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?

Sorry OP, there's not really any decision to be made here. I'd be grateful to have had a warning/ chance to get rid of dog before it rips his face off or kills him.

Spaniels don't have form for biting children. That's nonsense.

And there is literally nothing wrong with owning a working breed that doesn't work. A Springer spaniel is, on the whole, one of the best family dogs to have and are great around children. There are exceptions and nipping any undesirable behaviours in the bud from puppy age is crucial and that goes for absolutely any breed.

Definitely rehome. We had to do this with a dog several years ago for this very reason. Dog bit my toddler and drew blood when toddler was nowhere hear him. I felt awful about it at the time. No one in their right mind would get a dog to rehome it, and I used to view people who rejoined dogs in a very dim light indeed, until we had to do it.

We had researched and thought we had found the right breed, did everything “good owners” do, but nothing we did worked. Vet recommended we rehome. Some dogs just can’t deal with children. He went to live with an older couple down in Cornwall and was much better suited. Although they did confess to having some problems with him too, so it can’t have been us. He would soil in the toddler bed intentionally as well. I can honestly hand on heart say we loved him dearly and did everything by the book. He was around 1 years old so similar age to yours.

We got ours as a rescue pup, so we don’t know what he had experienced prior to coming to us.

Really feel for you OP. I would rehome if I were you. I don’t feel guilty anymore about our decision 💐💐

Thanks everyone. To those saying I ignored the warnings - I didn’t, we were waiting to see a behaviourist as I have said. I knew that he was potentially fear aggressive towards strangers. But I didn’t think he would do this.
We have contacted the breeder. I don’t think that I could ever trust him now. DS2 is shaken but ok. Hospital have given him antibiotics. It will scar, but should fade eventually (he is 13, youngest is 10).
I keep thinking what if it had been his eye. Or we had family staying at the weekend and their daughter is 8, he could have gone for her.

Who in all conscience would rehome a dog knowing it had attacked a child? This isn’t an isolated incident. This dog has a history of unpredictable behaviour.
It would take someone very special to take this dog on and right now the animal shelters are bursting at the seams with poorly socialised, poorly trained, highly strung lockdown pets. The chances of finding the right home are so slim. What if the next time it isn’t a “defence bite” (and to be honest this one was more of an “I’m guarding my territory” bite). What if next time a child is disfigured or loses an eye. He went for the face, not the hands that were trying to remove him.

Sorry typos galore there!

I meant, I used to view people who rehomed dogs in a dim light - not rejoined!

we persevered for 9 months but had to rehome as like I say, nothing worked and it wasn’t the first time he had bitten our little girl. That last bite was the final straw.

Resource guarding can be helped and overcome with ALOT of hard work, patience and understanding. For a start, a dog who growls or bites being moved from a bed/sofa should NEVER have access to a bed or sofa.

No offence, but an owner who ignores these warning signs, and leaves a dog who has previously bitten, unsupervised with their children is not the owner for a dog like this.

YOU CANNOT have a dog in your house who has bitten your child.

Go to a breed specific rescue, and have an open and honest conversation about your dog’s issues. There will be an adult only home, with competent and dedicated owners who will be a better environment for this dog.

A young dog like this CAN be rehabilitated and retrained in the right hands (not yours).

Utter bollocks and very dangerous advice. 🤦🏻‍♀️

You can’t possibly know whether the dog will attack anyone with or without provocation in the future.

I would PTS I'm afraid. Plenty of non aggressive dogs out there needing homes.

Why is this even a question. The dog needs to go.

Not the dog’s fault, the child shouldn’t have done that, but I’m afraid the dog does need rehoming with the new owner in full knowledge of what has gone before.

No question that the dog should be rehomed, but not because it’s aggressive, but because it’s a highly strung dog and has bitten someone who ignored a warning growl.

In either instance a dog needs to go, but a highly strung dog can go to a more experienced home e.g. without children, whereas a dog which attacks should IMO be destroyed.

The dog does not need to lose its life for this, it needs to live in a home suitable for it.

The dog should be put to sleep. Don't try to pass on the problem so someone else's child gets bitten.

Don't waste time thinking about what could have been. Be grateful it didn't happen and focus on what did.

This thread is great evidence that there needs to be some kind of pre-requisite to having a dog. Not just because of this bite but the misinformation here.

Southend dog training have an online group, I've not used it yet but thinking about it. How long til the behaviourist can see the dog?

Your dog doesn't need to be PTS just based on this. A dog rarely needs to be PTS after a bite.

I have a dog who was bitey around children. DH and I have rehabilitated him and he is now our beloved dog. It takes a lot of work to sort them out when they bite.
There is no shame at all in saying it's not working out - its better for all of you to know that now and get him somewhere we can he can be given the rehabilitation he needs.
Hope your DS is OK 💐

I'm so sorry, this must be so horrible for you. You absolutely have to rehome the dog, and I don't think the dog should be there when you get home from A&E. Is there a friend/neighbour who can take it as you prep the kids for the dog needing to be rehomed? Ideally through a reputable rescue who will have a behaviourist to work with him. He needs thorough retraining and to be rehomed to an adult only home. I hope your son is ok; of course it's absolutely not his fault.

You really can. Any dog behaviourist can explain it to you. There are easy signs to read and there are different types of aggression. This is not some rabid dog looking to seek out and attack the OP and her family members. If you don't understand this that's fine, but you're being reactive and ignorant in your reply to me.

you poor thing, what a shock. I hope your ds is ok and please make sure he knows it is not his fault.

I have spaniels and love them dearly but you cannot rehome a dog that has bitten a child in the face. I would take the dog to the vet asap and have an open discussion about what the options are.

You may find social services come and visit post your trip to the hospital.

You cannot trust it. It needs to be PTS.

I hope your DS is OK @Differentusernametoday. How do your DCs feel about the dog now?

Does anyone know if social services would be alerted after a hospital visit for a dog bite to a child?

I genuinely don't mean that question in a judging or "trying to scare you" OP, please don't think that! I was bitten as a child (not on the face thankfully) and seeing comments like "This was a single, light, bite as a warning" from JenGin makes me aghast. I wonder what the reaction of social services would be to a comment like that, if they had received a safeguarding referral.

Dog bites can leave all sorts of scars, not all of them are physical or visible.

Rehome through spaniel rescue or return to breeder so long as not a puppy farm and will be compassionate

The dog didn’t show bite inhibition though. I once surprised my dog and he bit but didnt break the skin. Actually drawing blood and medical help being needed means that while this dog didn’t go into a sustained attack it meant to injure
That means it need to be in a child free home

And yet again "my dog bit my kid what should i do ?"

Get shot of the bloody thing !!!

Stop worrying about what ifs , what you need to worry about is what actually happened . What actually happened is the dog gave a warning your son ignored it so the dog bit him . Whether you want to keep the dog has to be a family decision but obviously if you do keep him your children need to know that a warning means they go no further, just walk away and get you / an adult to deal with the dog . If you want to rehome I’d look at a breed rescue as I’m sure he would find a suitable home easily . I hope your son is feeling ok 💐