I have a 5 year old rottie bitch and a 21 month old rottie dog, last friday while i was out at the shop my dogs were out in the garden. my 10 year old came into the kithcen to get a drink out of the fridge his freind followed him into the kitchen just as the dog came in through the back door. he jumped on the childs back. he came out of the kitchen and my daughter checked him and saw 3 scratches on his back. on sunday a police officer came to see us saying his father had complained he then said to him it looked like a bite. when my husband said if the dog had bitten the officer jumped in saying yes there would be nothing left of him. he left saying it would go down on the bite register. well!! an hour after the officer leaving my hubby took kai for a walk, on returning up the road there were a group of about 8 children the boy included standing in front of a wall. they started to shout and scream and jump over the wall leaving one child stood alone. kai turned and grabbed the child in the back (he did bite him). my hubby took the child home and went to report it to the police. the parents took the child to the hostpital for a tetanus, i am still waiting to hear from the police as the officer is off untill the weekend.

kai has never shown aggression at any time before and is a well mannered and gentle with all the family and my three kids. he has been to obiedience classes and did very well, but during the last year due to my son being in hostpital (brain tumor) has not been out and sociolised as much as he was.

could anyone please advise what the law says could happen to him(destroyed?) and also with a behavioral specialist could this be sorted out. he is a beautifull dog and it breaks my heart to think of him being pts.

any advise would be appriesiated

thanks

Oh dear :(
This is a very worrying time for you. The first time there was no bite so you gave your dogs temperament the benefit of the doubt. However, things have changed now. You know he does bite so you will have to take appropriate steps to protect the safety of people. This means keeping him leashed and muzzled at all times when he is out and keeping him out the way when you have people round if you think he may jump at someone again.
He may have reacted to the shouting and screaming of the kids but that bite should have been prevented by perhaps giving the kid a wider berth. I'm assuming that the dog was on the lead at the time.
A lot depends on whether there is another official complaint made against your dog - but you could start by reassuring the police and the parents of the children concerned that you are taking the necessary steps to prevent another bite and muzzling your dog at all times in public. The kids obviously reacted that way because they thought your dog was a threat and he didn't let them down.
The rest is up to you!

how old is your rott, is it male or female. have you had experience of guarding breeds at all?????-im sorry but a dog of that size that has bitten a child to me is a danger and shouldnt be kept!!, no matter what precautions you take there could always be the chance a child will meet your dog, as you have children of your own it would be like a time bomb, not your kids but any freinds they may bring around and forget to assure the dogs locked up ,muzzled or whatever, --the breed has a bad enough time without a proven biter about, i must admit when i saw the post that a rott would be trusted 100% i was a bit gobsmacked,dogs react to different things, youve no idea what might make it react ,therefore theyre not the breed for everyone, im sorry you find yourself in this position ,but how would you feel if it was your child that got bitten-or worse still, if you keep the dog and it attacks again, it could be worse next time around,

I live in Ireland so don't know anything about the UK laws, but as the owner of two GSDs, a Rottie X and a wolf hybrid, I understand your fears and would like to wish you the best at this upsetting time.

Theresa

I think we should all refer back to the thread 'dog attacks'- many said that they trust their dog's and breed 100% but I'd just like to draw your attention to the post on there by 'Mari' saying 'Prevention's better than cure.......NEVER leave a child alone with a dog........they are animals at the end of the day'.

I really do feel for you though as the thoughts and possibilities going through your mind must be dreadful.....BUT......let that be a lesson to us all:(

Stacey x x x

What a very worrying time for you, I can understand that the last thing you want is to get rid of your dog but you have to consider how you would feel if you keep him and he then bit your child? I have 2 rotties myself and although I trust the older bitch completely I would never consider leaving her alone with mine or anyone elses children, the other is only a pup so he doesn't get left with the children for his safety as much as theirs. I had a GSD when my first child was born and although he had always been great with other children he didn't like my son, after an incident where he growled at my husband we decided to rehome him, I felt I couldn't take the chance that the dog might, one day, bite my son. It wasn't an easy decision but at the end of the day children always come first, no matter how special the dog is, and believe me I felt that my GSD was very special :) I think the kindest thing you can do is make a decision yourself now rather than wait until something else happens and the law makes the decision for you :(

Hi just been catching up with some posts. Was very worried and concerned for you regarding your incident with your dog. How are things now? If all is Ok I would suggest a muzel to been worn by your dog at all times and get some advice?

