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?

Great news OP, I'm sure the puppy will have a great life now. It will be doing what it is bred for and you will know you didn't let it down in the long run.

you need to read the thread @GG1986 - it's not hard to read only the OPs posts.

Sounds perfect.

Best outcome possible. Not an easy situation OP but the dog's going to a home where they'll be comfortable, and you won't be living on tenterhooks at every interaction.

That's such a wonderful outcome, I'm so pleased for you and the pup. I'm sorry if myself or anyone else has come across preachy or harsh - you haven't failed at anything and you've dealt with an issue leading to an ideal outcome.

Yes, an awful lot of amateur dog psychologists who spout extraordinary advice. "I always rewarded growling in my reactive dog" being a case in point.^

I have a degree in canine behaviour and training was APDT registered and worked as a trainer with a local charity. I'm not entirely sure I am the amatuer here.

Growling is the last form of communication a dog has before it moves to physical aggression such as snapping and biting so, yes, I always responded positively to it and ensured the source of the dog's discomfort was removed i.e rewarding his growling by giving him what he wanted. That's not even training, it's just common sense, which you, sadly for your animals, appear to be lacking.

Punishing growling will do nothing but increase the chance of the dog skipping this step of communication and moving right to snapping or biting.

I think the hospital have a duty to call the police when a dog bites a child.

I would have to re home a dog that did this to my child. Next time they might not be so lucky

Exactly this. “Rewarding” the growling means acknowledging that the dog is unhappy, and removing the trigger.

”Rewarding” doesn’t necessarily mean giving a dog treats to reward a behaviour. But I’m afraid many like @BlackEyeSusan are dangerously ignorant on a lot of fronts.

And as far as Various children have played with them, cuddled up on the sofa with them, dressed them up and put them in the dolls cot this is so wildly inappropriate. You’re either on the wind up, or so ridiculously void of good decision making when it comes to pet ownership that I don’t think anything sensible will get through to you!

Our local garden centre has a whole aisle in the pet area devoted to Christmas jumpers for dogs. Not to mention other weird "fashion" wear for dogs.
This lady on twitter does an annual advent calendar starring her dog Lily. And here is a dog patiently babysitting a toddler. Family dogs may be put upon but most of them happily tolerate it. So no, I don't think children putting a party hat in a dog and having it lined up with the dolls at a dolls tea party is a terrible thing. The dogs usually know there is a biscuit in it for them.
Of course not all dogs and some breeds in particular are likely to cheerfully indulge these human whims but then those sorts of dogs aren't suited to family life.

www.instagram.com/reel/Ceq1j-ylCTS/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

you said yourself the dog “tolerates it” why the fuck should they have to?? And what about one day when they aren’t in the mood to tolerate it? Look at that poor dog covered in stickers, look at its eyes, that dog is unhappy with the situation.

I absolutely hate people doing shit like that to animals.

Family dogs may be put upon but most of them happily tolerate it?

They are not fucking toys or dolls to be dressed up and “happily tolerate” is an oxymoron.

11 pages of people saying the same thing? No thanks 🤣

And yet you rushed to scroll to the end of the thread to see responses to your own illuminating contribution

@BlackEyeSusan the photos you shared are appalling.

To put an 11 month old dog down for that is ridiculous.

No the dog should not have bitten however moving a dog like that from the sofa that does not want to move has triggered that behaviour. It's not entirely the dogs fault. Too many dogs get the blame and put down when it could have been avoided.if you walked into my home and shoved my dog of the sofa he would not be pleases.
@Differentusernametoday
I would contact a rehoming centre and tell them what's happened and rehome him. The signs were there. No dog should nip or bite a human however you said its happened before and not addressed it but said it was your fault. Would you appreciate being shoved of a sofa. Forget the behaviourist give the dog another home. In my opinion it's not the dogs fault. I'm not condoning what's happened but I definitely would not be putting it down.

Whoever let that child do that to those poor dogs wants shooting.

That poor dog covered in stickers looks stressed to fuck.

People who let their children treat dogs like toys shouldn't have pets.

I see it's already gone. Thank you.

I apologise for my thoughtless and inappropriate post

Thank you @Emotionalsupportviper, these things always feel a bit more "sensitive" when it's your DC affected by things so apologies if I was abrupt. As I'm sure you know from other threads I don't approve of censorship or banning posts on the grounds of hurty feels I'd much rather say something directly if I found something a bit tactless and would prefer people to do the same to me if needed!

Sorry for slight derail. Glad your DC is ok OP and it must be very hard but it sounds like you have taken the best course for everyone inc the dog.

@Differentusernametoday

someone mentioned south end training. I’ve seen them all over social media and they appear to be amazing . They’ve fixed dogs that are aggressive and have been told to put them to sleep. They mention that if kids don’t respect the dogs boundaries then of course they will get bitten. You should not put him to sleep. The dog has a lot of issues. It’s not like he bit your child out of nowhere. Your child aggravated him and it’s your fault for not supervising.

It sounds like you've done exactly the right thing OP. I'm glad the breeder was able to find a more suitable placement and doesn't repeat that breeding. Does the breeder mostly breed working dogs? It can often go wrong when a very drive working stock dog is kept as a pet. I don't know if that was the case here but it's worth considering.

@plinkypots no her dogs are pets first and foremost, I have been over and over this in my mind and he really wasn’t a typical ‘high drive’ springer - he was never hyperactive and would settle nicely in the evenings. He was obedient and clever and people would comment on how well trained he was out and about. 100% recall for example. He was just highly strung and didn’t like people he didn’t know, and was afraid of new situations despite all the socialisation we did. He was the last of the litter to be picked, and the last to approach dh when he went to see them. I think he was naturally timid but perhaps more experienced owners would have been able to work with that better.

To clarify - he was never allowed on furniture, or beds, and knew that full well, as well as the “off” command that he was given. Yes, ds2 should have backed off when he growled, but equally, dog should have done as he was told, and I will never know why exactly he didn’t.

i have just dropped him off at his new home. I disgraced us both by crying, a lot. He growled at the breeder, who met us there, but he was happy to greet the other dogs, so I am clinging to that. She has assured me that if for any reason it doesn’t work out there, she will have him back, and will let me know how he gets on. He must be so frightened

now got to go home and put a brave face on it for the kids.

Oh OP
He will be fine. Working gundogs doing their thing are such happy animals. The breeder can keep you posted on his progress.

Well done, difficult but right decision.