Dog bite, advice needed please …

[Skittles456]

Today my 18 month old dog has bitten my teenage daughter on the face. The bite mark is superficial but a bite to the face nonetheless.

Our dog had taken its bone into the living room, and had fallen asleep with bone tucked behind them, our teenage has come along, the dog had woken up, our teenager has sat beside the dog to stroke them and then when they’ve gone to stroke the dog a second time they have nipped at our teenaged face. Puncturing the skin.

For background when we had the dog as a puppy it did display some signs of food aggression which we thought we had dealt with as we haven’t see any signs of this for a very long time.

It’s a collie cross breed and generally a very affectionate and friendly dog. The only explanation we have is that it was being protective over the bone.

We never give big treats that they’ve had opportunity to become possessive or protective over before but a visiting family member brought it last week as a gift for the dog.

We have told the dog off immediately after the bite and put them in the safe space we use when we go out.

What I’d like to know is if anyone has experience of keeping their dog after it’s bitten and there being a successful outcome , where the dog hasn’t bitten again?

You need to ensure your dog has a safe space to eat large treats like bones and they are removed (without the dog noticing) when you decide they need to go away.

Telling the dog off will make them feel they need to guard further, so please don’t do this again.

Take daughter to hospital and dog to vet (maybe never to return or leave).

Youve learnt your lesson,as has your daughter. Dont mess with the dog. And dont get a dog that you dont understand.

Thank you for the helpful advice

I wouldn't hold this against the dog tbh. Maybe a session with a decent behaviourist to teach the dog a safe space to enjoy valuables and to teach your daughter to let sleeping dogs lie and to read the signs. It won't have just jumped to a bite there will have been a warning she didn't pick up on beforehand.

I feel that our dog has acted instinctively and that we are to blame for allowing the bone to in and around the house, and as such we weren’t vigilant enough to notice the dog had it where it was.

I don’t think it would be ethically fair to end the dots life for it acting like a dog. Not excusing the bite at all, we are obviously devastated this has happened.

My post is asking for advice from people to guage if they’ve been able to keep their dog safely and successfully at home - as part of the family.

You could have just scrolled on!

After her first real bone and her behaviour our ddog never had another one.
Fake chews all the way.
At 18 months I wouldn't hold it against ddog.
And tbh some ddogs def don't appreciate being disturbed whilst asleep.
A lesson learned for dc.

your dog would have warned your teen at the first stroke, but the teen didn’t notice.
The warning may have been subtle to a human:
a turn of the head,
stiffening of the face and/or body
stillness
curl of the lip
showing white of the eye
a quick lick

Learn up as much as you can on canine body language.

Ensure your dog always has a safe space to eat where they are undisturbed.

If your dog is given a similar gift, explain why they can’t have it, or thank the giver and put it straight into the bin.

I think you maybe right! I don’t think my daughter would have taken notice of the slight warnings the dog may have given. Especially if there were only subtle body langue changes. This happened so fast.

You child needs treatment for the bite, when I was bitten by a dog I needed to have a week of antibiotics and a tetanus jab. Seek medical help for the bite over the weekend. Animal bites can get infected quickly.

Once a dog has bitten it is in their psyche. Look after your child and family first. Ask your vet for an honest opinion and do not put your sympathy for the dog ahead of what the vet advises.

What tosh...your ddog hasn't got a taste for blood either op.

Thank you, we have already visited minor injuries and had the cuts cleaned and antibiotics given. Tetanus was up to date from the age 14 booster.

Sorry I’m a little confused , I don’t understand what you mean with your post

I have a resource guarding collie x as well
She's also part cardigan corgi so another breed known for resource guarding, we have to ban all high value treats.
Even training treats are only kept in the car for walks, she's fine if not in the house.

Telling off the dog won't help
You need to remove all items she guards

How is your daughter feeling about the dog at the moment?
She needs to be your priority
Is she comfortable with the dog remaining in the house.

There will definitely never be another real bone in this house. We’ve never had an issue with the chewy treats or her toys so we are definitely hoping the bone was the catalyst here but we are concerned around the risk of it happening again.

We’ll be taking the advice and speaking to our vet and a behavioural expert in the morning.

Yes, so the dogs safe space while we are out is the unity room next to our kitchen so we left the dog there while we were at minor injuries and had a family chat. My daughter is upset , partly due to the fright of the bite and because she is feeling responsible for the dog actions. We have reassured her that she’s not at ‘fault’ however there may be ways she can be more respectful to the dogs space , ie calling the dog over instead of approaching to give the dog choices etc.

