Exactly :(

Does anyone know of a suitable place and phone number who might be able to give advice or rehome this dog to somewhere that it will pose no risk? I'm very much of a mind to have her PTS but in the interest of fairness I would like to explore all avenues first. All your help has been so much appreciated and I thank you all for not lambasting me for this accident. I am only too aware of the bad name Rotties already have and the high emotion that this type of thing brings with it.

Rottweiler Welfare Association
Mr Colborne 0208 3104422
Miss Goodchild 0208 5930976
Mrs Davies 0208 7641797

Or:

Hon. Secretary
Debbie Ralph
Email : rott.welfare@ukonline.co.uk
Webmaster
Tom Rigby
Email : tomain@btinternet.com

web.ukonline.co.uk/rott.welfare/

I have only ever met lovely, friendly rotties and have always felt their 'bad name' was undeserved.  I have no idea what I would do but would certainly explore all avenues before taking drastic action.  This must be so very hard for you and I can only say I am thinking of you.
Best wishes
Alex

Trouble is A dog is after all an animal and will react to certain circumstances this is such a sad sad thing I feel so much for the owner
I send my best wishes and hope to goodness they have the strengh to do what has to be done  ;( so sad

cams472
I'm SO glad you are willing to explore other solutions - whatever you eventually decide at least you will have the comfort of knowing that you didn't make your decision hastily and without a lot of thought.
Best wishes

Joyce,

I'm afraid that 'considering other options' is merely lengthening a painful but necessary decision.

In this case I feel that cams472 has acted blamelessly so far. If this were my dog, and she was rehomed or retrained and then bite again I would feel completely responsible.

Havoc
That may be your opinion but it isn't mine.  In a home without children and, if the new owners are made aware of what's happened, it is quite likely that such an incident will not be repeated.  I know there are no guarantees but that applies to most things in life.
If humans were denied forgiveness and second chances, not many of us would still be around.
Personally I don't think these circumstances warrant a death sentence.

In my opinion re-homing the dog would be extremely irresponsible.  After all, what do you say to a prospective owner?  Good temperament except the time she severed the finger of a five year old boy??!!  Think about this realistically, how long would that dog have to spend in kennels, assuming the "right" home could even be found?
Dawn.

The child will probably be terrified of dogs for the rest of it's life. When i was about five i was also bitten by our boarder collie. My dad was washing the car on the drive and penny was eating his dinner round the back i went over and stroked him and he growled i did'nt know any better and thought it was funny so kept doing it. Penny suddenly turned round and bit my arm, i had to go to hospital and Penny was PTS. Ever since that day right into my 20's i was scared to death of dogs, i used to cross the road to avoid them even if they were on a lead with their owners. It's different though now that i have Maisie although even when we first got her and she had a little growl i backed away from her. She's my baby now though and i play fight with her growling her little head off, i trust her with me. She's been good for me, when were out i now stroke all kinds of dogs and don't have to cross the road any more. If we had'nt got Maisie i'd probably still be the same though.

I did a similar silly thing when I was little! I ignored our dog's warning growl when I was combing out tangles from his 'trousers' and so he nipped me - enough to break the skin. I cried and my mum slapped me for being so silly and not listening to what the dog was telling me! I learned a valuable lesson that day - that dogs have feelings too!
:)

JG,

I agree with you totally.  My sister was nipped by my aunt's GSD x GR x IS because she was taunting him.  Sparky lived with my cousins who were the same age, had never bitten before and he never bit again, unfortuantely he was killed on a road several years later but the first thing that was asked was "What were you doing to the dog".    A number of years later she was bitten by a GSD.  She doesn't particularly like GSD's now but she would never cross the road to keep out the way of one.   She has her own dog too.

Likewise I have been bitten by a Jack Russell & German Shorthaired Pointer but I have 4 dogs of my own!  

I feel so sorry for you, but at the end of the day speaking as a mother, my gut instinct would be to put the dog to sleep. The parents of this child must be in despair, and the child will probably develope a life long fear of dogs. You sound very sensible and i know you would not want this to happen to another child. Before i had a child i would of said please don't put the dog to sleep, but when you have a child everything is so different and all you want to do is protect them the best you can. All the best.