Best wishes

Julieann

Hi all, This story is almost identical to my story 3years ago only with a Gsd.I have had 3 GSDs in my live all of whom ive adord for there loyalty etc, they have always been family pets as i have 3 children several sheep ,chickens etc.My dogs had always seen the whole lot as family members , we always have respect for each others ways etc, but the trouble was always when strangers came in,i.e. foreign students, kids friends etc, they were always weary.The dog picks it up, your uneasy, the dog assumes something is not right and you have a potential situation!.The problem with guard breeds is that there doing there job.If your childs friend come into your house and the kids start playing roughly the dog assumes his role.My dog although a beautiful kind loving family member constricted our lives more than he should have because the nature of the breed.In the society we live in we make matters worse for the dogs of this caliber, i.e. shutting the dog away , which makes matters worse , but protects the visitor.Pulling the dog up in public when approached by strangers, creating a situation where the dog senses danger, which there probably isnt.What im basically saying is the dog is the loser anyway you look at it! and once you know your dog is untrustworthy, things are never the same, you have to adjust your life around the situation if your prepared to see it through. Id like to add that none of my GSDs ever bit anybody, everyone just thought they would. That was the problem.I made a promise to myself that when the last one died 3 years ago i would never have another such responsibility.GSDs are my love , its people that dont understand the breed, i dont mean the lady with the rottie i mean jo public and none dog lovers. I feel desperately sorry for the rottie lady. I hope she sorts it out with some life changes. xxx

Dear Rottielover,

I have 2 rottie bitches and 1 akita bitch, and a six year old child, the rotties love my son to bits and have both grown up with him, knowing rotties can get quite manic when wound up playing I never leave him alone with them and when his friends visit they are LOCKED in the garden, away from the kids. Don't want to sound harsh but you will never be able to relax while your dog is around children and having seen the damage they can do if I was in your position I would have your dog rehomed, sorry but children have to take priority.

Lorraine

Hi

I have just come into this board but am concerned about the advice to rehome a dog that has already bitten a child. Though this may seem a good solution please be VERY careful about doing it. It's fine if you
know someone who you know understands the breed and the problem, but if not you may just be passing the problem on - perhaps making it worse by confusing the dog into the bargain. I have seen it many times - the dog bites, is rehomed and bites again - and is finally PTS anyway.

I feel for you terribly as in January we had to make the enormously difficult decision to put our young dog to sleep. He was also a large guarding breed. He had sudden aggressive attacks due to a physical condition and we decided we couldn't continue to take risks either with our own or other people's safety and we didn't want the situation taken out of our hands. He was PTS gently and calmly by a vet he knew while we cuddled him. We were and still are gutted - but at least he went peacefully without fear or distress - and we couldn't have guaranteed that if he had bitten someone else.

Whatever you decide to do please take care - don't put yourself or anyone else at risk - and never leave him unattended without a responsible adult.

Best wishes
Janet

Hi rottielover,
i`d just like to say that i`m so sorry that this has happend to you,its all you need with your son having been so poorly.
hope your all baring up
chrissy xxxxx( please let us know if theres any news)

hi everyone,

thanks for all your replys, the police have decided not to take any further action, i consulted a behaviourist who deals with rotts, she came to asses kai and said in her opinion he not not an aggressive dog, he is very immature for his age and is starting to try his dominence, she advised me on ways to curb this and keep him at the bottom of the pack. im enrolling him at a residential training school, who deal with problem dogs to assess and evaluate what triggered him off and then to rehabilitate him. i then go myself to be shown how to keep his training up at home.

janette

Good Luck Janette

Lorraine

That's good news rottielover, good luck with the training :)

Theresa