Dog bit Child

[purpleme12]

When we went to visit family we met one family member's new dog.
They got him in the summer. So he's still a puppy, or teenage dog?
We all arrived together so there were 6 of us along with 3 the dog already knew there.
Dog was barking which is fine. I know dogs bark around new people. But dog also growling.
But they're saying he's fine he won't hurt.

So dog wasn't happy and wouldn't settle. Dog taken a bit away from people because not settling at all and with owner.
So in the next room.
My child (10) went into room, went past dog, across room to get something and the dog went up and bit her on the arm! Clearly because he was in this riled up state
And dog had to be pulled off her.

She wasn't 'hurt' but was upset and shocked as you would be. I've never been bit by a dog in all my dog encounters

They say he's never acted like this before and this is not like him at all

I thought this was dangerous? I am wary now.
How would you expect the owner to react?
Would this happen again?

Puppies bite all the time. They also like to jump up and play. He may have been in a playing mood or teething.

Did you see it? Was it like puppy play? Or more sinister? The dog is very young and was probably overwhelmed with new people.

This is impossible to comment on without context.

It was a bite. Your post is completely different to what I posted

I don't doubt that you're right about him being overwhelmed but the consequence was this!
No it wasn't play

If they only got him in the summer and they got him as a puppy then assuming they got him at 8 weeks ish, he’s only potentially 5/6 months old now, still very much a puppy and puppies do bite, they are little alligators as they are teething and learning how to play.

Do you think the dog should be PTS?

Have you taken photos of the arm? If not, you should do that first then decide what to do.

If it was already growling and uncomfortable around so many strangers why was the child allowed to go into the room where the dog had been put ?

Erm I haven't said that?

I didn't dream that the dog would do this I guess

Neither did anyone else there

It wasn't playing

I guess I've never come across it before but anyway I'll put it behind us

What breed of dog is it?

I’d be demanding the dog was put down. In fact I’d be driving it to the vets myself for euthanasia. Any dog that bites a child is dangerous and should not be alive

Dog trainer here:
Very hard to say without meeting him and of course puppies do mouth/bite but to offer another possible explanation
He barked and growled. Growling is a means of communication and he was showing his discomfort which sadly for everyone were ignored by his owners - probably due to lack of understanding of what would almost certainly happen next rather than deliberately
He therefore ‘levelled up’ and escalated to make his point.
good news - his bite inhibition was very good. Your DD would have been injured if he’d meant to hurt her.
bad news - it’s a scared dog and they need help from a professional to sort it out. It won’t get better with them leaving him n situations he cannot cope with, it will get worse

It also wasn’t aggressively biting, if a dog had aggressively bitten your child and “had to be pulled off her” then she would be hurt. Not just shocked as you say she was.

This is life with puppies, they are learning, teething, figuring out boundaries and mouthing, overstimulated etc.

You’ve ignored the rest of my reply where I’ve clearly said this is a puppy, potentially no more than 6 months old, it’s learning, training, teething. Perhaps knowing the dog was struggling and knowing the dog had been placed into a room to try and unwind I wouldn’t have let a child into that room?

The mitigating factor here is 'She wasn't 'hurt' but was upset', which suggests that the dog held back from a full bite. Did it break the skin?

Did it break the skin? If so, it wasn't playing. Puppy can give a sharp nip, they feel with their mouths, but rarely break skin. I would've avoided having anyone enter the room with the dog. Doesn't mean it's a menace necessarily, just means it's young and needs training.

If they got him in the summer, he's likely only about six months old which is still very, very young.

I think it sounds like a very badly managed situation with an overwhelmed dog rather than a dangerous dog, as such.

I have two puppies one 6 months and one 10 month. They have nipped my children through excitement but it doesn't sound like this was the case.
I think it was too much for the dog and noone should have gone into that room who wasn't its owner.
I'm not blaming your child it's a shame and I understand she must be frightened. The owners are definitely going to have to work on that and get training. I wouldn't even visit if the dog isn't trained to manage people entering the house.

Whether it was play or aggression, the owners need to understand the cues that their dog is overwhelmed.

And now you know that the dog reacts badly to stress, so ensure you keep yourself and any children away from it. Plus pay attention to the signals - growling for example.

You say your child was not hurt, which is good. But it’s hard to say whether this is an aggressive dog or a scared one.

Some breeds are more mouthy than others - what type of dog is it?

The owners maybe

I think if the dog meant to hurt her she would be hurt. Dog was probably upset and trying to warn her off. I mean I’d learn from it my kids know to quietly back off from an upset dog. It’s not just growling it’s body language too.

It’s really not true to say breaking the skin means it’s not playing- puppies literally learn their bite, how strong they are, what is okay and not okay, they aren’t born with this knowledge.

My Lab definitely broke both mine & husband’s skin playing when he was a puppy. With time, patience & training he’s now a perfectly well rounded and well behaved adult dog.