I feel very sorry for you but at the end of the day my gut instinct as a mother would be to have the dog put to sleep. The parents of this child must be in despair. They are going to have to watch there child go through so much pain with surgery, and the child will probably develope a life long fear of dogs. Before i had a child i would of said please don't put this dog to sleep, but when you have got children you would do anything to protect them. You sound a very sensible person and i am sure you would not want this to happen to another child. All the best.

Someone said "if it was my dog,it would be gone by now" How can somebody that loves their dogs say such a horrible,heartless thing??

If this had happened with one of my dogs and the authorities were threatening to put it down,i would be running for the hills with my dog,i would never let anyone take them from me no matter what!

I used to have rotties which is why this posts cuts so deep,they are such a misunderstood breed who needs a firm,experienced owner.

Cam you are absolutely doing the right thing in trying to re-home this dog if you feel you cant re-train her yourself.

"Live and let live"

michelled - totally agree with what you have said. 

It is a tragic accident, the dog was defending itself in the only way it knows.  I would not let your friend influence your decision, at the end of the day you were being the responsible owner by keeping your dog apart from the young children and it was the child who let it out and the child who fell on it.  It is no-ones fault, not yours, the dogs, or the childs.  It was an accident , if the dog was really aggresive and wanted to attack it would have done a hell of a lot more damage than this. 

Please give the poor dog chance, I know you will never trust it round children again so rehome it to someone without kids. 

I know it must be an absolutely heartbreaking situation to be in and I cannot think of anything worse,  give yourself time to think properly explore other options ie contact the rescue sites listed below. 

Just to add - if this dog had attacked totally out of the blue without any reason - then no i certainly would not recommend that anyone tolerates that behaviour. 

The one thing that strikes me is that no-one saw what happened.

Would it be seen differently if the child had been teasing the dog, or had raised a hand to get the dog to bark or react?

I always remember the case of a dog who was a gentle GSD who suddenly "turned" on a child, the dog was put to sleep and a post mortem done because the family were shocked at what had happened. A part of a lead pencil was found embedded deep inside the dog's ear which would have caused agony.

I  do agree with Tohme that the dog's bite, lack of inhibition etc is what is important and sadly it does seem that the dog has little inhibition. Sadly the dog may have little reason to trust humans if it was a rescue so it may have reacted a bit full on. It may be possible though to rehome the dog to somewhere suitable with complete information.

I do feel that it is not a good idea for us to give advice on here without knowing everything, because I for one would feel quite sick if the situation is not as we think (no offence to the poster) and a dog was put to sleep because of that.

Best wishes with a difficult decision

Lindsay
X

i know this is a dog lovers site but i cannot believe anyone would put a dog before a child!!!!!.it doesnt matter whether or not the child let the dog out and then fell on it.......the child was bitten!!and now faces the trauma of surgery.my dogs have their own room which they go in when we have visitors only because they get overexcited.i cant believe the poster even needs to ask for advice!.and as for my child deserving to get bitten if we visited friends and he fell on their dog .....i'm speechless.

tanni, i totaly totaly agree with you.

I'm with Michelle on this one. I put my dogs behind a gate when visitors call as they are huge and can be intimidating due to their size.
I wouldn't get her PTS simply because she bit out of defence. The child must have told you that they fell/jumped/slipped onto the dog for you to know this as you weren't there!!!!!

The reason I wouldn't PTS is that my partners brother had a dog, who never showed any aggression, that he PTS in haste. The dog, Major, had lived with the kids all his life. He slept on the girls bed at night. There were three kids in the home, twin girls(3yrs) and a boy of 18months, that adored the dog.
One day, while my partner and I were at work we got a call to say Major had bitten one of the girls. She was rushed to hospital and Major was rushed to the vet.
The vet put Major to sleep without question.
Amy had a gash to her head stitched and by the time she came home she was asking for Major.
It turned out Amy had bitten Majors tail. My partners brother 'phoned the vet as major hadn't been taken away yet. The vet found that 1/2inch of the dogs tail was missing and it was an open wound. This happened more than three years ago and the owners still feel guilty about having him PTS. The kids still ask for him as well.
How much has a dog to take before he is entitled to defend himself against an unsupervised child?????
It may teach the 'owners' of the child to take more care when leaving it in someone elses house.

