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The doghouse

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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Dog jumped and scratched child

75 replies

ShyChai · 23/04/2019 23:12

So super long story short, my dog is about a year old, so still a puppy. He is very well behaved unless he gets super excited, then he is very difficult to control (mainly because he's 60 pounds).
I was out in front of my apartment in a grassy area playing with him with a ball. I know I shouldn't have him off leash, but he never runs off, and I only really play with him when no one's around. The leash obviously makes it impossible to run without getting tangled/tearing my arm off.

While we were playing, a little girl came over (12?). She asked if she could play. I warned her he was not aggressive but we are working on his jumping, which he does when he gets very excited (meeting new people). Two other girls around the same age came over. They were having a great time playing with him and having him do tricks.

About 30 mins later, a younger girl (8?) with an even younger girl (4?) came running up around the corner. The 4 year old got extremely excited to see the dog and yelled while running up to my dog. My dog got extremely excited and jumped on her. She got scared and started screaming. Unfortunately the more she screamed the more excited my dog got. Mind you, he never bit or growled, he thought they were playing. Unfortunately the poor kid was terrified, and all the little girls didn't know what to do so they just sat there. I didn't feel comfortable picking up the little girl, so it took me a few tries to grab my extremely excited dog without knocking over the terrified child. The 8 year old removed the 4 year old from the situation and my dog went back to playing with his ball like before. The 12 year old girls were a little shaken up at first, and I adamantly apologized and explained he didn't understand she was scared, he thought they were playing and got excited. They definitely agreed that he is a good dog and he didn't act out of aggression.
I noticed a scratch on her leg from one of his dew claws (all of his other claws are very dull). He didn't draw any blood but I know he did technically hurt the child. And I know it's my fault for having him off his leash, even though it was pretty much a freak accident. I'm just wondering what I should do in this situation. Should I reach out and try to get in contact with the 4 year olds guardian and explain what happened/ let them meet my dog (because he is so incredibly sweet when he isn't super excited)? Should I let it blow over? Should I reach out to management and explain what happened in case anything comes of it?

OP posts:
GiveUpxo · 24/04/2019 00:10

Yeah I don't understand why a 14 year old is even on here nor y I care if they like dogs or not 😂just go to sleep before ya mom gets in instead of debating with women twice ur age about dogs.

GlitterUnixorn · 24/04/2019 00:13

@terftastic1984 go to bed ur comments are just not needed

CallMeRachel · 24/04/2019 00:14

Don't feed the troll people

Sunlov · 24/04/2019 00:16

£20 quid on it being a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Justajot · 24/04/2019 00:16

I'm not a dog apologist at all, but I find it really odd that a 4 year old was out without supervision. I have an extremely mature 8 year old and a 4 year old and I'd never expect my 8 year old to supervise her sister or let the 4 year old out without an adult.

There's no way I could guarantee my 4 year old's behaviour around a dog. She'd love to go and stroke a dog, but would spook easily.

I'd just chalk it up to experience and put your dog on the lead around children.

GlitterUnixorn · 24/04/2019 00:17

What makes you think that?

CallMeRachel · 24/04/2019 00:28

£20 quid on it being a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

😂 Wow, is there a new monster breed of staffy that makes them double in normal weight???!!!!!

The dog is 60lbs ffs!! That's 27kgs!! A Staffs is half that. It's more likely to be a Labrador!

CallMeRachel · 24/04/2019 00:29

Terf is trolling another thread making more comments about putting dogs to sleep.

Obviously a bit of a screw loose.

Dog jumped and scratched child
BiteyShark · 24/04/2019 07:16

My spaniel can get very excited and if too excited can jump. Unfortunately people stop and fuss him really wish they wouldn't but they don't take any notice even if you ask them and I am always straight by him to ensure he cannot jump up to avoid situations like this. I alway warn them he has a tendency to jump up so it's not as if I haven't warned them if they continue to over fuss him. For children I just say I am holding him to make sure he doesn't jump up on you so they can fuss him but he can't physically get his paws off the floor.

You need to be extra vigil if you know you have an excitable dog.

BrokenWing · 24/04/2019 08:29

My sister still has a visible scar on her face where a playful Labrador scratched when it jumped up.

While you dog still cannot play appropriately with children you need to keep him on a lead and under control.

missbattenburg · 24/04/2019 08:31

OP, it's worth you noting the law on this because the dog could be classed as dangerously out of control - which covers overly excited dogs as much as it covers aggressive ones.

I would chalk this one up to experience but be aware for the future and keep the dog on lead unless you are somewhere safe and secure.

MNHQ
MichaelMumsnet · 24/04/2019 08:33

Thanks for the reports. We've sent the troll to bed and put severe limits on their screen time.

Langrish · 24/04/2019 08:39

Don’t be ridiculous, 14 or not (and if you are, why on earth are you hanging around here??)

What breed of dog? At 1, some are huge and most people wouldn’t see them as puppies any more.
Sounds like he needs some socialisation lessons. Has he been through puppy training classes? If not, thoroughly recommend them. You need to get his instant recall as reliable as possible.
My old girl is 13 now, most of her teeth gone and would struggle damaging a mouse but increasingly bad tempered and she snarls if boisterous kids/puppies come too near. So I put her on the lead as soon as kids are in sight and if any run towards her I shout a friendly warning that she’s a tired old lady so please leave her alone. Unfortunately most 4 year old children’s recall isn’t great either Grin so you have to anticipate and take the responsibility, because your dog is the one with the sharpest teeth, only takes one moment of over excitement.

