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.

I don't think that dog should be rehomed with children, but he doesn't necessarily need to be PTS. I think it sounds like OP has been doing all the right things, but the advice for the children to get down to the dog's level and let him greet them has been misapplied - it sounds more like the child put their face too near the dog's (rather than waiting to see if the dog would choose to come to them). Small children want their dog to be their friend, and don't have great impulse control, so I agree that the dog needs to not be near the children any more. However, it does sound like quite a restrained bite. The escalating behaviour is not escalating kiddy bloodlust - it's the dog saying 'I keep telling the children not to come near me but they keep doing it anyway!'. If a home can be found for the dog where he won't be exposed to children he could be fine.

“ it sounds more like the child put their face too near the dog's (rather than waiting to see if the dog would choose to come to them).”

Thats not what happened. The child bit was also not a small child with poor impulse control.

DC do know to be wary if him they are 6 and 9 it was the oldest who was bitten. But they love him and they normally greet him in the morning by getting down to his level and letting him come to them.

This animal needs to be pts for the safety of others. Such an unpredictable beast can not be trusted and is an ongoing threat. I wouldn’t be keeping it in the house. Remove it asap.

This is awful. But there is no planet on which a a dog so anxious that it pees when touched and who bit a child's face is better off in a rescue waiting a rehoming that might never happen than being calmly and painlessly pts.

Jesus fucking wept.

A dog bites a child.
It then bites then again , this time on the face, narrowly missing the eye.
You have tried a behaviourist.
It has to be muzzled when going to the vet.
It pisses itself when anyone touches it.
It doesn't like to be touched.

And you think rehoming that onto another family is ok? The dog needs to be pts for it's own sake as well as anyone who comes into contact with it. Absolute carnage waiting to happen.

Nobody said anything about re-homing it to another family.

People are talking about, hopefully, sending the dog to an experienced foster who can assess the behaviour and make a professional decision as to what happens next. The very least this dog deserves is to be assessed by a professional behaviourist,

Rescues are full of stories of dogs who were a mess in their original homes and who thrive in more suitable environments.

The very least this dog deserves is to be assessed by a professional behaviourist,

They have been already and the child was still bitten even though the dog had been working with a behaviourist and the child was following the behaviourists instructions.

Both me and my brother were bitten by different dogs as children. They weren’t our dogs and neither of us were interacting with the dogs at the time. Dogs do bite quite a lot. 4.5million people get bitten by dogs every year in the USA. Biting is one of the things that dogs do.

I wouldn’t put the dog to sleep, but I do think the majority of dog owners are completely clueless about dogs and shouldn’t have them.

I presume you missed the part where they paid for a professional behaviourist? This is the dog AFTER they implemented his/her advice. Biting kid's faces.

If you got pup from a responsible breeder then they should help you through this.

No - I didn't miss anything.

The problem with in-home help is that the dog is still in an environment which clearly stresses it out - even the best behaviourist can't fix that. Which is why a good rescue will remove the dog from the home and assess it independently either in kennels or in an experienced foster home.

If it's then determined that the dog needs to be PTS then at least it's been given a chance at rehabilitation.

The dog clearly has issues if you need a behaviourist.

I don't think young children and dogs really mix, especially an anxious one.

I have seen so many young children climb all over dogs, get in their faces, and maul them about-With dogs showing clear signs of anxiety {ears plastered back, white of eye showing, tight lips}

It's especially risky to waken up a sleeping dog suddenly by getting in its face as they can instinctively snap in that millisecond of not knowing where they are.

Did the dog grow up with children?
You MUST be honest with any rescue that this dog has bitten before.

They may well euthanise the dog, as there are enough 'Good' dogs desperate for homes.

Maybe wait before getting another dog until your children are old enough to know how to read dog body language.

The second post from @Panthereyes says "DC bent down to say good morning to the dog when he nipped" then goes on to say "they normally greet him in the morning by getting down to his level and letting him come to them." which sounds to me like what the child did today was different from the norm.

All depends on the circumstances and the severity if it needs putting to sleep! You don’t put a dog to sleep for every bite, all depends

It sounded to me that the second post was clarifying the first, not that they did anything different.

He sounds like a deeply unhappy dog in the wrong situation (for him).

I think before any animal is PTS, they 'deserve' to have the input of professionals who can see and assess the dog in person. That generally means a discussion with your vet and behaviourist about the dog's realistic chances of leading a safe and happy life - with you or elsewhere.

If those chances are not good, then sometimes PTS is the least shit option.

It is also a hard choice and I feel for you, OP. Sometimes it helps to realise you are not being asked to make the 'right' choice - because a right choice doesn't exist. Just the least worst choice and for the right reasons.

So you would rush to put to sleep because he nipped (and yes nipped, he didn’t break the skin). I agree with re homing, but saying it has to be pts straight away is jumping to a reaction

You can’t just tell the children to keep their distance, at this point the children and dog can not be in the same space. You must separate them completely while you are working to remove the dog.

She had him as a pup, you know it is unlikely she got him from a rescue, and probably got him from a breeder or maybe just a person who’s pet had a litter. I think you are just trying to shame someone for not ‘adopting not buying’.

Get this dog PTS before he does something really devastating. My friends daughter had half her face ripped off by their ‘loving’ family dog. She’s 2 years old and has already undergone countless surgeries and has a lifetime of hospital appts and operations ahead. Your dog is dangerous. They have shown you this. It’s a dog. Do the right thing.

Every time someone complains about a Rescue refusing to let them have a dog because they have young children they should read this. There was another one last week too
A reputable rescue is unlikely to let a family with dc under around 8-10, one that happily does shouldn’t be trusted.
I hope they can help you now OP but they don’t sound great

This. Please do not put your children in any more danger.

Apologies, I just re read and he’s not a rescue
Ignore me, apart from the part where I hope you get help

He sounds like a classic puppy farm dog.

Bred for profit, no thought given to sound temperament, and zero handling from birth so a pup gets used to a human touch being a positive thing.

A local woman to us has a terrified dog.
She said when she visited the farm to look, the sire was fear aggressive, but she {In her ignorance at the time} didn't think would impact on the puppy.

She has spent a small fortune on her dog who is terrified of almost everything, and has to be sedated to have his nails cut.

When selecting a dog, look at the temperaments of the parents, see the mother in person, or if at a rescue, an honest, reputable one will select a dog for you that they think will be suitable.

A dog after all should be a pleasure to own, and the dog if well matched will also love being with you.

I agree
This is not a happy dog