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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

Our dog bit DS. What next?

454 replies

newnamefortoday · 04/08/2022 19:39

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?

OP posts:
Frazzled2207 · 04/08/2022 22:01

I think I’d be trying to rehome to a quieter family with no children who absolutely know the history. Could be tough. If impossible yeah pts sadly.

but the main issue atm appears to be your dh. Hopefully he will realise in a few days what needs to happen.

Backachesandheadaches · 04/08/2022 22:03

Dog would of been put down the same day it happened if it was mine. Soon as DC had been discharged and checked over the dog would of been taken straight to the vets and left there to be put down. Wouldn't even consider rehoming it since it's caused significant damage to a child.

CallOnMe · 04/08/2022 22:04

Sounds like the dog was telling the boy off for climbing on the gate.
It’s not ok but I assume you tell him off for climbing on the gate so the dog is just following your lead, therefore I wouldn’t put him down in this situation.

If you can guarantee that the children won’t be left alone with the dog then I’d keep it because any dog can bite even if it has never shown any signs of aggression before.

Can DH take it to work with him and then have it in a locked room at night - so there’s less chance of the kids getting to it?

If you cannot keep them separate then I would look into rehoming it maybe with a friend or family member so DH can still visit.
I wouldn’t push it right now though as DH needs time to come to teens with it and make that decision himself.

I definitely wouldn’t put it down though as I think that’s very unfair on the dog when you were the one in the wrong.

villainousbroodmare · 04/08/2022 22:05

Why would you have an animal in your house who, with no provocation, sank his teeth into a child? Why would you bet that this won't happen again? (Hint: of course it will.) How can you explain to a small child that you plan to keep the animal that injured him, despite his pain and ongoing likely fear? Why would you send this dog into another household where he will be confused and worried and much more , not less, likely to attack someone else?
Give him a great walk and a cuddle and a bucket of KFC and let him go, for goodness sake.
Or some day soon you and your DisneyDogDad DH will be pacing the floor outside a paediatric plastic surgery operating theatre, wondering what the hell you were thinking last August.

tillytoodles1 · 04/08/2022 22:05

My friend had the most docile Golden Retriever, but when she was 13 she attacked her son. Luckily it was only small bite, mainly bruising, but the vet said it was probably dementia and put her to sleep as she couldn't be trusted anymore.

Algbu6 · 04/08/2022 22:09

CallOnMe · 04/08/2022 22:04

Sounds like the dog was telling the boy off for climbing on the gate.
It’s not ok but I assume you tell him off for climbing on the gate so the dog is just following your lead, therefore I wouldn’t put him down in this situation.

If you can guarantee that the children won’t be left alone with the dog then I’d keep it because any dog can bite even if it has never shown any signs of aggression before.

Can DH take it to work with him and then have it in a locked room at night - so there’s less chance of the kids getting to it?

If you cannot keep them separate then I would look into rehoming it maybe with a friend or family member so DH can still visit.
I wouldn’t push it right now though as DH needs time to come to teens with it and make that decision himself.

I definitely wouldn’t put it down though as I think that’s very unfair on the dog when you were the one in the wrong.

Any dog can bite. It has bitten though. I'm not sure why the dog is being put before a child's welfare. That is not OK!

Unfortunately there's no point guessing how the dog came to bite facts is, the dog has bitten a child.

fyn · 04/08/2022 22:10

Our dog snapped at our daughter when she was a baby, unprovoked in my arms. Luckily I was able to re home with the lady from the rescue that had hand reared him as a puppy and still had his brother.

I wouldn’t PTS straight away, contact a breed specific rescue and explain. They’ll have fosterers who take in older dogs and will be experienced with dogs that have bitten.

GettingItOutThere · 04/08/2022 22:14

put to sleep. fates worse than death . He will go happy and safe with you.

he is capable of killing a baby and kids come first.

*dog person through and through but my kids always come before any animal

Original poster
newnamefortoday · 04/08/2022 22:17

I should add that I was watching throughout, I saw the incident from about fifteen feet away but because DS was between dog and me, and gate was between DS and dog, I couldn’t see the exact details of what happened, but there was no provocation and no warning.

OP posts:
SeenYourArse · 04/08/2022 22:17

Also you’re minimising here…he didn’t ‘catch your ankle snapping at you’ he BIT you and how has gone on to bite DS worse, how bad will the next bite be and who will be bitten?

butterflyflutterby123 · 04/08/2022 22:19

Rehome. And isolate him till then. So sorry op 💔

SeenYourArse · 04/08/2022 22:20

CallOnMe · 04/08/2022 22:04

Sounds like the dog was telling the boy off for climbing on the gate.
It’s not ok but I assume you tell him off for climbing on the gate so the dog is just following your lead, therefore I wouldn’t put him down in this situation.

If you can guarantee that the children won’t be left alone with the dog then I’d keep it because any dog can bite even if it has never shown any signs of aggression before.

Can DH take it to work with him and then have it in a locked room at night - so there’s less chance of the kids getting to it?

