Dog bit.. again!

[Nc5683939w9er]

We have got a 16 month old Labrador/German shepherd cross. We rehomed him from 5 months from a family on gumtree. At the time all seemed well, but they didn't tell us much about him and it turns out he hadn't been trained at all (except for toilet training). He's a big dog and it's been a struggle with a now 5 and 2 year old. He drags on the lead despite following training etc and chases our poor cat. Nonetheless we see him as part of the family. A few months ago he snapped at both children and nipped them- both times over food that they had. We now shut him out when they have food but can't 100% guarantee that he won't see them with food. Anyway he's been fine on this front for a while and started to feel like he can stay after all.

Yesterday my youngest fell asleep on me. He had had some sweets which I put behind me in the chair. After about half an hour I decided to take him up to bed, forgetting about the sweets. While I took him up, dog started to steal them. 5 year old saw and walked over and said no.... and he bit him. Will try to attach photo. Slightly broke skin but mostly bruised. I feel sad but feel like he has to go as I'm also 30 weeks pregnant and terrified that he could do it to a baby although it wasn't the worst bite in the world. My partner is not happy, defending dog saying kids shouldn't have tried to take it (he didnt) and it was my fault. Just to add- he is constantly scrounging for food and acts starved despite feeding him the recommended amount by vets- even when he has just eaten, he will still beg for food. What do I do?

[Stardust91]

It's probably the Labrador in him. From what i understand they are notoriously greedy with food. My mum's partner has a Labrador, she managed to get to the kibble, ripped the bag and ate it all. I am talking about those big bags that are too heavy to lift not the small ones. She could barely walk afterwards! She would also growl if the other dog made the mistake of getting close while she was eating. She is, though, the sweetest dog.

Sorry, that doesn't help you in any way. Just addressing your sentence about the dog looking constantly hungry.

Locking the dog out while you are eating is a good idea. Can't remember when are the teenage dog years, but they can be a challenge when going through that and your dog sounds the correct age. Is it possible to take him to a trainer and discuss what it could be done? To be honest sounds like you have a lot to deal with. Unless your partner is ready to deal with your dog's behaviour it might be a good idea to re-home.

[Mummytumm]

I think you owe it your children and to the dog to get him rehomed. It's the best for all of you in the long run. Poor dog has proved he is not safe around young children and in no time you will have a crawling baby too. He needs to be in a home with no children.

[adaline]

There's nothing wrong with her 'choice of breed'.

Maybe not, but there is something massively wrong with the fact that she bought a dog from a complete stranger on Gumtree! And this isn't a Labrador from a renowned breeder or an ex-police dog - it's a dog that could have come from anywhere, that could have any kind of background and that probably has had no health tests or anything like that.

Dogs are living, sentient beings - it should be illegal to buy them on the internet in the same way you'd buy a new pair of shoes. It's ridiculous, and this is the consequence. People get dogs they can't cope with or handle and ultimately it's the dog that suffers - being passed from pillar to post (if OP rehomes that's 3 families in 18 months not including the original owners/breeders) and it'll end up with a load of issues because none of the humans involved had its best interests at heart.

[longwayoff]

We don't need a pic of the bite. What do you expect as a response? "Oh that doesn't look as if he really meant it?" Your dog has bitten TWICE. It is NOT SAFE around small children. He needs re-socialising and re-training with an experienced owner. Please rehome him if possible. Do not keep him and dont attempt to recoup your costs by reselling him.

[Chocadactyl]

@Nc5683939w9er

My 2 year old got bitten in the face by my mum's dog while my kids were at theirs when I was working. It looked very similar to your photo but on his cheek. There was significant bruising.

I googled a lot about dog bites after it. And came across the following site, among others, that outlined the different levels of dog bite. Your child got what this site says is a level 2 bite. It makes for scary reading.

I am not giving my mum's dog the chance to get to level 3 or above. My kids have stayed overnight at hers frequently since they were born and watched our kids twice a week while we were at work. Since the bite my kids have not been to her house and this happened a few months ago. As a result we hardly see them now.

It was not accident that the dog bite wasn't worse. The dog knew what it was doing. I say this as a dog lover.

I really don't know how you will manage to keep your young children safe and with another on the way! It's not fair for your children to be living in their home with a dog that has shown you that it can bite. This dog is NOT good around children. Children are unpredictable. It will only take a split second for something tragic to happen.

I am eternally grateful my son was only grazed when he was bitten. The signs were there before about my mum's dog's aggression. Air snapping and growling. I thought that was the worst it would get. What could have been is frightening. I educated myself and can now see that there is no way my children can go there and be put in that situation while the dog still lives there. My poor baby was terrified and kept talking about it afterwards.

As an aside, which is not helpful to you now but hopefully may make others thinks, you were very foolish to rehome an unknown dog. Both because you have young children and also that you got it from gumtree. Any rehoming should only be done through reputable centres. You do not have the time to give an unknown dog a home with such young children.

drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/was-it-just-a-little-bite-or-more-evaluating-bite-levels-in-dogs/

[Aprilshowersarecomingsoon]

No offence intended but when you have a new baby you will have zero time to supervise dc +ddog.
It needs rehoming before you lose one of your dc.....

[Namechangedforthis79]

Of course it's a crazy choice of breed. Two large active working breeds that need a job to do in a house with two very small children and where the level of socialisation and training was unknown. It's not as if we're talking about a small lap dog here.

[llangennith]

Please rehome your dog asap! For everyone's sake. It was an impulsive purchase, not thought through at all, and now you have to remedy the situation.
The dog needs attention, security, exercise and routine. Your children need to be safe. Get him out of your house so he can be rehomed.

[LazyFace]

adaline, I totally agree with you, my comment was more in defence of the two breeds.

