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?

Dog has to go unfortunately, its only going to get worse..
Some dogs are just not suited for family, he might be better in a home with a single person or something, just let them know he growls and bites , is not kid friendly , when you give him up ..

The dog is still a puppy at 11 months old, and is still learning his place in your house. Children that young should not be allowed to try to get dogs to do stuff.

All young dogs will act tough and snap the air when told to move off a comfy sofa. All that is needed is a cushion behind the butt, and a firm off and pushed off the sofa onto the floor.

It was not a attack bite! The only reason it drew blood was because your toddlers face was too close to your dogs face.

If the breeder doesn't take the DDog back, I think Spaniel Aid has been mentioned.

There's also:

Caessr

Spaniel Assist and

English Springer Rescue

Hope your DS has been seen and you've found a solution.

You can see the people here that have no experience or very little experience with dogs. This is one of the reasons rescues are so careful homing dogs yet get told they’re fussy. A lot of people are clueless. They ignore warnings, they take risks, they behave irresponsibly.

And some adults are not suited to having a dog, because they’re irresponsible.

A lurcher my exH used to have and take to work, walked in and within seconds had my 11mths DS face in his jaws with no provocation. Dog was gone within the hour.

I recommend you do the same. Your DC comes first.

Yes. Time and patience. Taking the time and having the patience to work with a behaviourist to see if this issue can be fixed. Not "playing dog behaviourist". Comprehension skills are certainly lacking among some on here. Either that or they just revel in being rude and abrasive.

@dawngreen the child who was bitten is 13 years old. He is her second child hence ds2.

The dog should be immediately be re-homed. Anything else is totally irresponsible parenting. There is no way I would allow a dog who growls and bites in my home, especially around children.

I agree with this , speaking as an experienced vet nurse and also someone with quite a few springer owner family members - luckily everyone has been a 'good ' one - so far.
Over many years in my career i would say 50/50 -either placid good natured dogs or highly strung ,anxious - potentially untrustworthy dogs.
Sadly i wouldn't be keeping a dog that bit my child either.
I think i would be looking to rehome in an experienced child free home with 100% transparency , i'm not so lenient usually with many breeds that bite but i think this breed and this dog trained properly by the right person although can't be trusted and should never be around a child may end up ok .
But equally i think to euthanise is a fair decision also.

How bad is the injury here? Not that this is you OP, but so often I see people, children and adults, pick up dogs and pull them around like they're teddy bears. Their not, they're animals. You shouldn't start pulling a dog around when they're sleeping or eating. Yes, this is is a bad situation, but has the child been taught properly here?

I think your DC are old enough for you to explain that the dog is unhappy and it would be kinder to give it a different home. Choose another dog?

Why are so many posters talking about rehoming? The dog should be going back to the breeder.

ALL decent breeders should take their dogs back if there are any problems. When we got our dog we had to sign an agreement that if we could not keep him for any reason we would return him to her.

So many people with young children get young dogs (there is a reason most rescue centres won't home dogs with young families) and then don't know how to train the dog and child or don't have the time or, often, can't be bothered.

Children in a house with a dog need to learn how to treat the dog and taught to give them space, not keep hugging them, waking them up, taking treats away etc.

For goodness sake, the OP should NOT get another dog

Agree with this.

And getting rid of in the permanent sense of the world - not palming it off on some rescue to salve your conscience, where it sits for months/years never being rehomed as it's a problem dog. And then eventually put to sleep. Or palmed off on someone else to get bitten.

Maybe the next bite won't be so bad ! You know the dog needs to go before the next time is much much worse.

The dog is 11 months old ffs!!

Your adolescent dog needs to be rehomed.
Please do not kill it for acting like a dog.
Contact one of the wonderful spaniel rescues who will pick up the pieces and rehome to somewhere suitable.
I am sorry your son got hurt but he is 13 and not 3 and should understand to leave a growling dog alone. The dog gave a warning and it was ignored. Most dogs don’t like being picked up / physically moved. Pain is also sometimes a factor for these dogs. An underlying hip pain that makes them sensitive to touch.

The dog can’t stay in your family that is without question but please don’t let a dog that is not even a year old be killed for this. He didn’t launch an attack out of nowhere he gave appropriate dog communication and this was completely ignored by a teenager old enough to know better. And both boy and dog are now paying a huge price for this.

Exactly. The owner is the real problem here! She doesn’t get to just keep trying out dogs until she gets a placid enough one to not require much owner input, meanwhile her children keep getting hurt. 🙄

@User1113 the only "aversive" I've seen is a vibration collar. I myself use a prong and prefer a balanced training method.

It shouldn't make 12 !

Sometimes dogs and children just don't mix. I think a home with adults only would be better and maybe can be trained. I love my dogs and they have never bitten anyone but I always watch them around children as sometimes children don't know the boundaries, I'm not saying your child crossed any lines but I think it will just be best to rehome. I don't agree with getting dog put to sleep, not without going through other avenues first.

Actually read what people say before posting a reply!!

I don't care about older dogs having form!!

The dog is a puppy and is learning!

We are talking about a puppy not a OLDER DOG!!

🙄 Some people shouldn’t have dogs as they’re too stupid. Some people really shouldn’t be able to post advice when they’re clueless.

What Jengin said is true for this house. I love my dogs but if they even growled at one of us -we would be thinking about rehoming- a bite gone that day totally gone.

Her child could be scarred from this and will certainly we fearful. You can love and rehome as it is doing the best for the DOG as well as the HUMAN but HUMAN comes before dog. End of.