I have posted once before about this - a few years ago now but I can't find the post. Basically we now have a ten year old golden cocker and four children - he has bitten a couple of times usually when on his bed and a child has approached him suddenly, once was me on my hand when I tried to retrieve a barbie he'd stolen from my little girl, anyway he was checked over by a vet and found to be on good health although since then he's developed warty lumps all over (vet says harmless cysts due to age) and he has an ongoing anal gland problem which does irritate him but again it's all being treated by the vet (regular empty and inserted antibiotics into gland sacs) yesterday though my 14yr old daughter was sat on the floor next to his bed watching TV and she bent down to kiss his head and he bit her right in the face, around her eye and broken the skin! It's bruised the eye she has obvious teeth marks and it has swollen up. Of course now I'm thinking how stupid we were to give him chance after chance ... my concern is that my 5 year old daughter has ASD she is very physical around the dog and she often crawls into his bed with him - he's been pretty tolerant so the worry is he showed no signs before biting anyone. We live in an open plan house there is no way I can separate him from the family and even if I could he has major anxiety and would whine and howl until he was in the same room as us. Back to the vet tomorrow obviously but I'm torn.. Kids have to come first in this case, and I'm not sure what rescue would rehome such an old doggy with history like his? Kids would be devastated if we had him put down but I'm running out if options here...

Admin Edit: original post can be located HERE

There are so many reasons why a dog becomes reactive like this, sometimes temperament, other times the way he has been raised and the situations he has been put in.

Firstly, very sorry that your daughter has been hurt, fully understand your upset I would be mortified if any dog I owned bit, but in not being there, it's hard to say why he did such a thing, whether something triggered it or not, for him obviously something did.

For me, I would be telling my children to just not go near the dog, why risk it at all?  Also not to disturb him ever in his bed and to definitely keep your 5 year old right away from him, no going in his bed at all, or rushing up to him hugging him, many dogs would not like a child getting in their bed, especially an excitable one, most would get out and move away, but some may bite, yours bites so keep the children away, our Cockers at 10 years are not old at all, most still look like teenagers and act that way........ but I know some are old at that age, I've often been shocked how old some do look and act with grey hairs etc.

Treat yours like an oldie, be kind but leave him be, dogs need respect too, this one is obviously bothered and reacts sometimes. :-( Not great but this is how your dog is.

It would be unfair for him to be re-homed at this age, although in saying that he may thrive in a home without children, no surprises, no worries, although if this is a temperament issue and it could be, may not be of any fault to you, some dogs do have rotten temperaments and that is down to breeding, if he only bites when disturbed in his bed which has been 2 of the times he's bitten, just avoid that, he wants to be left alone, so leave him alone.......

Just a thought........ but, he may like his own den, an open crate to come and go in at his own leisure, with his bed and things in, that way he will feel more protected when in there and also your children will not be in reach if they happen to sit next to a crate.

Whatever his reasons for biting and tbf a behaviourist or one of us may see straight away why he bites, the fact is if it becomes more regular and the damage is done, in the long run he may need to be pts as of course if you are all now going to do your best to give him respect and he continues to bite (without warning) your children come first, of course they do.

I'd try the crate first though some protection for everyone. :-)

Thanks, it's a tough one isn't it? He is a very stressful dog, always has had separation anxiety which we control well now with DAP and basically he is never left alone ever as he is destructive, he comes on the school run sits in the car when we shop etc and if I'm working he is left with my mum for the day - however she has my sister and her two young children living with her - they are 4 and 9 so obviously he poses a risk to them too... If he ever bit one of them my brother in law would march him to the vet without a second thought anyway ... I don't blame him either, our cocker killed their chickens last year and we all came to blows about that never mind this! I do have a crate for him but he hates it! He was put in it once at our old house and when I came back he'd ripped up the kitchen Lino through the cage and broken several teeth trying to get out, he had pooed and weed and was in such a mess, now if he sees the crate he won't go near it :-(

I'm sorry your daughter has been hurt by your dog, but I can't help feeling you are expecting too much of him.    You have stated that he has anal gland problems requiring emptying and antibiotics inserted,  so it's possible that he is often in pain, and there's now way of knowing how much.   Dogs are really good at hiding pain.    Yet he is expected to be pleasant at all times.    I doubt you would expect a human to never be short tempered if they were in pain? 