DD isn’t frightened of the dog nor does she want the dog to be rehomed.

We’ve let the dog back in now, as normal, as if we’d returned from being out for a few hours.

The bone has been binned and the dog acted sheepish for a couple of mins but right now it’s like nothing has ever happened.

All our children are teenagers so it easier, in theory, for them to respect the dogs boundaries. However I’m also now not sure if my anxieties will give off bad energy for the dog also. We love the dog but are so torn the best way to move forward.

If you are all on the same page it's not impossible to keep the dog

Fining a good behaviourist is the best thing now and working with them as a family
Make sure the teens are included so they know what to do

Also going back to basics with training
Practice recalling the dog in the house, sending them to their bed or place.
Things you can use if they get hold of something they shouldn't have to avoid another bite.

Im on my 5th Cardigan corgi none have ever resource guarded. Mine all came from very reputable breeders and no one ever mentioned resource guarding as a known trait. Pembroke's may be more prone to it.
Cardigans shed like nothing on this earth are very prone to barking and air snapping when excited and are untrustworthy around livestock but not resource guarding.

People who are fond of a breed often gloss over unfavorable behaviours or health issues due to the love of the breed when speaking about them.

Op is however talking about a collie mix of which my bitch is also part collie only my dog is pedigree

It's brilliant your cardi's have never exhibited this behaviour, my dog never has either but unfortunately knowing quite a few other owners and breeders it's a problem that crops up quite often

Yes the amount of shedding is maddening, thankfully both of mine are bomb proof with livestock

I don’t think this is a PTS situation @Skittles456 From your posts everyone seems to recognise that the dog’s signals weren’t picked up on first time, I think every dog owner is guilty of that at some point or another. I think we can also all agree that some teenagers see dogs as comfort blankets - they come in from a bad day at school/work/etc & head straight for the dog & some comfort. Going forward I would keep a close eye on the dog, maybe time for a vet check (just in case), reinforce the need for DDog to have its own space & the need to ‘read the room’ before going in for strokes & love. I’d also consider a consultation with a behaviourist, just to iron out any problems, & not a criticism, but is your dog getting enough exercise & intellectual stimulation? Collies need a lot of both, otherwise boredom & bad behaviour can set in quickly (And I mean no judgement with that question 💐).

If your DD woke the dog, it might be sleep startle. This article says is more common in street dogs, greyhounds and stressed dogs. Ours is none of these but gets it if woken suddenly.
https://www.battersea.org.uk/pet-advice/dog-advice/sleep-startle-dogs

🤣 there’s always one that’s theatrical!

The dog was possessive of its bone and he’s snapped, that’s it. The dog didn’t eat the teen🙄

The real bone was the catalyst, the dog was fast asleep and your daughter didn't then pick up on the signs. She's learned a valuable lesson about other creatures.

I am very fond of the breed I’ve owned them for 30+ years including when my children were small. I’m not glossing over unfavourable behaviours or health issues; I am for example am exceedingly aware of back issues in cardigan corgis although touch wood have not experienced this myself. Mine aren’t big barkers but I know they can be. Personally I think few dogs are “bombproof” around livestock, cardigans are herding dogs so they are unlikely to be uninterested. Having said this one of mine was raised on a sheep farm and appears uninterested but as Im surrounded by livestock where I live I just wouldn’t risk it.
I’ve owned 5 cardigans all from different breeders, they arrived with me at different ages from 9 weeks old to 3 years old 2 bitches 3 dogs none were closely related. I’ve never experienced resource guarding in any of my cardigans and I don’t think it’s because I’m an amazing trainer because I’m not. In fact I have owned another breed that is also known to be prone to resource guarding and he did resource guard a tiny bit especially as he aged and his sight failed.
I’m amazed that you know “quite a few owners/breeders” approximately 100 are born every year making them a rare breed in 30 years apart from the breeders I’ve bought mine from I’ve only ever met 2 other cardigans and their owners one of those was in France and one in Wales.
Im slightly concerned that you say this is a common problem I’m frequently asked about mine as most people have no idea what they are and common questions are how easy they are to train? I think being food orientated they are easy to train and are they good family dogs to which I also always reply yes as they were fabulous with my children when they were little. I’m now wondering if I’m wrong.