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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

My dog has bitten DD. Help

231 replies

rottielove · 28/04/2021 17:06

He's never been aggressive to people before, let alone DD. I left them alone for two minute when I went to answer the door, I come back and DD is hysterical as she has been bitten on her arm. I don't think the dog meant it as no skin has been broken and he's a Rottweiler so if he really wanted to hurt her he could have. But like I say he is normally so good with him, I didn't think twice about leaving them for afew seconds. DD is 6, dog is 10., could it be dementia? Not sure where to go from here.

OP posts:
sunflowersandbuttercups · 30/04/2021 15:42

I imagine if someone posted that their dh was unwell, and their 6 year old dc startled him and he grabbed the child with such force that he badly bruised them, the resounding reply would be 100% LTB.

Why do people keep comparing dogs and grown adults?

Dogs have the mental age of a toddler. It's unfair to keep trying to draw comparisons between the two as though both scenarios are equal.

bunniesanddaisies · 30/04/2021 15:47

But regardless of intent the consequences can be severe sunflowers

PomegranateQueen · 30/04/2021 15:49

My support is reserved for your DD, who has been injured. If you are feeling guilty now, imagine how guilty you would feel if the dog bites her again. DCs come first.

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 30/04/2021 15:53

Some of you need to just fuck off and leave her alone. The OP knows her own dog, he is 10 years old ffs and clearly isn't aggressive by nature. The child woke him up with a start, he jumped, snapped but realised who she was before harming her. It was an accident, they happen and the OP is now taking steps to stop it happening again.

OP try getting excited about the tablets. Pretend they're a treat. My lab is on tablets for her arthritis and I just go LOOK WHAT I'VE GOT! D'you want a treat?! and she comes running over and just eats it. Either it tastes good or she's just that daft Grin

bunniesanddaisies · 30/04/2021 15:58

Where does it say the child woke him with a start?

Oh yeah, it doesn’t.

That’s what has pissed me off about this thread, it’s the insistence it’s the poor kids fault.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 30/04/2021 15:58

@bunniesanddaisies

But regardless of intent the consequences can be severe sunflowers
Yes, you're right.

But there's still no need to re-home a dog who is unwell with an illness that is now being dealt with by a professional. Low thyroid is notorious for causing aggression in dogs - would you really re-home a beloved family pet just because they were unwell?

bunniesanddaisies · 30/04/2021 16:03

It depends really.

Personally I’d go down the route the OP has. Keep them apart, baby gate, a soft muzzle if needed. I think that’s fair.

But I also think the minimising and blaming of this young girl have been awful.

SpacemanDad · 30/04/2021 16:19

"if he really wanted to hurt her he could have"

I'm sorry whatnow? And you left it where and with who?

emilyfrost · 30/04/2021 18:29

The child woke him up with a start, he jumped, snapped but realised who she was before harming her. It was an accident, they happen and the OP is now taking steps to stop it happening again.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut We don’t know the child startled the dog because OP didn’t see it Confused

This animal bit a child. Keeping it would be neglectful.

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/04/2021 19:40

The child woke him up with a start, he jumped, snapped but realised who she was before harming her.

Unless you have a secret nanny cam in the OPs house you have no idea that this is what happened. And by the way, the DD has a massive bruise on her arm and the OP said she was screaming and terrified- this is both physical and psychological harm. So please stop victim blaming AND erasing the harm this child has actually suffered.

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/04/2021 19:46

@bunniesanddaisies

Thing is there is no middle ground is there?

In one camp is PTS! SS will get involved!

In another is Nothing Happened.

? I and several others have recommended rehoming the dog to a home with no children. That’s a fair middle ground. An elderly dog that dislikes children will be happier and calmer. The child will be safe and not feel like the dog is more important to her parents than her safety.
nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 30/04/2021 21:04

Well it seems pretty obvious doesn't it. Dog was asleep on sofa with child who was awake. Went from asleep to child bitten in the time it takes to answer the door. Which is what, less than a minute? Dog has no history of aggression and has shown none since. It's obvious what happened.

He clearly woke with a start and snapped but had he wanted to hurt her, he could have. The fact that she had only a bruise, tells you that he wasn't trying to harm her. Most dogs will snap if woken abruptly, it's a reflex.

I haven't seen anyone blame the child. Show me where anyone has said it's her fault? It was an ACCIDENT.

bunniesanddaisies · 30/04/2021 21:09

The thread is filled with blaming the poor kid despite there being no more informed in the OP than ‘sat on the sofa.’

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/04/2021 21:50

Well it seems pretty obvious doesn't it. Dog was asleep on sofa with child who was awake.

No, it’s not obvious. It is more than equally possible that the door knocker/bell would have woken the dog. So when the OP left the room, it was actually an awake dog on the sofa left alone with an awake quietly playing child. Then dog took umbrage to sharing sofa with child...after all Rottweilers are known to be very territorial...and bit the child.

but had he wanted to hurt her, he could have. The fact that she had only a bruise,...

