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?

Thank you

Oh good, glad it's not just mine that occasionally drew blood, ruddy needle-toothed crocodile that she was (she is quite well-behaved now that she has her adult teeth).

Was the owner with the dog in the room where the child went, or was it alone in there and the child went in?

I'm not a dog person at all, so I may be wrong, but if it were me I would think this was a failure of the humans, not the dog. It's a young dog, so won't be fully trained yet. It's had a load of unknown people come into it's home, it's expressed unhappiness about that with the growling and has been (reluctantly, which was the first mistake - they've had the dog 5 minutes, they don't know 'he won't xyz') put away from the 'invaders'. Then one of the 'invaders' has entered the even smaller area of home that the dog has been put into, which will have felt like even more of a trespass to the dog.

Whoever was supervising the dog, and whoever was supervising the child are both at fault here. The dog did everything it could to tell the new people to back off out of its space, and when it was effectively backed into a corner it's bitten, but not hurt, which is incredibly lucky that it showed that much restraint.

Ok possibly not aggressively biting by your definition then. But I know it wasn't a 'nip' either.

I take your point about letting her in the room. I guess I trusted the owner that the dog wasn't like that. But perhaps I was wrong. I will learn

It's a puppy and they do nip.

No didn't break skin.

Don't know if it would have done it no one had been there to stop it

It wasn’t a nip. It was growling and bit.

I think this is a very badly handled situation from the owners, the dog was stressed and communicating that, they unfortunately ignored that

I agree with others that the dog has held back in his bite which is a good sign. Ours was super bitey as a pup and it drove us insane, it often didn’t seem playful either. Thankfully we’re through the worst of it now but we wouldn’t have put family members (especially kids!) in a situation where he could’ve bitten them

I think overall the owners need to do better and if they don’t then you will have to work around that. I’m glad your little one is ok, it of course must’ve been frightening for her

Thanks

If your daughter was unharmed, then it really wasn’t more than a nip or play.

The owner is probably right, it’s not an aggressive dog, but it is a puppy and as all puppies do they bite, they mouth, they don’t have arms and legs like us to explore and discover things- they only have their mouths. They learn as they grow up what is okay to grab with their mouths and what isn’t, and how hard.

It wasn't the dog's home but a home where the dog is looked after sometimes so he is familiar with the home.
Yes the owner was with him.

No mention of it’s breed.

That would have an impact .

A well mannered well socialised puppy
with a good temperament wouldn’t growl and bite.

It sounds fearful and neurotic.

Lots of back yard breeders out there who don’t care about temperament just moolah 💰 , Or early socialisation with getting young pups used to humans of all types.

Definitely not just yours! I looked like I was living with a vampire for the first few months with my dog, he was an absolute crocodile and those puppy teeth easily cut and draw blood!

He’s 3 now and perfect, never a bite and never a worry he would bite, but wow when he was a puppy and especially when he was excited nothing and nobody was safe😂

This really wasn't play

Border collie

Possibly is fearful and neurotic?

Apparently had never acted like this before

Okay, you've said that several times now.

So what do you think should happen? What consequences should the dog face?

The dog was put in another room of the house it lives in. The child who he hasn't met before should never have entered the room unaccompanied by the owner.

Hope your child is ok and I feel sorry for the dog who has an owner who doesn't understand dog behaviour.

I have six dogs, sometimes babe more as I look after family dogs when people are on holiday or away for the day etc. I would never put any of my dogs on a position like this.

My collie used to nip and bite us and dc when excited and wound up as a puppy. He was probably around 8 months old or so when he stopped and realised it wasn't appropriate. He grew up to be a perfectly well rounded dog. My nans collie never stopped mouthing his entire life, he never meant it aggressively and he never broke the skin.

As a collie they can be quite vocal dogs. They do get wound up and anxious as well.

Having lots of new people, dogs and kids this pup didn't know was a recipe for something going wrong.

Collies can be nippy. They also need a lot of exercise. If they're not getting enough exercise they get irritable

Ok with the breed info there is a further possible explanation.
Border collie traits include using their mouth to move sheep - therefore movement of people/cars/bikes/aninals can trigger a dart in and nip in an untrained young dog. They are obviously bred to do no damage but it is a base instinct which unharnessed crops up in unsuitable circumstances. It’s a trait which needs harnessing and another reason they should consult a trainer to assess the dog. Internet guesswork is not a suitable substitute for experienced eyes

In that case I think the owner should have had hold of the dog if the child (or any of the new people) needed to come into the room. Did they know the child was coming in / have chance to react or did the child just walk in and the dog bit instantly, before anyone could have reacted? I suppose I'm asking if they were being a bit like 'my dog would never, so I shan't take any precautions'.

It was at most a 6 month old puppy that nipped. I hope to God you don't have dogs.

I think the fact that the dog was put in another room to have some space because it was stressed by all the people and then your DD went into that room led to things going wrong.

If the dog is 5mos it is still a puppy and I agree with other posters saying if DD is ok and it isn't a bad bite (?) then it was more puppy biting than anything more.

Don't let it turn into a thing where she is afraid of all dogs.

Situation def sounds mis-handled...

Sorry-just to add I see it didn't break the skin.
Puppies have razor sharp teeth and can easily break the skin playing-missing a toy and getting a finger whilst tugging etc.

So it really can't be that much of a bite-not to minimise but not sure what you want @purpleme12

You seem determined to make it a scenario when the dog was aggressive?

So what would be the best thing to do next with the dog?
I mean what I'm asking is how would you train this out of him/make sure it doesn't happen again?
(If that is what people are saying?)

I mean would you be able to make sure he is able to cope next time? Or is it just that he might get overwhelmed and growl each time and so have the same thing each time?

Ah collies can be very lovely dogs, but dogs that need knowledgeable, careful handling. May I ask why your child went into the room after the dog had been put away there to try and settle it?! This is a human error - yours to be frank. The dog owner had been responsible and removed the dog and your child is your responsibility. I'd chalk this one up to experience and perhaps do a bit of research into dog behaviour.