Another example:

Recently I had to have the police break in my door, don't ask, I hadn't just locked myself out.
Although I then got into the house before the police my Bullmastiff bit one of the policemen quite badly.
Two of the police officers were up in arms and wanted Vinnie PTS. The injured Officer wouldn't hear of it as he said Vinnie was 'doing his job'.
The Police were helping me but Vinnie didn't know this and acted 'on instinct'.
Should he have been PTS???????
By the way my Mastiff, Ragga, ran upstairs and hid. She'd be no use if I got burgled!!!!!!!

When my eldest son who is now 7 was 18 months old something similar happened to us.  It was a lunchtime on a very hot June afternoon. I was in the kitchen doing the washing up and the dogs were laid around the kitchen floor trying to keep cool.  Jake who was a collie x was laid in the doorway fast asleep when Sam my son tried to give him a cuddle, which he had always done and there was never any sign of aggression.  To my horror Jake was startled out of his sleep and promptly sunk his teeth not once, but twice as if he was trying to get a better grip into Sam's face.  We were very lucky that he didn't loose his eye, but he still has the scar under his eye as a reminder at just how unpredictable dogs are and has foutunately grown up without a fear of dogs and is the proud owner and carer of a 4 month old GSD pup who he does everything for!!  Jake had been with me for 6.5 years and there was no way he was being pts.  Luckily my ex-husband took him that night and he has lived with him since showing no signs of aggression to children or adults now aged 13.  This was a dog acting on his instinct and having witnessed the whole thing I can understand it.
My thoughts are with you at this sad time and I hope you get things sorted.

Becky

Krys - In my opinion that would not be acceptable.  I dont think that a dog should react in that way just because it has been woken up. 

My argument here is that the dog in question could have been really hurt because a weight actually landed on it at a high impact and this is where the difference is - it may have been defending itself. 

I do not think this incident warrants this dog being PTS especially in view of the fact that no-one will ever know exactly what happened here. 

I agree brigham.  He should not have reacted in this way, but you could see in his eyes that he was very startled by having a child put his whole weight on him for a cuddle and not being very responses he may have thoguth it was one of the others trying it on. Who knows!!  But I never considered having him pts and I am glad that I never as he has giving my ex years of pleasure and companionship, not that he deserved it mind you.lol

against my better judgement,im going to post again. i wasnt going to say anymore,but im getting more & more upset about this dog being PTS without the full facts been known by ANYBODY.

id just like to add,
why the finger????
if the child fell on the dog why not a arm or the body,
what would a finger be doing to be at risk???? poking,& tormenting

this wasnt a out & out attack,the child wasnt killed or badly pulled apart.& how do we know the dog didnt warn?or try to get away? or was in pain? we DONT know anything.

the police & the vets dont seem to think the dog is a danger,& as we know the police will act even in the most stupid circimstances

we might as well just ban all big and powerfull breeds now & get it overwith like other countries have

cam
Whatever decision you make its you that has to be satisfied that you have done the right thing. If you decide on rescue please be careful .I got my first GSD from a GSD rescue. He was fine...until a man came round to fix the TV.Sabre let him in and layed down while the man did his job....but as he went to leave he bit him severely on the backside.I phoned the rescue and was told...''oh didn't we tell you...hes fine except for men with beards!!''
I am not going to give my opinion as to what you should do....for thats all it is...my opinion
Archer

I feel that there are circumstances here that clearly show that the dog was not aggressive towards the child. There were 2 opportunities for the dog to bite. One when the child approached and opened the child-gate and secondly when they were in the same room together. Even if this was only for a short period of time, the dog could have bitten if it was aggressive. Clearly this was not the case or the child would not have opened the gate or would not have been able to wander off up-stairs.  Suddenly the dog has something descending upon it, albeit by accident, and reacts as a dog would. If you think your dog would not react like this, try jumping on it when it is asleep!   Here we have a dog which had two golden opportunities to bite and did not and only bit the child when it apparently "fell" on it. Don't blame the dog, blame the lack of supervision on behalf of the childs parent and perhaps the dogs owner.

Wouldn't the dog belonging to the OP not hear the child coming down the stairs and wake up?

Mine never fall into a deep sleep when we have visitors - infact, they are never in a deep sleep when we are around and always open their eyes as we walk past. Could this rottie have a hearing problem?

I feel so sorry for you having to make this decision, but only you can.

I had a dog that bit me twice, I forgave the first time thinking perhaps it was my fault as I had startled her.  When it happened again I knew I could not live with a dog that I couldn't trust.