If you cannot keep them separate then I would look into rehoming it maybe with a friend or family member so DH can still visit.
I wouldn’t push it right now though as DH needs time to come to teens with it and make that decision himself.

I definitely wouldn’t put it down though as I think that’s very unfair on the dog when you were the one in the wrong.

Are you literally insane?! In what way or world is the OP in the wrong and what the hell for?? Just for having DS? 🤯🤯

LoveInNashville · 04/08/2022 22:21

Algbu6 · 04/08/2022 21:59

I think seeing my poor child like that it would definitely be a no go for the dog. I don't think it's fair for people to say why was the dog left unattended with DC.

So people with dogs always follow both child and dog round? Ridiculous.

Yes, if you have dogs and young children, they should never be unsupervised, ever. This is one reason why rescues do not home to people with young children, attitudes like yours that say it’s ridiculous to fully supervise at all times. It’s not ridiculous, it’s just hard and people can’t be bothered or forget. Young children are unpredictable and even calm dogs can get pissed off or react when they are used as toys, kicked, startled, disturbed when sleeping etc.

But anyway, in OPs case, there wasn’t full supervision and these incidents are a sudden change in behaviour. I’ve worked with dogs for years and my first thought would not be to rehome in this situation. I would keep the children and dog completely separate whilst health tests are done. If that shows nothing, get a behaviourist to work with the dog for a while and give their opinion. Get a behaviourist you trust, your vet may recommend one and they will be honest with you.

allboysherebutme · 04/08/2022 22:24

Maybe the baby. Stepped on him by accident when climbing on the gate. X

LoveInNashville · 04/08/2022 22:24

Fifteen feet away isn’t what I would call supervision at all. You need to be right there with your child at that age.

Algbu6 · 04/08/2022 22:26

@LoveInNashville it's impossible to be watching your child every second. Accidents happen even with just a child.

I think your attitude is delusional.

GhostCastle · 04/08/2022 22:26

I would PTS. He has been aggressive 3 times to different people, not just children. I hope your DH sees sense before something dreadful happens.

CallOnMe · 04/08/2022 22:26

Any dog can bite. It has bitten though. I'm not sure why the dog is being put before a child's welfare. That is not OK!

The boy was climbing up a gate though.
He could have easily fallen backwards and cracked his head open.

If the boy was playing and it randomly attacked then it would be different but the dog was telling the boy to get off the gate.

The boy shouldn’t have been climbing up the gate.
Any consequence of that isn’t really relevant.

It’s like running off into the road and getting stung by a bee - the bee sting is irrelevant because he shouldn’t have been out in the road.

If he did run into the road and got hit by a car you’d be annoyed at the car driver but know that he shouldn’t have ran into the road.

villainousbroodmare · 04/08/2022 22:27

You'll never be able to separate or supervise them enough to be safe. This latest incident shows that even a gate between child and dog won't suffice. Even if you're standing right there, your reaction time will never be faster than a dog's. A JRT is quick enough to catch a rat and kill it in one crunch. Nobody is as fast as that.

CallOnMe · 04/08/2022 22:29

@SeenYourArse no OP is in the wrong as she wasn’t keeping an eye on her DS and so he was able to climb a gate - an accident waiting to happen even without a dog there.

Original poster
newnamefortoday · 04/08/2022 22:30

@CallOnMe it is true that I spend half my life telling DS not to climb on the gate. However, the dog is often on the other side and has never done this before. I’m quite happy in principle to work with the vet to understand what’s changed but obviously the priority for now has to be keeping everyone safe. The fact is that the dog has also caught me with his teeth and snarled at my mum in the same week, so I can’t just chalk it up to DS being out of order.

OP posts:
FacebookPhotos · 04/08/2022 22:31

How did your DH respond to the vets advice? Was he around when DS was hurt, or did he not see the pain and fear? Keeping them separate won't last, so is only a temporary measure (and a risky one tbh).

I'm not a fan of re-homing dogs that have bitten, especially when it is multiple times without provocation. This is because:
-So many people underestimate how much damage a small dog can do even to an adult. Lots of people would assume that the previous owner was a bit shit rather than that the dog is aggressive and therefore not take adequate precautions.
-I don't trust rescue places to give new owners the full picture.
-On the off chance the rescue centre do tell the truth, and those considering adopting him understand the full picture it is still going to be a very stressful experience and they may not find anyone willing to take him on meaning he'll be PTS anyway after a miserable last few weeks / months.

LoveInNashville · 04/08/2022 22:31

Pet gates need to have no gaps and be high enough for the dog to not jump. I never understand the ones with gaps as they don’t separate kids and dogs properly.

Hopeandlove · 04/08/2022 22:35

I speak as a former JRT owner. Or at least my parents were. The dog bit me when I was 14 hard. One the backside - sounds funny but it really wasn’t. I have scars. Rehome the dog.

Isausernameavailable · 04/08/2022 22:35

I'd have the dog pts at home, that might be easier for dh. But if he won't you and the children will need to leave as the baby could be next