Dog bite or scratch?

[CoffeePleaseBlack]

Hope you can help. This photo is on my toddler’s hip. My mum took her to a party with some dogs (wasn’t a kid party just adults lunch get together with a few other kids there).

my mum says a dog just jumped up at her but my toddler is saying the dog bit her?! Then saying he ‘jumped up’.
really not sure what this looks like? I feel awful how much pain she must have been in.

she is fine in herself but I still feel so guilty. Do you think mum is lying or was this likely just a dog jumping up?

I tink scratch and a swollen area around it. Little kids have more sensitive skin than adults so it looks worse. I'm not commenting on any other part because you didn't ask for it 😊

@DallasMajor
A lie is a false statement made with the intent to deceive, the toddler isn't trying to get the dog put down, there is no intent, it is what the child thinks happened.

This isn't the Supreme Court. A child saying a dog bit it is usually a one way ticket to that dog being PTS. It doesn't matter what the child's intent is, a lie is a lie.

I won't engage with you anymore, as you clearly think it's okay for parents to not correct their child when their child lies - no matter how young the child is.

I have to say, even at 18 months my children knew not to lie about what had happened with our dogs. Why? Because they were taught not to lie about dog related incidents because it is serious.

No, I don't think the child is lying.

And frankly it is terrifying that this is the main issue you have with this situation.

I can't believe that anyone would call a small child a liar - they are little and trying to explain something scary that happened to them using the best words they can. The people who should be able to explain are the adults who were in charge of the child and the dog. They should have been supervising closely enough to see what happened.

This morning

Typical MN yet again. All I was asking was opinion on the photo, not bashing my parenting ! I’m 37 weeks pregnant and my mother (who I trust!) offered to take her to a close friend of hers for a party where other children would be present as a 1 hour break for me! To even bring negligence into this just typical.

If you don’t have anything nice or constructive to say PLEASE respectfully leave my post or don’t comment at all.

How is it the main issue?! When have I said that? All I wanted was an opinion on the photo as I don’t know dog marks well enough.

@CoffeePleaseBlack if you trust your mother, and your mother says it's not a bite...then you should trust that.

And then you should address your child saying it was a bite, when the adult said it wasn't.

FWIW if it had been a bite, and the dog had jumped up (as your child claimed), then your child would have ended up in A&E with a far bigger injury.

@DallasMajor is saying she's shocked my issue is with your child lying (she's on your 'side' - not that there are any).

My issue is the grandparent said there was no bite, just a scratch, and you don't believe them but instead believe a toddler...which is just bonkers given even in the short amount you've posted your child has changed their mind over what happened twice!

This was not at you at all- I took offence to @TheHungryHungryLandsharks calling your child a liar. I think it is dreadful that they want you to discipline your child, when they are not at fault at all.

You are listening and supporting your child as good mother would.

Of course you trust your mum, but she does need reminding that even dogs that are usually calm can react differently around a toddler.

FWIW if it had been a bite, and the dog had jumped up (as your child claimed), then your child would have ended up in A&E with a far bigger injury.

This is rubbish, dogs can and do nip, which is still using their teeth.

I don't think anyone can say if it was a bite or a scratch with any certainty.

It looks sore, I'm sorry this has happened as it is a worry.

I work as a dog trainer so unfortunately have a bit more experience than I'd like at seeing dog bites and scratches. Obviously can't say definitively, but to me that does look more like a scratch. On such a small human a bite would be more likely to have two or more points of contact (if you think about biting down on an apple - there would be upper and lower bite marks with a gap in between). This looks more like one central mark which suggests scratch to me. Dog claws can leave a really nasty mark especially on delicate skin

To me it looks more like a bite - but it kind of depends on what size of dog as well.

For what it’s worth though, I doubt anyone is lying - it’s real easy to miss a quick nip happening if a dog is jumping up as well and toddlers aren’t the best describers. So it could be either and one of them just doesn’t knows

My DD once insisted a mouse bit her… it was a soft toy with no teeth 😂 it had given her a wee static shock though and that was the best description she could come up with.

I would say a bite @CoffeePleaseBlack given how bruised it looks. My grandson was bitten by a dog last year and it looked similar. He didn’t get a tetanus as it bled and was superficial rather than a puncture but it was still a bite. I hope the owner is ashamed and your mum also going to be more vigilant in future when your child is near any dogs.