She was well bred and I can't tell you how grateful I was for the support of the breeder. I will always remember her saying to me .......think about the quality of life you are BOTH going to have.  You will never trust her in public, you will never enjoy long walks together again and you will have to live for another ten years or so with a dog you can't trust.  You have a dog for companionship and you should bring pleasure to each other.  This breeder even offered me a pup free of charge out of her next litter, she was as distraught as I was.

We didn't have children in the house (I think the decision would have been easier if we had) but as hard as it was and reading this brought back just how hard it was, I have never regretted the decision and my next pup was everything a dog should be to me.

We also have to remember this is a large powerful dog who could do a lot of damage if ever it happened again.  You cannot blame the child, but with children in your house you cannot take a chance either, you will forgive yourself a lot quicker for having this dog PTS then you ever would if it happened again.

Thinking of you
Sandra

This is a horrible situation to be in, I am thankful it is not me but it could be any one of us with dogs as we don't know the exact circumstances.

Although the poor child's finger was removed this would not take much effort for a Rottweiller - a quick snap would be sufficient I imagine.  An unrestrained or follow up bite and the child would have been much more seriously damaged.

Has the bitch been taken to the vet to see if she has any damage to her - depending on how far the child fell, tripped or jumped she could have bruising or worse which may give some indication of how much pressure was put on her at the time?

I doubt the rescues would take her, I know most of my breed rescues don't rehome any dog that has bitten anyone

a very valid point made there about getting the bitch checked by the vet, but it still doesnt change that she has bitten and will bite again if the same situation arose which it probally will at some time! and next time it could be far worse
rehoming would be a option but not in anyones interest in my opinion as she could go on to injure someone else and put another  owner through the tremendous heartache you are feeling. or she may end up being used as a guard dog where that type of trait is desirable! but not a nice lifestyle for a already once rescued dog.
If you have the bitches papers i would try and  get someone to contact her breeder they should at least be told.
contact the welfare and see what they have to say but most rescues have a policy on not rehoming aggresive dogs.
I belive having her PTS may be kindest all round although it doesnt make the situation any easier for you.
I love all my dogs dearly but if one of them bit my child there would be no second chances,my dogs have been more than justified to snap at times we have three children who sit on them and pull them about we also have friends with a young baby (8 months) who visit regularly if one of mine is ever hurt there reaction is to retreat not attack!
:(

Why does everyone assume that the dog will bite again? Now that the poster is aware of what could happen surely they can just take precautions to prevent it happening again, i.e. stairgate again and maybe a basket muzzle when visitors are around. The OP has already said that the dog doesn't have any history of aggression (i don't know how old the dog is), but given the situation i think the dog was only acting out of surprise and maybe hurt. As someone has already said, why a finger? If a rottie wanted to do serious damage he would do a lot more biting. A 5 year old's finger is very small and it wouldn't take much jaw power to sever it. It is a rottie after all, who over many years has been bred (but humans) to have a strong bite, just like staffies e.t.c. I  think given the circumstances it would be so unfair to put the dog to sleep. It is not going to help the child, it is not going to mend a broken friendship and it is not going to help the poster at all.
Nobody really knows what happened. It was a tragic accident. What about that poor GSD that has been in the news recently, that has finally had his death sentence removed? He has never shown any aggression since that attack and the owner has been careful. Why should this not be any different?
How old is this dog?
A dog is a decendent of a wolf, created by us. They were wild and just because we have decided they should live with us, this doesn't change that. They have feelings too. As someone has said has it been checked over for injuries poor creature?

I agree with you Lucyandmeg - who says the dog will bite again?  If he has shown no aggression before then this may simply have been an accident - maybe the dog bit in surprise, but has learnt from that. When I say 'learnt' I mean that the dog may now know it did something wrong and hopefully will never react that way again.  Anyone - man or beast strikes out when surprised and hurt - we may regret it afterwards, but it can't be undone.  I know I reacted by smacking one of my children when he hurt me before, and then regretted it afterwards.  What I have learnt from this board is that NO dog can be trusted completely.  No matter what anyone says about their dog would never bite them, most people think that until it happens - the right circumstances just have to be there.