[RussellTheLoveMuscle]

It's entirely natural that a dog might be anxious at the threat of losing "his" resource (in this case food). This is why they should be left to eat undisturbed and one reason why they should never be left unsupervised with young children. This incident was predictable, therefore preventable.

You need to ensure the dog is seperated by gates/doors when any food is involved and never left alone with the children.

[luckylavender]

Rehome the dog OP, it's sad but your children have to come first. You sound like you have done your best to manage the situation but as you saw yesterday you can not possibly monitor 100%.

[MrsBobDylan]

Re-home. Tell dh husband that keeping the dog in unsuitable circumstances mean he will bite again and probably have to be pts.

Ask your dh why he will willing to risk his children being harmed and his dog pts.

You are the wrong family for that dog.

[missbattenburg]

This dog sounds like it is behaving in exactly the way a young, untrained and poorly brought up dog would behave around children who have not been shown how to safely interact with a dog in a family that is unclear on how to safely house such a dog.

The dog should have been taught food safety, including how to leave food.
The 5 year old should never attempt to admonish him.
Food should never be left where the dog can steal it.
Once stolen, food should not be forciby taken back off a dog (unless toxic and dangerous ) but training should be used to get the dog to leave the food alone by choice.

OP, I empathise but you do not have the knoweldge or time for this dog. It need to be rehomed via a reputable charity, to be trained by someone who knows what they are doing.

[pigsDOfly]

There is so much that is wrong with this situation.

You say you were naive OP. I'd put it a bit more strongly than that.

Just rehome the dog. You have neither the time nor the knowledge to deal with this poor animal and you are putting your DC safety at risk.

Get him rehomed through a reputable rehoming centre and keep away from the internet.

[Ylvamoon]

How committed are you to training? Do you have time for training?
If yes, join your local dog training club and do the good citizens dog training course. I think at this stage, the biting can be corrected with 100% commitment. But it will take time and is not a quick fix.

If you feel that it is impossible due to pregnancy & small DC (be truthful to yourself!) please rehome the dog through local dog cub or rescue centre. Don't rehome privately, as the dog is a candidate for being passed around due to biting. He needs a home check and people who understand his breeds/ mix.

[Booboostwo]

Your dog is resource guarding his food. This is a common problem and it can generally be addressed with the correct training. However, you need to learn how to train your dog, all adults in the house have to be consistent in the training and all adults have to be vigilant not to create problematic situations. This is not a dog or a type of problem you can easily deal with with children around and you have two very young children soon to be joined by a newborn. Even assuming that you get a behaviourist in now, who teaches you how to train the dog immediately, you will have to do all this in the last weeks of pregnancy and with a newborn. It is inevitable that you will make a mistake, just out of sheer tiredness. This dog bite is significant, the dog broke skin, the next one could be much worse.

This is a very long winded way of saying that you must rehome the dog asap. The only choice is a decent rescue who will be able to assess and retrain him.

[TopDogs2019]

If the trust has gone, you should rehome the dog out of consideration for its welfare and the safety of your children. I would'nt have thought always being with the dog and children will help in your situation, your reactions have to be so quick to stop a reactive dog in action, what if your holding your newborn? Unless you can afford the help of an excellent behaviourist, I think you know what you should do. Also, if you leave it, and the dog does bite again, rehoming might not even be an option....

[Maneandfeathers]

Whatever the reason behind the dogs actions it is not safe to have around children and I say that as someone who works in veterinary behaviour.

If you can’t work with a registered behaviourist and keep him 100% separate from the children I would rehome.

[Coronapop]

GSDs are known to be somewhat unpredictable. A neighbour's child had a permanently scarred face from their own dog biting him. It sounds as though this is not a suitable dog for your young family. Personally I would PTS.

[Booboostwo]

Coronapop GSDs are extremely intelligent dogs with stable temperaments, if they were not they would not be suitable for the many jobs they can be trained to do. There is no one breed that correlates long term with bites - the breeds that tend to have the most bites in any year are the breeds that are most popular at that moment. Fashionable breeds attract unscrupulous breeders and uninformed owners which makes for a dangerous combination. Spreading misinformation about a breed doesn’t help anyone understand dog behaviour. This dog is resource guarding food, a relatively common behavioural issue that needs specialist training and careful management.

[Nesssie]

GSDs are known to be somewhat unpredictable. - Nope. Quite the opposite actually. You are basing that on one anecdote.

Op, if you are in Cambridgeshire area pm me and I can arrange a rescue space. The dog can be trained and make a suitable pet but you are not in the position to do it.

[sillysmiles]

Personally I would PTS

Wow, that is a massive over-reaction imo.
The dog is resource guarding - which I think can be typical of labs. It is also trainable - you need a good trainer to come in and work with you and your family.

[KennyCalmIt]

Why the hell did you get the poor dog?!

Yet again another animal sent from one home to the next.

Perhaps in future OP don’t adopt a dog when you have such young babies/kids and can’t devote proper time and training to them.

[Coronapop]

The dog bit a child in its own home. For me that would be enough to PTS, sad but necessary.

[Honeyroar]

I think you’ve had enough lectures on why it wasn’t the best idea to get the dog! I also think that the dog would easily be trained out of the resource guarding with the right handling. However you have two small children and a baby on the way, so its 100% not the right time or place to keep the dog. I hope you can find a good local rescue to take the dog and find him the right home. (I wish I could take him, he’s a combination of my two favourite breeds, but we’ve already got three dogs!).

And for the record, I’ve had a lot of labs and gsds, none of whom were food thieves or remotely aggressive. All were reacues, some with known parentage, others unknown. All eventually turned into great dogs.

And that bite was serious enough.