Our dog bit ds in the face and drew blood

[Differentusernametoday]

please be kind, I am really shaken and need some support.

We have an 11 month old springer. We have a few issues with him, mostly anxiety related, and are waiting to see a behaviourist. I don’t trust him because he has growled at us before, and has bitten my hand and snapped at me, although to be fair both times I feel we’re partly my fault. This afternoon, he was on the sofa bed put down for guests - ds2saw him and told him to get off, apparently dog growled at him, ds tried to move him and dog bit his face and has drawn blood. Currently waiting in a&e now. Ds2 is devastated and knows he should not have tried to move him when he had already growled, and blames himself. I feel like I have reached the end of the road and I can’t live with a dog I don’t trust, but it will break ds3’s heart if we rehome him, but in some ways it will be a huge weight lifted. What would you do?

I would get rid of the dog. I couldn't have an animal in my home that bit my child's face.

When I was little we had a springer which bit my sister in the face badly. My parents tried 3 different behaviourists. Nothing really worked long term.
The dog ended up biting one of my school friends and drawing blood.
We ended up getting rid of the dog unfortunately, she ended up being very on edge around children and it wasn't fair on her or us.

Please get rid of the dog. You have to prioritize your child's safety first.

I have a dog, always have done and I have some understanding of dog behaviour so I know that not all biting incidents warrant rehoming BUT biting a child on the face to the extent medical treatment is needed would be an absolute red line for me.
You need to rehome the dog to an adult only home ASAP. Look for a breed group on FB and see if they can help

You cannot have a dog at home who growls and bites your children. Hope your ds is ok. Dog needs rehoming and if this happens to a guest he could get reported and pts

the dog has to go, for his sake as much as the rest of you. He needs a child free home and a behaviourist at the very least

Sorry but I would be getting rid of the dog in these circumstances.
How old is ds2?

Of course you need to rehome the dog. How can you put this burden on your ds, he is too young to understand. He could have been killed. This is not a difficult decision!

That's an awful situation, I'm so sorry. Springers are considered great with children and perfect family dogs but they can definitely by quite highly strung. We've got a 3 year old Springer who wouldn't hurt a fly but my sister was bitten by our parents dog when she was about 12 years old. Stitches needed in her eyelid and was extremely lucky not to lose her eye. My parents would have taken the dog to be put down that very day but I remember rightly they said it was a Sunday and by the Monday they'd had 2nd thoughts and, to be brutely honest, they did feel my sister was partly to blame for grabbing the dogs paws while it was fast asleep, with her hair over her face - the dog got scared and lashed out. That said, you should be able to do anything to your family pet without it snapping (within reason.)

As a dog lover I'd suggest you wait until you've spent some time with the dog behaviourist and see if things can be worked on in terms if aggression. It's still a young dog and unless, it's "spaniel rage" it is something that can be fixed. It's just whether you feel comfortable enough for your children to be around the dog until then.

Rehome.

Poor dog is anxious. You can’t have a dog biting your child though, he will need to be rehomed in a child free home by the sounds of it.
Even if you get a behaviourist, it’ll take a time to sort out whatever issues the dog has and unless it’s residential the dog will still be around your child.
What an awful situation. I hope your child will be ok.

The dog has bitten two people now.
I wouldn’t give it a chance to bite a third.

How old are your DC? With young children in the home, I think I'd have to rehome (go via a breed-specific rescue like Spaniel Aid) - I'm a parent & a spaniel owner.

With older DC, secondary school age, who can follow some rules, I'd want to work with a qualified behaviourist. This isn't a bite out of the blue - there's a very clear trigger. The dog was resource guarding, giving a clear warning & the DC still tried to physically move the dog. This is not about blaming anyone or saying your DC was at fault - it's recognising that there was a trigger and a warning, which gives you something to work with if you want to address it through training.

