Our dog bit DS. What next?

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NC for this one. Our JRT bit 4yo DS on the foot at the weekend. Not terrible, but a huge bruise, puncture wound, visit to minor injuries and antibiotics. We’re not sure exactly what happened, dog was in the garden, DS climbed on the gate as he has done dozens of times before but this time the dog bit his foot as he put it through. Just heard a snarl then a scream. Dog knew exactly who it was as the gate is between garden and house, not the road. It would have been much worse had the gate not been between them. We also have a small baby. We are obviously considering dog’s future and keeping him separated for now. He snarled at my mum this week and caught my ankle snapping at me last week. He’s always been a bit of a grumpy terrier but has never bitten before so we’re considering all possibilities. He’s quite old. Lots to think about but with a small baby we can’t take any chances. What would you do next, apart from taking dog to vet to check for pain etc? Would you expect any follow up from SS or HV through the hospital?

If your dog bit a child you have it put down, sad it's your pet but seriously put yours and other people's children first. It was their foot this time, what if it was your babies face next time? My aunty had a dog for years (well she had 2) one day it jumped up and bit her on the arm unprovoked. We spent summers at their house and were only children when it happened. My aunty cried to my mum but my mum gave her a reality check and said that could have been a child and not their arm. No second chances, my aunty had the dog put down, it's not worth the risk.

An older dog with a behaviour change and a seizure. Safety aside (but not dismissed), your DH is doing that dog a great disservice by not facing into this and allowing them a peaceful end in favour of risking a serious event - in this home or the next - that causes the dog a great deal of upset and stress.

That's not love. Love does what is best for the animal, even when what is best for them tears your own heart out.

I just want to voice my concern about the suggestions that dogs who bite may be happier on farms. I am concerned that people have a rather Enid Blyton view of the places.

Busy farms have people coming and going pretty much constantly particularly in the summer. often bringing their own dogs with them. Those with public footpaths across their properties have children, dogs, randoms everywhere as people have a fundamental lack of ability to stick to footpaths.

Livestock is another challenge to dogs.

We noticed aggressive changes in our rottweiler.. She attacked one of our other ddogs. No damage. 2 weeks later another of ours and took some separating as she fought back.... Dh and I were nudging each other to have The Talk when she had a stand off with me after stealing food from ds's hand. Vet said likely a brain tumour given she had had cancer a year before and her breed was known for them. She was pts.

I was in a similar situation with my beloved and adored cocker spaniel several years ago. He had always been a placid, loving dog who followed me everywhere, and was great with my three year old DD, but one day he attacked me three times. Thankfully, none of the bites were serious, but I was bruised and in pain. I spent the next 24 hours speaking to vets, animal behaviourists and rehoming charities, before making the decision to have him put to sleep. It broke my heart; I cried non-stop for the next three days, and continued to cry for the next three months, but he, my beloved boy, was at peace. I know he would not have fared well being removed from the only home he’d ever known, and the animal charities I contacted said there was no way they would be able to rehome him after he had bitten me, so if we had handed him over to an animal charity he would have been miserable, sad and confused and licked up in a kennel most of the time. That’s no life for a beloved pet. Having him put to sleep was the kindest and most peaceful option for him; he slipped away in my arms so peacefully. We didn’t have any tests done to see why his behaviour had changed so quickly, but the vet suspected a brain tumour.

My friends boxer turned aggressive at 5 m/ years old, pinned a child to the floor and tried to attack the child.

Dog was PTS and lady got a post mortem and it showed a brain tumour

Dog had never been aggressive it's whole life

But hidden brain issues can cause it

With the fit I'd be suspecting something going on

If it was my dog I would pts kindly at home in your husbands arms. The dog will know nothing and your kids will be safe.

5/6 years old that should say

Epilepsy can cause aggression in dogs, and also medication can take ages to get right.

Honestly, it would be nicer to PTS. Not only does this mean the dog dies in a home he knows, it means he doesn't have to go through the treatment for epilepsy which it most likely won't be able to comprehend what is happen.

Using the PTS option would be he doesn't need to go through the stress of new owners, and stress makes epilepsy considerably worse.

We had a lovely JRT (rescued as a tiny pup) she was great with us older kids, but not littlies or unknowns, never bit, but I would not have them with kids so young, not fair on either side. They are bred to go for things that move quickly, erraticly and make high noises. In the day that would be vermin, but unfortunately they can have a hard time distinguishing childlike behaviour as just that.

In the meantime put a Baskerville muzzle on the dog. No chance of the kid getting bitten with a Baskerville.

The dog can drink, bark, vomit and live a normal life but it can't bite.

Has your vet not suggested further investigations? For a 9 year old dog a blood test would be quite routine, and not that expensive. If it’s cancer there are likely to be markers there. Or the seizure could have been due to a treatable imbalance. I can understand if you don’t have thousands for scans and treatment but I’d probably do the basics before PTS, although that is a valid choice too

Did you get the dogs hearing and eyesight tested? If your sons foot got too close , and scared him maybe he bit because of the shock.

Honestly OP you need to get your DH to take him back to the vet for bloods and a scan, it’s not cheap but if he is seriously unwell it’s the only way to know. You’ve had a lot of good advice, I would never jump to PTS especially in a dog that has not been previously aggressive and it’s a sudden change.