Nesssie · 24/04/2019 10:28

My dog bit my hand yesterday. We were playing with a tug rope and he missed the toy and got my hand. Blood from puncture marks.
Taking him to the vets to be put down immediately as he is obviously going to rip my throat out next time... Hmm

OP, it happens, claws are sharp. Don't let him interact with children until he is a bit older/calmer. Personally, I wouldn't make contact with anyone unless they get in touch first.

Lllot5 · 24/04/2019 10:38

I wouldn’t be very impressed if this happened to one of my children ( they’re adults now so not going to) if you can’t control your dog you shouldn’t have one regardless of size. Keep him on a lead if he can’t be controlled around children. Your at fault here.

missbattenburg · 24/04/2019 11:01

Keep him on a lead if he can’t be controlled around children. Your at fault here

I agree with the lead comment, but in this case the child ran up to the dog - so, while a lead would have...

a) maybe allowed the OP to remove the dog more quickly
and
b) ensured the dog was not classed as out of control

...I am not convinced out would have prevented the jumping or scratch.

This is a classic example of why both dogs and children must be properly supervised around each other. In this case the dog should have been on a lead and the child should not have been allowed to run up to the dog.

Lllot5 · 24/04/2019 11:09

Maybe I’ve read it wrong but I think there was a bit of time elapsed between the two late comers joining in and the scratch. If so the lead would have prevented this. Really it’s up to you to control your dog. Couple of comments about how much he weighs and pulling your arm off suggests you can’t.

missmouse101 · 24/04/2019 11:13

Children should never run yelling up to a dog. The parents need to take responsibility for this innocent accident. OP was minding her own business.

HoppingPavlova · 24/04/2019 11:19

Children should never run yelling up to a dog. The parents need to take responsibility for this innocent accident.

No, the dog owner needs to take responsibility. If your dog is not bomb proof (and not many would be), then it’s the dog owners responsibility to ‘protect’ the dog from the kids.

userxx · 24/04/2019 11:23

No, the dog owner needs to take responsibility. If your dog is not bomb proof (and not many would be), then it’s the dog owners responsibility to ‘protect’ the dog from the kids.

What should the OP have done? Started screaming at the kids to back away, that would have caused even more upset. Kids need to be taught how to behave around dogs.

FriarTuck · 24/04/2019 11:24

Keep the claws trimmed, job done. My DDog (a staffie - but only one of the tiny breed Grin) can scratch me sometimes if I don't keep the dew claws trimmed - they get a bit long and rough and then you get a scratch.
And definitely keep screaming children away - stick yourself between them and the dog. It's not fair on the dog's hearing having to put up with high-pitched squeals!

IvanaPee · 24/04/2019 11:30

It’s just a learning curve.

While children absolutely shouldn’t run screaming at a dog, they will be. And as you can see; out of dog & child interactions, people blame the dog.

Nobody is going to kill a child because of an incident but they will call for a dog to be killed.

In future, people come = leash until he’s older and better trained.

My dog is a jumper and dh can be laid back about it which pisses me off. We know he’s not aggressive. Other people don’t know that.

Hidingtonothing · 24/04/2019 11:35

Lesson learned OP, stick his lead on if similar circumstances arise in future, not worth the risk that someone will decide he's 'dangerous'. I wouldn't try to track parents down, wait and see if anyone gets in touch with you.

I do think it was a risky scenario, dogs and kids together always needs extra care, especially when they don't know each other so I would go back to only playing with him like that when there's no one around and put his lead on straight away if kids approach. That's for his protection as much as anyone's, he can't be labelled dangerous if you don't allow him to do anything to scare or worry anyone. That said I agree with missmouse that more parents should teach children how to behave around dogs.

steppemum · 24/04/2019 11:41

well , lesson learnt. Unfortunate, but you do need to learn from this.

Your dog is excitable, it was nice for the initial 2 girls to play ball with him, but then as more kids arrive, you need to say, sorry girls, play time is over and put him back on the lead.

If they still want to say hello, then you can get the dog to sit by you, under control and they can come over. That is also a good time to drum in messages about dogs, I do a lot of teaching kids about dogs when they come over to meet mine.

Do remember to ask the owner before stroking a new dog, as not all dogs are friendly
Try not to stand round him in a circle, he can't see out and will get a bit scared.
Always a good idea to stroke shoulder to tail and don't try and stroke his face, he doesn't know you and might feel uncomfortable with your hand coming into his face.
There is a great youtube video that teaches something like ask, pat, pause to teach kids how to approach a dog.

etc etc.

I would certainly have stopped the game as soon as the younger children appeared, if your dog is large. Let them meet him when next to you on a short lead/hand on collar, but not when he is jumping round.

and as a rule, firm teaching about jumping up, enforced every single time, is priceless.

But hindsight is a wonderful thing, and so treat it as lesson learnt for next time.

Lllot5 · 24/04/2019 11:46

Yeah definitely agree people should teach their children about approaching strange dogs. But they don’t and you and your dog will get the blame if any thing happens. So my advice for what it’s worth is keep him on a lead until he’s older and better trained.

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