Our cocker started displaying some guarding behaviours around "stolen" objects and we have been quite successful in training this out, but the biggest thing has been changing our response. If we'd forcibly removed objects from him, pulled things out of his mouth, I have no doubt it would have escalated to a bite eventually. We have a rule to never take anything out of his mouth, it is always asking for a drop or swapping for a treat or toy instead.

Ds2 is devastated and knows he should not have tried to move him when he had already growled, and blames himself.

Make sure and tell your son that you ignored the warnings the dog was giving and don't let him blame himself for something you could have prevented. And get rid of that dog.

Trust me, the dog would prefer being away from kids so they wouldn't have to hurt humans. And even though it might make kids sad, you need to keep them safe

It should also be noted that this was not at "attack" bite. The dog wasn't going out of its way to harm anyone. If a dog really wants to attack then the injuries you described would be far far worse. It was done out of nervousness/anxiety/fear. So you don't have a dangerous, aggressive dog, you have a dog with some issues that can be worked on. It's just about whether you have the time and patience for this and in the mean time needing to be more cautious around your dog than you signed up for. From what I gather your dog isn't going to go on a rampage attacking everyone in sight - it just needs to left along when it's showing telltale signs until its issues have been addressed and worked on.

It’s attitudes like this why we’re constantly seeing news stories of kids being killed by dogs that the adults around them failed to keep them safe from.

Dog bites child = dog leaves house and doesn’t come back. It’s that simple. Unless you prioritise an animal over your child’s safety in their own home, there is literally nothing else to even consider.

Perhaps the dog’s issues can be improved in time. But what about the risk it poses in the meantime? And how would anyone ever be sure it is sorted? You’re playing roulette sign your child’s safety if you do anything other that immediately rehome it.

NO!! The dog needs re-homing. End of!

Dog bites child = dog leaves house and doesn’t come back. It’s that simple. Unless you prioritise an animal over your child’s safety in their own home, there is literally nothing else to even consider.

I mean, it really isn't that simple. That's a choice that can be made and someone would be well within their rights to made that choice. It isn't however a blanket rule. I can only go on my personal experience and my parents kept our dog which never once bit or even growled again.

It's also about having experience with dogs to understand the underlying reason it happened. A dog biting a family member is not always a case of an aggressive pitbull-type breed savaging a baby in its cot. It's more complex than that and sometimes it can be dealt with and other times it's safer to rehome the dog, which if we're honest will very often be destroyed.

That said, you should be able to do anything to your family pet without it snapping (within reason.)

I totally disagree with this. Dog should be understood and respected. These videos you see online of owners letting their kids manhandle dogs and the dogs showing obvious signs of distress are recipes for disaster. All in the name of ‘our dog will let us to anything to him’

^This. Don’t let your son blame himself for this. This is really your fault for ignoring all the signs of growling and snapping plus biting you. Harsh but true. I had to rehome a dog when my DC1 came along. The dog was fine until DC1 started crawling and would run away from DC1 (no growling, would simply dash to another room). I tried to keep dog calm and reassure her and thought she just needed time to adjust. Then one day the dog froze and snapped at DC1. I was sobbing but I gathered up the dogs favourite blanket and toys and took her directly to a rehome/no kill shelter within hours. It was one of the hardest things I did because I loved that dog to bits.

It's concerning that he's like this when still under a year old.
I could have made excuses and sought help if it had been a snap at an adult, but this has progressed.
All these shouts to rehome. Who would want an agresssive / reactive dog.
Whatever the reason, however unfair on the dog. He has bitten a child. I would pts.

Always

Only exception would've if dog had been hurt and snapped like been trodden on or something

Utter rot, dog standing ground on a sofa bed growling and then launching itself at your child’s face and biting him on the face isn’t an “attack bite”?! Of course it is.

Bites that aren’t attack bites are accidental nips like you’re holding a dog bone/treat and the dog gets excited and accidentally catches you when it’s trying to bite the bone/treat.

It's a defensive bite. Not an attack bite. An attack in sustained and the dog is looking to do damage. This was a single, light, bite as a warning. It's still bad, but it's different.

The dog has to be put to sleep. Don't have any qualms about it.