Again, the dog DID hurt her. A bruise is physical harm. If you hit your child and bruise them, no one is going to agree with you when you constantly say you did not actually hurt your child because it is only bruising and that if you had wanted to hurt her, it would be much worse. The fact it could have been worse doesn’t mean the child was not hurt and that the dog did not mean to hurt her.

Moonwatcher1234 · 30/04/2021 21:50

@bunniesanddaisies

The thread is filled with blaming the poor kid despite there being no more informed in the OP than ‘sat on the sofa.’
It’s quite shocking isn’t it? I bet these are the same people who will tell you “he’s friendly!” after their dog has jumped up at your little kid in the park. Have some insight folks
emilyfrost · 30/04/2021 21:59

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut No, it’s not obvious at all. Don’t be so silly.

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 30/04/2021 22:23

I think you're not really in a position to be calling others silly, now are you.

emilyfrost · 01/05/2021 06:23

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut When they’re just blatantly making shit up to suit their narrative I am.

Puntastic · 01/05/2021 06:53

Yeah. If it was hard enough to cause a 'nasty bruise', there was a fair bit of force. In a dog with sharper teeth, it probably would have broken the skin.

If you're coming up with likely scenarios, you also need to ask if the six year old has, having grown up with dogs and been trained in how to react around them, form for disturbing or hurting the dog. I presume she doesn't, or OP would never have left them. So, either the child has acted out of character and then the dog has acted out of character, or the dog alone has done so. Either is possible, neither should be discounted. There are many possible explanations- maybe the dog had a bad dream that carried over to waking. Maybe it is early dementia. Maybe the kid fell on him and didn't tell OP. Unless we know for with certainty what happened, we must err very firmly on the side of caution. We've a ten year old Rottweiler here- life expectancy 8-10 years. We've also got a six year old girl. Give the benefit of the doubt to the dog, best case scenario is it buys him one or two more years and there are no further incidents. Worst case scenario, he maims your DD and she has to live like that for the next eight(ish) decades. For me, risks Vs benefits don't stack up.

He's also very old, so the likelihood of developing further painful conditions is fairly high. If the dog is prone to aggression when in pain, that is definitely not good.

Lowkeyloopy · 01/05/2021 07:57

OP I’m sorry to hear your dog is ill but I don’t get the reaction of some posters like this is a good result?! “Oh it’s just a MEDICAL condition making him more likely to aggressively attack her child - PHEW.” As someone else has said, the causes and motivations of a dog for attacking, while all very interesting, are hardly relevant if a child is at a risk - surely??

But as I said above (in a largely ignored post referring to regular real life incidents that have involved plastic surgery!) i guess this is about risk/reward? The dog-owners here can talk about medical reasons and proper training and teaching children to respect dogs as much as they like but it really comes down to the fact they are that little bit more willing to accept the risk of physical harm to their child than those who don’t want dogs around their children.

I seriously hope you don’t ever plan on inviting your daughter’s friends around who haven’t received the same chats from their parents about respecting dogs’ personal space. I also seriously hope you never have another child’s distraught parent ask you “had he ever done anything like this before?”.

I’m sorry if this sounds attacking - it’s really not meant to be and you do have my sympathy. I’m just a bit incredulous!

bunniesanddaisies · 01/05/2021 08:12

That’s actually a good point pun

Thirtyrock39 · 01/05/2021 08:19

Reading this thread I can't help feel sorry for kids that have to tiptoe around their pet dogs for fear of getting 'nipped'...eg the kid going over the dogs paw in heelys...young kids are forever bashing into things and stepping where they shouldn't - it must be hard then getting nipped maybe this is why dogstrust etc are so reluctant to rehome to family's with kids

bunniesanddaisies · 01/05/2021 08:24

In fairness there’s a massive difference between going over a dogs paw in a Heeley and tiptoeing around.

But yes I feel really sorry for some kids if the response to being bitten is to be lectured on what they did wrong Hmm

Blueskytoday06 · 01/05/2021 08:30

I agree with @murbblurb surely there have been enough tragic incidents concerning children and dogs. How many more does there need to be? He has already bitten your child once. What happens next time? You have a duty to your child not the dog. I sympathise that it's an awful decision to make but you do need to think about how you'd feel if it happened again.

tabulahrasa · 01/05/2021 09:32

“Yeah. If it was hard enough to cause a 'nasty bruise', there was a fair bit of force. In a dog with sharper teeth, it probably would have broken the skin.“

That’s not a fair bit of force tbh... have you ever raw fed? That’s when you realise what a bite with force can do.

“Reading this thread I can't help feel sorry for kids that have to tiptoe around their pet dogs for fear of getting 'nipped'...eg the kid going over the dogs paw in heelys.“

Dogs don’t have reasoning, that’s like blaming a toddler for pushing over another child while being run over with heelys.

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