My family's dog got aggressive because of cancer.

I'm surprised he's still alive. I'd have had him pts asap.

I'm sorry, but the dog has to go.

He's snarling and snapping at people, and now he's bitten one of your small children. What on earth are you waiting for to decide? He cannot be trusted near people, especially children!

The vet is right. This is the vet's job. Vets are there to help and support the health and well being of animals. A vet would not be making this advice lightly.

I was bitten by a Jack Russell when i was a kid. they're the one dog breed i'm wary of.

fil has a Jack Russell Staffy cross (which is a beautiful looking dog) but its untrained and snappy. i dont like the kids being around it. dh takes the kids to fils occasionally and he is very careful with them.

i would probably think about rehoming or PTS i think in your situation. as sad as it is. but humans before animals.

I would not pts but I would rehome the dog to somebody without children.
I'm not sure what happened in your situation or how your children normally are with the dog, however i did have a friend who allowed her 2 young children to wrestle her dog and pin it to the ground. I asked her, will the dog not bite them? She said no and if it did I'd have it pts. I thought that was terrible and that she should have protected her dog snd taught her children to respect and treat the dog properly. Not saying your child does this btw i just don't think it's always fair to pts. Maybe the dog is old and now having much less tolerance to children and noisy home, maybe he'd be suited to a quieter household.

I agree about getting full blood tests. They are over £100, less than 2. A scan is 3.5k and requires the dog to be put under anaesthesia so I wouldn’t do this. Money better spent on blood tests first to see if this is treatable and an imbalance. Possibly a dog neurologist depending on the outcome of the blood tests.

It is true anti-epileptic meds can take time to get right and even then may not work.

I'm quite shocked the vast majority are saying PTS (before the update about seizure). I work in a vets and have a 16 year old crossbreed, we also had a jrt who lived to 18 so I agree with you when you said he's not actually that old. I know it's out of character for him but I could easily see a dog biting a foot coming through a gate, my dog in his slightly younger days would have. Same about snapping when being passed if he was startled. My dog was more aggressive when I first adopted him and has bitten us and my niece, but because she wouldn't accept the boundaries we'd told her about not touching his face (she is older but said he's just too cute). Now my family know to respect him and leave him alone. I am pregnant and have no concerns about him now. He has actually mellowed with age, despite being diagnosed diabetic so requires twice daily insulin injections which at first set him back as he'd bite thinking he was getting an injection when touching the back of his neck, arthritis and last week he had to have an eye removed so has less sight and is deaf. But he's still such a happy and loving dog, we adore him, so we do what we can to keep him well and comfortable with his conditions and everyone asks if he's a puppy despite this, mainly cos he's super fluffy. We have him on supplements for canine dementia too and have since age 13 to help offset any issues.
However, the seizures does change things. Many dogs react out of character prior to a seizure/diagnosis, epilepsy is fairly easy to treat in dogs and many live seizure free once the correct dosage is found. Although, it's not often older dogs develop simple epilepsy it's more likely due to a tumour sadly. Ideally a CT would be needed but this is costly. You could trial medication without a clear diagnosis.
I don't agree with those saying he'd never find another home, it would need to be done very carefully through a rescue, but I adopted my dog when he was 10 knowing he had a bite history and health issues (he also has bladder stones and a liver condition requiring medication), I also adopted my previous dog who sadly died from kidney failure as he'd bitten the family children, never had any issues with him biting children were just not for him. At the vets when we have dogs brought for PTS for similar reasons or if owners can't afford treatment if the owners agree we try encourage them to sign the pets over to rescues we work with, and I've seen them go on to be rehomed and well loved.

Should have edited, actually my dog was not aggressive. He just bites when he doesn't like things, for example his face/ears being touched a lot or a lot of hands on him fussing him, being picked up, things like that. Not aggressive just needs his own space.

My sisters sister in law had a boxer who developed epilepsy but wasn't aggressive. It's common in boxers. He was a lovely dog loved kids. Usually put on meds after 2 or 3 siezures He was put on meds but sadly couldn't be brought under control. After a few months she was having that many she could hardly walk.

He was PTS but siezures can present in many ways the same as with humans. It depends on which part of the brain is affected. Things like being startled by something can trigger them being unwell and heat.

As someone presumably on maternity leave with a new baby and pre-schooler, I'd be very surprised if the OP can afford the £3 - 5k costs being bandied around on here to further investigate health issues for the JRT. I would focus with your DH on the fact that the dog is obviously suffering, and he knows he'd never want that for his dog.

Epilepsy can make dogs aggressive unfortunately. Does the vet think that the dog won't have quality of life even with treatment? Because it must be unpleasant for the dog too, feeling unhappy and stressed and anxious all the time, not to mention the fits. It could be that the vet feels like putting the dog to sleep is kinder for everyone involved.

If you try to rehome, I'd contact a shelter because he needs to go to experienced owners willing to try to treat the aggression/epilepsy with medication. Although I don't know what the chances are finding someone willing are.

I'd suggest speaking to the vet again, ask directly if PTS is the kindest thing for the dog health wise and safety wise for humans. They won't lie. If the vet says yes, you have your answer.