My dog, Bailey bit my husbands Toddler on Saturday. She was sitting with me and Bailey for about 15 mins, stroking and kissing him, as he was wagging and licking her. She stopped for a moment, then went to stroke him and he bit suddenly, catching her face (under her eye) and under her chin. Luckily I reacted quickly and separated them - which resulted in minor scratches but I fear that it would have been a terrible bite had I not been there.
Bailey is a crossbreed, his mother a lab god knows what his father is, although I suspect staff type judging by his shape. He lives with me, my husband and my 2 children. My husbands 3 children visit every saturday. We've had him 10 months, he is almost 1 year old. He's never shown aggression towards people before, indeed the little 'un he bit usually pokes her fingers everywhere until we stop her. He has shown aggression towards other dogs (actually, forgot the postman - he hates him!). He has been neutered.
My husband is insisting on having him pts, I want to give him another chance, although the trust I had in him has gone and I haven't allowed him and the kids to be alone since this happened. I'm out of my mind, please, any advice!!
Forgot to mention, he gave no warning - no growl etc - just lunged straight for her. She's almost 3, and fine now.

Hi

Oh dear - this is always so distressing :(

My first thoughts i have to say are that the dog has been upset by this child, as you say that the little 'un he bit usually pokes her fingers everywhere until you stop her. I suspect this is the problem.....and tail wagging and licking may be signs of stress and appeasement, not happiness.

I hate to say it, but most parents i know expect their dogs to put up with so much from children - please dont feel i am making any kind of judgement on you, it's just that dogs dont always like or feel comfortable with children up close :(

Labs and stafffs are generally good with children. If it were me i wouldnt' have thedog put to sleep but would seek urgent advice from a reputable and experienced behaviourist. I know others may not agree with me, but i feel that almost certainly the dog was giving signs it wasn't happy, but they were subtle and the tail wagging was misinterpreted :(

If he is OK with your children, maybe if necessary he could be rehomed to a family with no children, or older children. Again, others may not agree, but just mu thoughts. Whatever you decide i wish you luck.

Lindsay

Hello. Please I don't want to upset anybody but I could not keep a dog that bit my children. It happened with us also although my dog was quite agressive and when I was distracted he bit my daughter also for no reason. I felt guilty because it was an accident waiting to happen, and I let it happen. I didn't have him pts but gave him to Battersea and asked if he could be rehomed with a house without kids or other dogs. So when I got my 2 actual dogs I made sure I got them from good breeders that breed dogs with excellent temperament, you cannot take any risks with young children. I think you have to be able to trust your dogs 99% if you have young kids. Take care.
Val xxxx

I agree. Despite the best care taken by the majority of dog owners accidents still happen. If the dog has shown that you cannot trust him with your, or any other, child then it has to go. Some people take it to extreems and have the dog PTS. This happened to a friend's Akita and i went mad as the kid wound the dog up. I went mad!
I would either keep him outside while the kid is about or re-home him with no kids or other animals.. A re-home would be kinder if he is used to being an indoor family pet.
This dog cannot be trusted and the child comes before the dog every time!

So sorry to hear this has happened.

Have you ever reprimanded your dog for growling? Just a thought, but some dogs when told off for growling, instead of being taught not to be aggressive, they just learn not to show that they are uncomfortable, until as may have happened here, they are pushed over the edge, and just bite, seemingly with no warning.

Dogs do NOT bite for no reason, there is ALWAYS a reason, fear/suprise being the most common one.

I have to say (easy for me i dont have kids), but 15 minutes is a long time for a dog to put up with a child being in its face, i doubt mine would put up with it for that long.
Did your dog have the option to get up and move away?

It is however very dangerous to give advice about dog-child bite/agression incidences online, without having met the dog and child involved.

I would say, considering your husbands attitude towards the dog, it may be better to rehome the dog, rather than keep him, as your dog WILL pick up on feelings of mistrust, dislike etc, aimed at him, not a happy situation for the dog at all.
The only other thing i will say, is had your dog really wanted to do damage, he could have before you had chance to stop it. Having seen dogs fight each other, and having been on the receiving end of a nasty bite (6 stitches, and you could see the muscle/fat/veins etc in my arm) myself, i can safely tell you that had he wanted to seriously harm the child, he would have done.

Em

Hello. When I said my dog bit for no reason I meant unprovoked, I think that's what the poster mean. I agree if a dog really wants to do damage they would, when my dog bit my daughter it was only a smal bruise/graze on her cheek, a warning bite. However next time it could've been different.
Val xxxx

We went through a similar dilema several years ago with a golden retriever and it was extremely distressing. My oldest son walked through the hallway where the dog was sitting and the dog went for my son's face. Had he not put his hand up it would have been his face and not his hand that needed the stitches. My husband had witnessed the entire thing and it happened without obvious provocation and no warning whatsoever.

We decided that whatever the cause of this behaviour, having established that the dog was not ill in any way, that it would be fair on noone including the dog to keep him when we would never be able to relax our guard for an instant. I certainly didn't want any repetition and the parents of visiting children would always worry about their kids being with our dog. We rehomed him to a couple who didn't have kids.

