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.

Think the poster got mixed up with vampires. ....

No we are animals... that's it.
You are contradicting yourself. You do not have respect for animals and you do not care about animal suffering. Why should dogs be pts if you or your family can't control them or protect chickens properly? That's ignorance tbh. People like you don't understand that even farm animals have intelligence, feelings and an understanding of what's going on around them. So sorry but your comment is a load of hogwash.

@DistanceCall bottom comment is for you.

I'm sorry, but I grew up with dogs and I never came across this underlying sentiment in a lot of the posts of pitting children vs dogs.
Sorry- but this comes through so strongly and it seems that a lots of the posters (including implicitly in OP) values dogs over their own kids. Very bizarre. And there's an especially virulent dislike of children (of which you all were once, and I'm sure you weren't completely perfect all the time with animals). A lot of the posts seem overtly defensive and sad.

This may seem an odd question, but did the dog mean to bite or did he accidentally catch her face by jerking? My terrier always plays with her mouth open, so if we got near his face she might catch us with his teeth. We always stay well away from her face when playing for that reason.

I would not put the dog down.

She stroked my dog earlier and I heard her saying sorry to him, bless her.

That's lovely OP. Good luck with everything. Glad there was a happy ending.

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

Either the single best satirical line or the dumbest load of bollocks I have ever read on here.

"Tasted blood"

It's a dog. Not the shark from Jaws.

I agree with you op. Your daughter is 13, she should know better. I would not be having the dog pts.

Dog people are crazy.

I'm sticking with my tamagotchi

Do u have a garden and can u build a shed for him and keep it for him and not allow him to eenter the house?

I'm sorry but your DH is right. You said yourself that your dog hasn't been a big fan of the children, so why would you put the poor thing in that environment where he isn't comfortable?!

Your dog bit your child, in the face... and you're choosing your dog?? No wonder your husband had to cool off. No one or no animal comes before my kids. What if next time your dog attacks someone else's kid. Put the dog down. I hope your husband does it even if you won't.

The dog is not being put to sleep. The dog is not being rehomed. Feel free to keep posting on this thread but there will be no further replies from me, the matter is dealt with. Thanks

Awful parent.

I am so relieved to see your latest update OP. Your teenager was at fault. If your dog had ripped the face off a toddler it would have been a very different story. (Provided you weren't one of those parents who post videos of their toddler climbing 'll over a sleeping dog and thinking it's 'cute'..."

You are obviously a great dog owner. Your dd needs to learn dog etiquette. So glad things have turned out the way they have. Happy for you

YummySushi

Do u have a garden and can u build a shed for him and keep it for him and not allow him to eenter the house?

No, that's what people who shouldn't have dogs do. What's the point in having a pet if you keep them like that?

BigGrannyPants, pull those pants up a bit higher til we can't hear you speak. Thanks.

Glad it's worked out for you OP.
Also astonished at people saying MN hates dogs.
Agree with the poster who said many in 'the doghouse' are batshit crazy.

What if next time your dog attacks someone else's kid.

They wouldn't care. The child would be blamed.

Glad it’s worked out ok.

I wouldn’t have re-homed or PTS either.

The only time our dog has ever snapped at anyone was when DH blew in his face. Dog hates it and DH knew it so it served him right.

haha. OP - so glad you're keeping the dog. Your dd was at fault and at 13 needs to learn. Our cat scratched DS when he was 3. He'd been amazingly patient, but ds would not listen and started banging his head. Cat scratched his face. I felt zero sympathy for DS - even at 3 he was old enough to know better. And he certainly always acted appropriately in future. Him and cat are now best friends.

@Shmithecat because I'd advocate for my child over a pet?

BigGrannyPants guessing you are not a dog owner? I hope not! If you are did you teach your dc to respect your dogs space so accidents wont happen?

Big granny pants you don't always have to put the dog down to be putting your child first. If the dog had bitten without provocation or if the children were younger I'd say pts, but that's not the case here.

There a few ott hysterical parents on here. Op sounds perfectly balanced and rational in comparison.

@IslaBoots because it's just as simple as that isn't it. Dogs never do anything unpredictable and children don't either the dog should respect the humans in the house, and should not bite, full stop. Anyone who places the needs of their pet over the safety of their children needs to give themselves a good hard shake.

@Honeyroar if a dog bit my child in the face, there is no other rationale other than they cannot exist in the same place. How would you go about rehoming a dog who is capable of this. This is not about the dog being around kids, it's the dog showing aggression to anyone who might come between it and OP. I have been around dogs like that. I have been bitten in the face by a dog for the record. Left scarred for life. My kids are more important than any pet and they should feel safe in their own home. They should also not feel like their own mother or father has chosen the dog over them.