When I was a child, we had a collie who LOVED children, all children.  When she had her pups, she let every child in the street come and cuddle them - all children 'belonged' to her.  One day in the street (dogs were allowed out with no lead, etc then), she was happily playing with all the children, when a man approached one of the girls.  Our dog ran from one end of the street to the man with the little girl and bit him (I don't think it was very badly).  My Mum and Dad had the dog PTS and to this day I think it was the wrong decision.  She was protecting the child in her eyes!

I also know of a dog that bit a child - one bite to the face, resulting in one puncture wound - and has never shown aggression since.  I believe that the hysterical reaction of the child and the parents following the bite caused the dog to realise he mustn't do it whatever the circumstances. I don't think the dog meant to bite hard, but being a child, with soft skin, etc.  To another dog with their fur etc it probably wouldn't have been so bad.

Saying all that, I do not trust any dog 100% and never will, especially with children, but to have a dog destroyed because of one accident is a bit extreme.  Every circumstance is different though and must be judged accordingly.  To anyone who says you would never tolerate a dog that bit even once I can't believe you have much feeling for your dog!

I hope the child makes a good recovery.  One final point to the OP - I think the parents of the child probably feel to have to dog PTS would somehow make them feel better - that they had done something for their child (which I do totally understand), but how would it make you and your children feel?

Best wishes,
Fiona

I on the other hand never trust any child with my dogs from personal experience of other peoples kids hurting my dogs & then lying about doing it(even though I had independant witnesses)

<< we have three children who sit on them and pull them about....>>

This isn't fair to the dogs though surely.

Lindsay
X

I've just got in from my first night back at work and have read through all your posts. One thing that struck me is the number of posters that say "my kids pull our dog about" etc or similar. The whole point of me putting the gates in place in the first place was to avoid this type of thing period. Neighbors and friends children may well pull thier own dogs about and understandably don't realise that they cannot do this with all dogs. We have basket muzzels for use when the dogs are taken outside and a clear notice at the front door that these dogs are inside the house. We are only too well aware of our resposibilities and the precautions taken were not because the dog is aggressive but because we take those resposibilities seriously.
The dog was taken to the vets at the earliest oppertunity, the vet advised us not to make a hasty decision, he examined the dog and she was sat in the waiting room amongst other animals for forty minutes without blinking an eye. The vets opinion was that if this had been a vicious dog then the injurys would have been far worse.
The Crown prosecution service has rejected the case outright.
To the person who said that they can't believe that I have even asked for advise I have this to say ................ I may well have my faults but I am not a man who does things without thinking first. I also like to try and be as fair as I can especialy in a matter as important as this. It is (to my mind anyway) not fair on the dog to have it destroyed without first thinking about how it has behaved in the past and also the circumstances that the bite occured. I have asked for advice in this forum simply because this is a dog loving community and you all obviously care a great deal for your dogs. If you are a person who would willingly drag your dog to the vet to be PTS without a second thought then perhaps dog ownership is not for you!
I am now going to sleep on this and a decision will be taken with my wife tomorrow. I would like to thank all who have offered their help and support. This site and your posts have helped me gain a much clearer perspective on things and I only hope that nothing like this ever happens again to anybody. 

Cams472 even before you stated that you are the sort of person who thinks things through this seemed obvious to me from your posts. Given the circumstances of this incident are as you descibed, coming on here and asking for advice from people with experience of dogs rather than taking a "knee jerk" decision on this is an extremely sensible step to take as far as I'm concerned.

I have also read through all the posts here and it is my opinion that it cannot be said that you have a vicious or dangerous dog as the full circumstances off what actually happened here are unclear.

In your situation I would phone some of the telephone numbers you have been given and explain what happened and then decide what to do.

I can only imagine what you are going through and wish you well in coming to the correct decision.

Very well said Cams472....

It seems as though the other people in your situation have been as sensible as you.

Accidents do happen... :)

I hope your rottie lives a long and happy life.

yep acidents do happen but this wasnt one!! god help the next child! we could go the whole hog and legalise owning lions after all eating people is natural behaviour and the fact they would be domesticated doesnt seem to mean they should change there behaviour.
i feel very sorry for you you have been put in awfull situation and i hope it never happens to me but if it did i would not allow my children to be put at risk any further.
good luck in what ever you decide :)

>>I was really shocked to read the post about Afghans!!!