I took extensive advice from a behaviourist and she concluded that the dog was a very dominant dog who viewed me as his. He was in all likliehood attempting to put my son in his place in the pecking order below him as he perceived him as the closest threat. My son was not a tiny child and he knows how to behave with dogs. He never poked, prodded, teased and was totally heartbroken that the dog went. I am interested that the child was sitting with you. Is your dog very attached to you? There may be some broad similarities in the reasons behind this.

I wouldn't pretend to have the answer but I am glad that we didn't keep our retriever, much as I loved him. He has gone on to be very happy and well-balanced in another home circumstance where he has no rivals and we have gone on to have a gorgeous child-friendly lab bitch. Nonetheless I have taught the children about establishing the pecking order in our family "pack" ( such as never being lower than the dog,never giving up food to the dog, never playing tug of war as they won't win and they will let her see she is stronger than them)and they know to always have a healthy respect for our animals. I don't know if any of this would have prevented what happened but I feelit wise in any case.

I hope this may at least give you some food for thought and I will be interested to know what you do in the end. Oh and I suppose I should say it may even be worth making sure the dog isn't unwell in some way with the vets. Good luck:)

How old is the child - toddler covers quite an age range......... I had problems with a bitch who went over the Rainbow bridge a couple of years ago - she was fine with wee babies when they just laid there and did nothing, but as soon as they started walking she was frightened - and I'm afraid to say she bit both of them, just the once - from then one I didn't take my eyes of her when the boys were about and we saw her grow old and both boys mourned her passing. It may be that this child is also at that 'transition' phase and the dog just doesn't know what to make of the change..... BTW - I would have said then that my dog didn't give any warning - she certainly didn't growl (she never growled, think she was taught by a previous owner, wether on purpose or not I don't know, not to growl - something I would strongly advice against now) but she did give plenty of warning in what I now know to be doggie body language........

Could it be because they are not always there? I too would rehome your dog then to put to sleep.

Dozer bit my son on the face and he did let out an annoyed noise at him, but that was because he was right in his face bugging him even after I told him not too. Mind you it was only a warning bite but that wasn't the point. Yes my children know better but he thought it was funny hearing him make those whiney noises. Great to say that my son stopped after that, we did explain to him that it could of been much worse, he got him just under the eye, more of a scratch. Still scary though :(

What a horrible situation.

As a general fule staffys/labs are excellent with young children - but there is always an exception to the rule. To be fair, look at it from the dogs point of view - can you imagine how it feels to be poked and prodded? I certainly wouldnt like it and would tell whoever is annoying me to stop and this is exactly what your dog has done - if he intended to do damage he could have done, whether you were there or not, it could have been nasty but it would seem that your dog is warning the child to stop.

I do not have any children but when the time comes that I do the child will be taught very strict rules where the dog is concerned ie respect and give it space. I know it is hard to supervise children all the time but the child needs to know how to act when there is a dog in the same house.

If i was in this situation I would not have him pts, i agree with you that he should be given another chance, however if your partner is not happy with him being there then I would say that this is not fair on the dog because he will sense these vibes from your partner and i think the best option would be to find him a suitable home.

We had him checked out, the vet (whom he has known since a tiny pup) couldn't find anything wrong at all. Bailey didn't do himself any favours by also attempting to bite the vet, to the extent of the vet insisting on a muzzle before examination.
I agree it was a jealousy thing, Bailey should have been called shadow as he never leaves my side and definately views me as his. He could have moved, no-one was holding him in any way.
The finger poking was always stopped as soon as we were aware she was doing it.
I've spoken to our RSPCA officer (who has been brilliant) who recommended us as suitable for an adopted pet when we got him, and she is going to try to rehome him, although she is not hopeful as she will have to disclose all the details to any prospective owner (as is right).

I am hoping he can be rehomed, I dropped him off this morning, along with much weeping from everyone except the hubby. To add to the situation, I had a visit from the child's mother who was also insisting on him being pts, and threatening to remove my husbands access rights if the dog remains in our house.

Fingers crossed, and thank you for all the replies.

This is going to sound awful, but it is possible that the finger poking is the cause. Dogs often put up with a lot from very young kids, but will then vent their anger on others.

Clearly there is stress in the house - if the ex-wife is trying to stop access rights, I presume she is looking for a reason, relationships aren't good and everyone is tense. It's a nightmare of a situation and so sad that the dog got caught in the cross fire.

We had him checked out, the vet (whom he has known since a tiny pup) couldn't find anything wrong at all. Bailey didn't do himself any favours by also attempting to bite the vet, to the extent of the vet insisting on a muzzle before examination.
I agree it was a jealousy thing, Bailey should have been called shadow as he never leaves my side and definately views me as his. He could have moved, no-one was holding him in any way.
The finger poking was always stopped as soon as we were aware she was doing it.
I've spoken to our RSPCA officer (who has been brilliant) who recommended us as suitable for an adopted pet when we got him, and she is going to try to rehome him, although she is not hopeful as she will have to disclose all the details to any prospective owner (as is right).