My own dogs are of the opposite temperament,  soppy as you could wish, and have never given any cause for concern.   Yet there is still a rule, that no-one disturbs the dogs when they are asleep, except by calling them.   If they are on their beds they aren't bothered at all.    We would certainly not kiss one of them on the head whilst they are sleeping.    Not because we are afraid of what they might do, but out of respect for their space and security.    I feel that a dog should at the very least be able to completely relax when asleep and not have to put up with sudden disturbances.

And interestingly, they don't disturb each other when asleep either!    So I can't help thinking that we are doing the right thing.  ;-)

Clearly your dog is uncomfortable with what your children have been doing and has used a dramatic way of objecting.   Perhaps if there were fewer unpredictable actions towards him, then he will be less reactive towards his humans?

For your dog's sake, and your children's, please take stock of how much you are expecting of  him.   He is clearly uncomfortable with things as they are.    At the very least, he should have a safe place to sleep where he won't be disturbed.   The above suggestion of a crate where he can feel safe and where your daughter can't disturb him, is a really good one, but it takes time to train a dog to the crate.    Just shutting them in and leaving them there is not the best way to introduce it.    It needs to be a place of safety, not confinement.

All I expect from him is not to bite my child in the face. He's respected believe me and we do teach the children to respect him when he's in his bed however I have a daughter with Autism who is unpredictable and can be non verbal at times, she has a condition that doesn't understand social boundaries and this includes dogs I'm afraid  this is not something I can change.

It seems the dog has put up with a fair bit of tormenting and has been stopped from growling.     The result, I'm afraid is a dog who isn't respected and is reacting accordingly :-(

Please start listening to your dog.   He will be trying to let you know he's uncomfortable, but as he has been stopped from growling,  he now has to snap - which is likely what happened to your 14 yo.    If he'd really meant harm,  she would need surgery.

I have to agree I'm afraid - you said on the other post you've always told him off for growling, so although you understand that now, the damage has already been done and his early warning system has been removed.  This by its nature makes him unpredictable.

He often reacts to his head being touched or kissed - touching the top of a dog's head, especially one with stress/aggression issues already in place, is a very threatening thing so tbh, it doesn't surprise me at all that he's reacted the way he has.

If you cannot stop your daughter being so physical with him - and I do understand why that is a problem - then honestly, I would consider rehoming him to a childless home.  They do exist and age should not be a barrier - a friend of mine has just helped rehome a fat 11yr old cockerXcav, she is now super happy with her new owner and is doted on.  So it is possible although yes, the aggression may make it harder - but as it's a known quantity (i.e. you know his triggers) that should make it a bit easier.

Otherwise I would look at managing the situation so that this sort of thing CANNOT happen: safety gates, bolts on doors out of child reach, that sort of thing.  Essentially make sure that the kids and the dog do not meet unless you can be absolutely sure you can prevent anything from happening.  Otherwise, if the things that upset him continue to happen, his aggression is only going to get worse as the warnings he is using now - snapping, small bites - will escalate as they get ignored, just as he escalated from growling to snapping when the growling was ignored/punished.

He was put in it once at our old house and when I came back he'd ripped up the kitchen Lino through the cage and broken several teeth trying to get out, he had pooed and weed and was in such a mess, now if he sees the crate he won't go near it

:-D I wouldn't go near it either......... imagine being locked in a crate when you never have been, I'd dig my way out too. ;-)

As has already been said, you have to slowly entice, slowly make it a good place, and never close that door, he does not need containment, he needs a den.

What is his favourite food?  Pop the crate out, and leave that door open, then scatter a couple of pieces of something you know he would wolf down, walk away, let him go in, let him eat and then come out..... continue.......  after 3 days move his bed in there with some more treats, never closing that door, move his toys in and hopefully depending on how quickly he learns, he'll be comfortable, it may take longer, the children are never to put their heads in or stroke him in there, it's his place only, you can also put a cover just over the top to make it more den like for him.

Please try it, so that you can all be safe. :-)

he has bitten a couple of times usually when on his bed and a child has approached him suddenly
yesterday though my 14yr old daughter was sat on the floor next to his bed watching TV and she bent down to kiss his head and he bit her right in the face

If the main problem is when he is on his bed stopping the kids getting near his bed would be my choice I'd think. I'd use a large puppy pen and pen off areas of the rooms so he can relax in his bed in peace and both the kids and dog dog will be safe from each other and he won't be shut away so hopefully he won't get stressed.