Well im 26 and my brother is 30, we have both grown up to respect dogs with not a scar between us.  All I can say is we knew our dogs (as much as anyone can predict/know a dogs behaviour) one of our dogs bit when trod on, never savage just one bite - that taught us to stay away from him when he is asleep.  Our other dog was nervy but only bit when threatened, that taught us to allow him his own space and he was muzzled when visitors were there.  He would never bite nastily though, just a nip.

I cant say what to do with this Rott, it is sad.  but personally I feel putting her to sleep is jumping the gun a bit

JMHO

Hi Cams472,

I am truly sorry for the situation you are in as it must be horrible.  The most difficult bit with regard to your dog is you do not know what happened.  If the child fell on your dog you have no idea if the dog was merely startled and reacted.  If that was the case, than the dog showed very poor (no) bite inhibition.  This would not bode well for the future and the likelyhood of the dog biting again would be high, given the "right" circumstances.  On the other hand, the child could have fell on the dog and done more than startle it - a sharp elbow or foot into the gut or other sensitive area is painful.  Even a dog with good bite inhibition if it is physically threatened may bite out of survival instinct - and obviously a powerful dog is going to do more damage. 

There is no easy answer, but I suggest before you make up you mind that you consult with a solicitor about possible courses of action by your friend. Without realising it, because you take your dogs outside with basket muzzels you have sent message that your dogs are dangerous. And unless your sign says something completely innocous, like "dogs present" it too can be taken as an indication that they are a real or potential threat.  The fact that the case was rejected by the Crown prosecution service may not be the end of it.  For myself, if I felt there was a strong likelyhood that I would be forced to put the dog down at some point in the future I would rather make the decision myself and do it sooner. 

Stacey

I have been reading this thread over the last day, and really feel for you on this.  This must be every dog-owner's worst nightmare.

You are clearly a responsible man, and have taken so many precautions to prevent this type of thing from happening.  I personally would not have this dog pts, it does not seem to have been a deliberate unprovoked attack.  I also find it strange that it seems that the injury was restricted to the child's finger, as other people have noted.  But, unfortunately, as we all know, a child's finger is small and a rottweiller's jaws are very powerful.  Many years ago a friend of mine who owned several GSDs was badly bitten by one of them when she tried to break up a fight between them.  The bite was an accident, but I remember it was bad, and would not like to imagine what injury that sort of bite would have resulted in if it had been a child.  However, it was an accident, and her dog never bit again, so I cannot agree with the view that your dog has bitten once and so will do it again.  It depends on the circumstances.  I also agree with you totally that no dog can be trusted 100%, and I don't think many dog owners would want to even guess what percentage they would trust their dog's reaction if someone unexpectedly fell on their dog in this way.

Earlier in this thread, several people have mentioned insurance.  You do not say if you have pet insurance, if you do, this will cover you for any compensation action that you friend may take.  If you do not have pet insurance, please do check your household insurance - most of them do cover for this, it is under the Personal Liability Section, and this includes cover for your liabilities for injuries etc to others, including those caused by domestic animals.  If you have Pet and/or Household insurance, please talk to your insurance company ASAP, as they will deal with any compensation claim, and will also be able to advise you on what to do.    I personally would not consult anyone, including a solicitor, until after I had spoke to my insurance company, and taken their recommendations on this.  I really hope that you are able to handover the legal/compensation aspect to an insurance company, as the emotional side of all this is must be overwhelming enough to deal with.

At the end of the day, you have a hard decision to make.  The fact that the CPS are not prosecuting (and, as I am assuming this has happened in the last few days, this is a very quick decision), and also bearing in mind your Vet's advice and opinion, makes me hope that this will help you decide that your dog does not have to pay the ultimate price for this very tragic accident. 

Whatever your decision, I wish you and all involved in this very sad story all the very best, and hope that you all come through this ok.

so you wouldnt expect your children to cuddle your dogs? or a visiting child to want to stroke your dog? ;)
theres nothing unfair about  it ,my breed love all people and my point being they are happy to be played with and stroked and pulled around by all the family  and on the odd occasion something has injured them (example child acidently standing on there foot or tail!) there reactuion is to retreat not attack.
while people condon /defend this type of behaviour then non dog loving public will have all the amunition they need to ban breeds and  pet dogs full stop one day!!!