I am hoping he can be rehomed, I dropped him off this morning, along with much weeping from everyone except the hubby. To add to the situation, I had a visit from the child's mother who was also insisting on him being pts, and threatening to remove my husbands access rights if the dog remains in our house.

Fingers crossed, and thank you for all the replies.
Can a dog just "turn"? I've never believed it, but it seemed as though he'd been relaced by a wild version of himself.

Never been in your situation, but I really, really feel for you and hope they do manage to find a new home for Bailey.

Kindest Regards X

Dogs can "turn", but to the dog there will always be a reason :( even if to us humans the reason is wrong, or we can't see it.

Some dogs sadly will have a brain tumour (rarely thank god), or a medical problem. Did your dog usually try to bite the vet? as if not that indicates some sort of problem ..... vets can really only be sure of no medical problem if they do blood tests etc.

Sadly you aren't the first to post re. dog bites child, and probably won't be the last :( I'm very sorry for all concerned, and the dog.

I am always reminded (not meaning your case but in a general sense) of the placid GSd who was left with a child and attacked it. The dog was pts as the owners could't believe it and could no longer trust it. After the post mortem, a lead pencil was found pushed deep inside the dog's eardrum, which must have been agonising, and that is just one reason why i feel that, although we must protect children and keep them safe, we must also look at things from te dog's point of view :)

I think you have done the right thing, as your hubby would never be happy, nor would his wife and you would always be on tenterhooks which wouldn't help anybody, least of all Bailey. Hope he finds a home.

Best wishes
Lindsay

He usually loved the vet.
I rang the the boarding kennels tonight, he has beenaggressive towards everyone and everything. Still waiting for the blood results,should have them tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone who has answered, I realise now there are lots of things to "blame" (not really wanting to apportion blame, but trying to find an explanation) me as much as everyone else.
I feel better than I did about this, am still keeping fingers crossed for a new home. If the tests reveal anything then I'll get the treatment (if any available) and dealt with the situation as it arises.
Thanks again to everyone
xxxx

You've been very brave in your decision. Noone likes to have to deal with these things and it is very distressing. I hope it all works out for you in the fullness of time.

Thinking of you
Gill

He's obviously very very scared, and is probably reacting to the change in atmosphere since the incident.

It's very sad for all involved, but I think you've done the right thing.

If you do get another dog, make sure you take the steps to prevent anything like this happening again. Saying you stopped her prodding when you realised indicates that she was allowed a lot of access to the dog. Dogs and children should always be supervised, for this exact reason.

I don't have children myself, but I have a god daughter who comes to visit. She is prone to tantrums, and will take them out on anyone, dogs included! I make sure she's never ever alone with the dogs, if I go to the toilet, they come too! When she's having a tantrum, I take the dogs out of the room and give them a nice chew so they don't get frightened by her (also calms her down when she's not the centre of attention!!)

I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way, and I hope things get better for your family when you start to get over what's happened.

best wishes,

Jo

i tend to agree with Jo that he is now reacting to the change in atmosphere, but if anything is thrown up by the blood tests, it would be interesting to hear it :)

Take care,

Lindsay

I was in the same situation just two months ago. My five month old pup was a beautiful boy who loved to be around people but when he got excited he was a bit snappy. Nothing we couldn't control - we thought.

It turned out that our lovely little boy - who had been brought up with a baby - was a Jekyl and Hyde. In the house he was loving and very obedient. One day he was put in the garden with my three year old Bullmastiff to play. The pup then jumped the 6ft fence - from a standstill!! Grabbed the kids rabbit next door and ripped it apart in front of the whole family who were also in the garden. When he had had enough of the rabbit he attacked the 18 month old toddler in the garden.

I didn't hesitate to pts. I believe that if the dog has attacked a child or person they should not be given a second chance to do it again. As long as I know that the animal wasn't aggrevated in anyway and he had chosen to do this to someone for no reason.

I also agree with the posters on here that there maybe an underlying problem with the animal which should be investigated and as long as he has no physical problems himself then the decision should be made to pts.

At the moment I am keeping everyone away from my three year old as he is completely stressed out by the fireworks that have been going off in our town. As he is out of sorts I don't know how he would react in a familiar situation let alone an unfamiliar one.

That must have been terrible for everyone! We also have a rabbit, but are fortunate enough to have a big garden in which we had an interior 6ft fence to separate the dog n bunny. I think Bailey could have cleared it if he'd really wanted to.

The blood tests showed nothing.
The kennels are trying to rehome him. All I can do really is wait with fingers crossed. Apparently he has calmed down a bit and not still attempting to bite anyone who happens to pass him. We have 4 weeks grace, then need to make a decision. I was going to visit him tomorrow, but have decided against it as he has settled a little - I don't want to visit then leave him again I think it'll set him back.

Thanks again everyone who has replied, I have learned a lot for if/when I get another dog.