to ensure the same for them.

The dog bit her child in the face. That is aggression

The dog is not aggressive, he reacted out of fright. He's elderly, he was startled out of sleep, he snapped and caught the nearest thing to him, which was the face, because the DD had just put it right next to his face to blow in his ear. If she'd grabbed him with her hand he would have caught her hand when he startled.

The dog reacted to quite mild bit of provocation by biting

Blowing in the ear of a sleeping dog, and an elderly one at that, is not a minor provocation. Nor is it an accident as you keep saying 'accidents happen'. It's a deliberate action and a very unkind and risky one. If you choose to put your face right next to a sleeping dog and frighten them awake then don't blame the dog for lashing out in fright.

I keep saying it but this expectation that dogs should just passively tolerate everything that happens to them, regardless of discomfort, pain or fear, is deeply unfair, unrealistic and downright dangerous. When something eventually happens that pushes the dog over its threshold - because despite huge individual variations, every dog has a threshold - and it reacts then he or she ends up being the one to pay the price.

[Thebluedog]

Your dd is 13, she blew in the dogs ear and he instinctively bit her. He didnt simply walk up to her and attack her unprovoked.

It’s bit like pulling a cats tail and moaning you got scratched, or poking a hamster and crying because you got bit, but unfortunately the dog is bigger, stronger with bigger teeth.

IMO you need to tell your dd she was out of order and teach her not to be cruel or abuse animals, because in this circumstance it’s likely the dog will be killed because of her stupid actions, she’s 13 not 3.

Best case scenario op the dog will need to be rehomed, or he will be pts - either way poor dog.

[BertrandRussell]

“Nor is it an accident as you keep saying 'accidents happen'. It's a deliberate action and a very unkind and risky one”

I agree. But knowing how the dog reacted to that, you now know how it might react to an accident. Like standing on a tail for example.

[BertrandRussell]

And of course it’s not the dog’s “fault”. But you just can’t risk a serious bite. You just can’t.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I've had dogs for a very long time and no tails have ever been stepped on.

[brizzledrizzle]

The dog doesn't deserve to lose his home but your daughter's not to beattacked is greater.

[OliviaPopeRules]

My daughter is the one in the wrong. She is the one that is dealing with small cuts as a result. It has been an unpleasant lesson for her but a vitally important one. My dog showed amazing restraint considering blowing in the face is hated by most dogs. He could have left her face in pieces if he really wanted to. But despite being old, despite being asleep, despite his rocky background, he nipped her to warn her. She will know better next time to respect the dog, and he will respect her.

What a lovely way to talk about your DD, all her fault and she should be grateful the dog didn't rip her face off. I hope you are a bit more sympathetic to her in real life.

[Sallystyle]

I think it is a really difficult one. I understand Berts point but also understand others.

Personally, I need a dog who would not react like that because my children are still young ish. Whilst they would never blow in a dog's ears accidents do happen and I would worry how it would react if something did happen. Great for the poster who said she has never stepped on her dog's tail before. I was very close once to standing on my dog's paw when she got under my feet. Shit happens.

OP, you have made your decision and I really hope it works out for you all. I am not so sure I could have re-homed in your situation either, but I would be very cautious. Your plan of not allowing him to have free access in the house sounds like a good idea. At his age I think I would do exactly the same as you are doing.

[Sallystyle]

What a lovely way to talk about your DD, all her fault and she should be grateful the dog didn't rip her face off.

That is not what she said and you know it.

[Shockers]

My sister was bitten by our family dog when she was young. She decided to climb on his back and use his ears as reins- he turned, snapped and just missed her eye.

She was taken to hospital, patched up, given sympathy for her distress, and then made to apologise to the dog and promise never to treat him like a toy again.

We had another 10 years of our lovely dog before he died. Everyone, including my sister, was gutted when he left us.

Were my parents irresponsible? I don’t think they were. We were trained as infants not to pester our animals. The dog had been put away for the night, but my sister had woken early and let him out because she was bored. Lessons were learned, certainly, but he didn’t need to be pts, and I’m glad he wasn’t, as that scar would’ve gone much deeper into my sister than the one below her eye.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

The dog was provoked - your daughter is old enough to know better!

She is being unreasonable - the dog was relaxed and off guard, and then suddenly he was "attacked" - he reacted instinctively, as would any animal - and many dogs, rescue or not, would react the same way.

Personally I would keep the dog, but obviously monitor his reactions. I would also warn your children that he is likely to be anxious and nervous for a while, so not to do anything that will threaten him.

What did your daughter do this for anyway? Animals HATE being blown on, particularly their faces. For some reason they find it very threatening.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

I keep saying it but this expectation that dogs should just passively tolerate everything that happens to them, regardless of discomfort, pain or fear, is deeply unfair, unrealistic and downright dangerous. When something eventually happens that pushes the dog over its threshold - because despite huge individual variations, every dog has a threshold - and it reacts then he or she ends up being the one to pay the price.

This ^ what VET says.

As I child I was always taught to leave a sleeping dog alone, never to touch a dog when s/he was eating, and not to snatch toys or food from a dog. Children don't seem to be taught these basics nowadays - it seems that dogs, indeed, any animal, has to just tolerate provocation and on occasion downright cruelty, without being permitted to respond.

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

Once a dog has tasted blood he might attack again are you willing to risk that.

What a load of shite!