One point about children and dogs - this is why they shouldn't be unsupervised. As many breed clubs say in their New Owners information; "Make sure the dog has a get-away place where the children are forbidden. Children can be very cruel, albeit usually unwittingly." Even the sweetest-tempered dog can react out of character when in pain or startled, just as people can. We should never forget they are animals, not toys or furry people, and if we choose to have them in our houses we should respect their differences and individual natures.

My friends son had part of his ear bitten off by his next door neighbours Staffie, the boy had jumped over the fence to retrieve his ball..... The dog was taken into custody for a few days & released & after several months of legal wranglings the dog was allowed to live. The owners then moved house as they were having so much abuse from the local residents. Unfortunately about a year later this dog escaped from the garden & severely mauled a young girl, is it really worth taking the chance that it won't happen again?

My partner also had part of his ear bitten off when a child in Singapore (RAFfamily). Part of his ear lobe was bitten off

However, he remains a dog lover and as far as i know the dog never bit again ever (as my OH had been teasing the dog when it happened.) Much depends on the character of the dog, reactivity, and owner sense of responsibility. The rottie had plenty of opporunity to bite a strange child previously and did not. I too wonder, as others have mentioned,  why the finger was bitten and not the face or elsewhere on the body, but we will never know probably.

IMHO it cannot be categorically stated by members of a public forum that a dog must be pts.

Lindsay
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To Kao Kate

Maybe your dogs do retreat but not all dogs do and this is due to the fact  they have been bred by humans to produce what characteristics THEY want in a dog.  The Rottie was bred to guard  and you can not have a guard dog that retreats under attack - it would be useless for the purpose for which it has been bred.  It is hard-wired that way and many other 'breeds' are also.  Having said that, even those breeds not bred for specific guarding purposes can and will bite if enough pressure is put on them that they feel they have to defend themselves. 

Like many people said this dog showed no aggression to these children before and yet had opportunity.  Most Rotties I have met are without doubt gentle creatures but as with all dogs, children should be made aware of how to treat dogs with some respect.

It is not people who delay from making knee jerk reactions to these incidents that do damage to the breed it is those who create panic and hysteria and demand the dog be culledkilled that give the breed bad press and bad publicity and add yet another Rottie to the statistics of the DDA.   And to those who don't like the work killed - tough.  You can refer to Put To Sleep.  But the dog isn't - it can never wake up - it is destroyed.

Count yourself lucky that you have picked a breed that has low propensity and occasion to bite and hope you never have to be put in the position of this unfortunate owner.

I have been following this thread for the past few days with interest, and I can quite whole heartedly agree that such a situation is surely every dog owner's worst nightmare.  In the first instance I would absolutely encourage the OP to assess his insurance situation, before taking legal advice.  I know my own personal pet insurance covers me for 3rd party liability, so it would be of some benefit for the poster to have a clear understanding of what he is covered for and what he is not.  Can I also add that I am very surprised that the CPS has come to a decision regarding this case within two days, but that surely can only be a welcome relief to know that this is not hanging over you.

As regards the fate of the dog in question..  I am at a loss as to what to suggest to you, other than everyone involved in this terrible situation has my complete sympathy.  However, I am of the opinion that if this was my dog, would I ever be completely trusting of it, especially if I had children myself?  Yes, it may not have shown aggression previously, and in fact these may have been exceptional circumstances, but who was to say such a thing would not happen again?  I know in my mind I could not rest easy with this dog.  So perhaps if not having the dog PTS, I would certainly look into having it rehomed, but only the people with expertise in this breed and those with experience of this type of problem could make that decision whether the dog would be suitable for rehoming or not.  I would say to those berating the actions of the child's parents- just imagine if that had been your child?  Ofcourse I love my dogs, and they are completely part of the family, but let us not forget that a dog is a dog, and if it came to not trusting that dog 100% around my family members, then as distraught as I would be and as guilty as I would feel, it would always be a case of the family coming first: therefore, I would do everything within my power to explore all avenues and make the best decision for the future welfare of that dog. 

It's a terrible position to be in, and my sympathies are with you cam, and I hope whatever happens, you make the right decision for you, your family and the dog.  Good luck.

ive been thinking what would have happened if it was me ,when i was a child. id have probaley got a bollocking for touching dogs without asking & for opening doors in other peoples houses.

i was bitten by a jack russell badly when i was 3 or 4,thatwasnt put down. how times have changed.
the parents of the child should have beenmore careful to let their young child to run around unsupervised imo,