To me sounds more like the problems are coming from the human side, I'd say if you can't keep the children to stay away from him around his bed some how maby seeing if an older home would be willing to take him on.

I do feel really sorry for this dog, he's been stopped from warning and may often be in pain and have children pestering him.

That said personally I think humans always have to come first. I would not risk a child being scarred for life. This dog has bitten several times now, ok, we can all see with provocation, but still he has bitten. I would put him to sleep and not get another dog until I could be sure the children were able to respect a dogs boundaries.

I would not consider rehoming a dog that had bitten adult and child, you're just passing the problem over to someone else and rescues are overflowing with good natured dogs to rehome.

His bed is his and he goes there to feel safe. It's wrong to let children disturb him. If you had an open fire you'd make sure the children couldn't go near it so I see no difference in this case and even your child with ASD must be stopped from annoying him.

"That said personally I think humans always have to come first. I would not risk a child being scarred for life. This dog has bitten several times now, ok, we can all see with provocation, but still he has bitten. I would put him to sleep and not get another dog until I could be sure the children were able to respect a dogs boundaries."

Totally agree with the above comment. Regardless of the circumstances, the humans within this family need protecting from an unpredictable dog. So long as lessons are learned for the future, then i agree, dog should be PTS unfortunately.

I am another one who thinks that if this poor dog cannot be protected from the children it lives with then the kindest thing is PTS. The dog must be living a very stressful life and if it isn't possible to separate children from dog on a reliable basis then it's just an accident waiting to happen. I don't think it's wise to rehome the dog even to a home with no children as you never know when a child might be around on a walk, if the dog accidentally escaped or an unexpected child visited the home.

To avoid more stress for the dog and the possibility of a disasterous outcome PTS would seem to be the kindest option.

Bottom line..if you can't separate this dog from your children then he must go.

In your original post you mentioned that he could go to your mother.  Is this still an option?

Thankyou for all posts, advice although hard to read at times has been taken on board and I fully accept responsibility for all that has happened. I'm afraid after talking things through with my vet my beautiful boy has been put to sleep this afternoon. I am absolutely gutted, the grief and guilt is like nothing else and I now have to break the news to my children who love and adored him. I'm so so sad and I will not be getting another dog for many years - this is an outcome that saddens me so much.

Take comfort in the fact that you saved him from doing the unthinkable.
You acted responsibly for all of your family, dog and all.

>This dog has bitten several times now, ok, we can all see with provocation, but still he has bitten. I would put him to sleep and not get another dog until I could be sure the children were able to respect a dogs boundaries.<br />

Sadly I agree, there are worse things than death, better than living a life of stress (no matter what the cause), in a stressful environment where everyone  is tense, and possibly pain

A sad outcome but I honestly believe it was the responsible thing to do for the sake of all involved and not least for your dog. Run free fella.

Really do feel for you but I think you have done the best thing you could for your boy and given him peace.

How very sad for all concerned.  However, as others have said I think in the end you have done the right thing for your family and ultimately for your poor boy too.  He is now free from stress and pain and your children are safe, which is as it should be.

I'm sorry for the loss of your boy :( , I just wanted to add that I feel you have tried so please don't feel bad, you have had the dogs and childrens' interests at heart and when you have a child that may not understand or carry out every instruction you ask it has to be very hard.
Thinking of you and your family xxx

>this is an outcome that saddens me so much.

{{{{  HUGS  }}}}

You have my very deep sympathy and admiration for your courage in doing this very hard and terrible but right thing - so sorry for you all. x

Yes echo what Lucy has said so sorry

You have made absolutely the right decision, don't ever doubt that. I do know how hard it is, as we had to make the same heartbreaking decision when our beloved lab became unpredictable six years ago. It is difficult beyond words, but you have had the courage to do the right thing for the safety of your family. x

So sorry to hear this...it must be devastating, though I sadly agree it was the right thing to do.

There are some situations that some dogs can't cope with, and perhaps it would be best for you to not ask another dog to have to deal with it. I hope that doesn't come across as unfeeling, I know how heartbreaking it is, but if a dog cannot be guaranteed to be kept safe from children, as well as vice versa, then it has the potential for harm to one or both and that's not fair on anybody.