Dog bit child on face.

[Panthereyes]

I am absolutely devastated, our dog bit my DC on the face this morning, he has always been an anxious dog and he has nipped them before. We have had behaviourists work with us and he seemed to have settled and been so much better recently.

Your dog showed bite inhibition as the skin wasn’t broken. It sounds as if the dog was startled and reacted. I wouldn’t go for the PTS route either. Is your dog a specific breed? I have a friend, whose dog needed a more clam environment and used a rehoming matching service. The dog went to a very calm child free home. You may be able to find a way of rehoming the dog that way.

3 is still young mine are 3
Could you ask on your local Facebook group if anyone knows of any local animal rescue as often they are dotted about and people aren't aware . I know Staffy rescuers who use fosterers and bulldog rescue , sometimes the fosterers are able to step in whilst they are re assessed , obviously not saying rehome through Facebook but sometimes it throws up places that rescue and rehome

@Mummyoflittledragon are you able to give more details, he is a mongrel but of terrier type.

He's young and didn't break the skin so I don't think he's a candidate to be PTS really, especially as you say he'd probably be okay in a household with no DC.

Some dogs just don't cope with children - it's nothing to do with poor training or the dog being aggressive or dangerous. It's just their temperament. Unfortunately children tend to be loud and unpredictable and due to their size, get much closer to a dogs' face than adults would, even during mundane interactions like saying hello.

I would keep them completely separate for now - dog needs to be away from the DC at all times, ideally behind a closed door or a baby gate, or in their crate/pen if they have one. Hopefully you hear back from a rescue at some point soon and the dog can go into foster.

Have you had him since he was a pup? Is he anxious generally in life or mostly around people

Needs to be PTS. How would you feel if you rehomed and it did further damage or even worse? Sad situation but can't risk it.

Sorry, but I think the dog does need to be PTS. The behaviour pattern is one of escalation as you say he’s bitten your children before. I don’t think that the dog showed any bite inhibition at all, I think the child was wary having been bit before and being young had good reflexes which meant the bite to the face was less serious than it could have been. I don’t agree the child startled the dog as the OP described the child greeting the dog from a distance and then getting down to the dogs level which OP says is a daily routine.

OP has tried professional dog behaviourists. The dog even has to be muzzled because it will bite adult staff at the vet otherwise. This isn’t a dog that is only nervous of what OP described as calm and well behaved children, but also adults at the vet.

You pass the dog to a rescue and you’re just passing on the biting problem to new owners.

He needs to be removed from the home.

Not all rescue’s will take him, with bite history but you have to be honest about it and persevere until you do find one.

As others have said, some dogs just can’t cope with children. It’s not about how much you socialise them together, they just can’t. I assume when I see dogs at rescue’s who can’t be rehomed with children, that there is some kind of bite history or at least significant anxiety issues at play that make biting a risk.

I’m really sorry this has happened, it’s so hard. It’s good he showed inhibition when biting and I hope your 9yo is ok.

I had an anxious dog years ago who snapped at my newly mobile baby and then nipped a neighbour the next day. It was a horrible, stressful moment in time. She was a beautiful thing, young too but so terribly anxious, we didn’t even realise until the baby came along that she was. She was rehomed to friends who had space, time, experience with anxious dogs and crucially for her - no children. She’s been with them 7 years now, there has never been another incident, she lives a happy life. Far happier than if she’d stayed with me. It would have been a tragedy to put her to sleep, something my unlucky but lovely neighbour agreed on.

Yes we have had since a pup, he is generally anxious he used to wee when there was any interaction with humans and he generally dosnt want to be touched, but we have had big breakthroughs being able to put his harness on without weeing and just generally being able to interact with him.......he will still roll on his back and wee if a stranger says hello.

You have done and are doing all the right things , have you contacted Wood Green , they are brilliant with behaviour therapies etc when rehoming anxious dogs , my neighbour has a dog from there rehomed due to being snappy around small children
I disagree about the needing a muzzle at the vets because a lot of dogs require muzzling in vets due to fear ( ex vet nurse )

Sorry but a dog that is so afraid of humans that it pisses itself in fear when a stranger says hello and has a bite history of biting children several times isn’t suitable to be rehomed with anyone. It’s tragic but the dog isn’t happy with any humans. They’re just living under constant stress and fear.

@Panthereyes have you called the Birkett - Smith animal sanctuary , they are in the SW and may be able to advise you .

Is he a lurcher type terrier? Jack Russell/paterdale crossed with a whippet?

He would probably be significantly less anxious in a home with a calm confident slightly older dog. We reduced a small dog who had had a few homes bitten a child and killed a pet previously and it was fine. Spent the first year we had it clinging to the older lab.

If ddog had wanted to bite he would have. Dc sadly need to be taught ddog isn't friendly. No more interactions.. Had ddog had breakfast? Been guarding a toy? Any hidden reason he went for dc op? We had a grumpy huge ddog. Dc manged never to be face to face. Ever. Still had a relationship of sorts...

@Floralnomad no but I will look into that as we are SW.

What the actual fuck is all this PTS bullshit?
Rehome the dog or practice segregation until your behaviourist can access the dog in the home. It doesn't sound like a bad bite (no blood).

Could you contact the rescue you got him from in first place & see if they would take him?

What about next time? When someone accidentally leaves the door open or the dog manages to get out of the segregated area? Would you want that on your conscience?

If that was my dog that would be out of house now

And that's because you are a sensible, logical person 👍🏻

Sorry didn't finish what I was writing. If that was my dog I couldn't have it in the house anymore with my children. They would come first it's just not worth the risk. I sadly had to PTS my dog years ago before I had children as he was too aggressive to rehomd

Me too.

Second the recommendation for birkett-smith.org.uk

I agree. It is really sad but if this dog gets out, or manages to get off lead etc, he is a danger to children. Would a future owner be specifically told that he had a habit of biting children? What about children visiting their house and their safety? It is just too dangerous.

The majority of serious dog attacks they’ve found a history of the dog biting with no blood, snapping, and/or aggression towards children or smaller pets/animals. And contrary to popular belief, they’ve also found most owners to be generally responsible and to have gotten dog training/behaviourist advice- as in they knew their dog had behaviour problems and they tried to correct the problems. Where they went wrong is they didn’t know when enough was enough, the dog got second, third, fourth, fifth chances because ‘it wasn’t that bad of a bite’ - until it was bad and someone either lost their life or was seriously injured/scarred as a result.