My dog snapped at my dd

[Anonymous]

My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

[Anonymous]

Keep them apart and when they are together, watch like a hawk. This, until DD learns your dog's triggers and telltale signs she is feeling threatened or anxious and backs off.

[Anonymous]

Your DD is old enough to learn how to not push the dog's buttons. The dog gave her a warning. If it were a toddler, that would be a different story--but a five year old can legitimately learn how to not tease the dog/give her space.

With an older dog and a five year old, I would suggest supervising them. Correct the dog's behavior with a poke and a "no" when she snaps, and correct the kid's behavior when she starts teasing the dog.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you! I should have informed my babysitter better about the situation. When I or my husband are around we keep her from doing it and I will keep working on it with her so she leaves the dog alone.

[Anonymous]

Dig would be on the street at my house

[Anonymous]

I love my dog, but the day he snapped at one if my kids would be his last day in this house. I would be heartbroken, but he would be gone.

[Anonymous]

Dogs have "levels" of cues they give off when they feel stressed/threatened. It is probable that pup has been giving off these cues for a while and they've been ignored, so they've escalated to something that gets a response. If she is still giving them off though, it's beneficial to know how to read them.

Lip licking
Yawning
Panting
Ears pinned back against the head
Sniffing
"whale eye"--whites of the eyes showing
Avoidance--head turned trying not to look at you

Any of these signs and it's time to toss dog a treat and give her time to relax on her own. In the mean time, I would keep DD away from dog until you are comfortable reading dog's signals. Lots of dog incidents happen while the parents are watching, because they don't know what they're watching for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

Are you freaking kidding me? How do you prevent it? You teach your daughter to not taunt and tease the dog. My DD is 6 and we taught it from the time she was old enough to sit up and interact with the dog. Your dog is an older dog. It's not fair to rehome the dog b/c you can't teach your DD manners with the dog. So, watch them like a hawk when they are together and parent your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love my dog, but the day he snapped at one if my kids would be his last day in this house. I would be heartbroken, but he would be gone.

Wow! The kid teases the dog, dog reacts and the dog is the one blamed?
What happened to being a responsible parent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

Are you freaking kidding me? How do you prevent it? You teach your daughter to not taunt and tease the dog. My DD is 6 and we taught it from the time she was old enough to sit up and interact with the dog. Your dog is an older dog. It's not fair to rehome the dog b/c you can't teach your DD manners with the dog. So, watch them like a hawk when they are together and parent your child.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

Are you freaking kidding me? How do you prevent it? You teach your daughter to not taunt and tease the dog. My DD is 6 and we taught it from the time she was old enough to sit up and interact with the dog. Your dog is an older dog. It's not fair to rehome the dog b/c you can't teach your DD manners with the dog. So, watch them like a hawk when they are together and parent your child.

Are you kidding me? I agree that a 5 yo should be taught how to act around a dog, however my kid (not OP) would always come before an animal, no matter what my DD did wrong. Dog should be taught how to tolerate children or find somewhere else to live.

[Anonymous]

The children are our future not the dog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

Are you freaking kidding me? How do you prevent it? You teach your daughter to not taunt and tease the dog. My DD is 6 and we taught it from the time she was old enough to sit up and interact with the dog. Your dog is an older dog. It's not fair to rehome the dog b/c you can't teach your DD manners with the dog. So, watch them like a hawk when they are together and parent your child.

Are you kidding me? I agree that a 5 yo should be taught how to act around a dog, however my kid (not OP) would always come before an animal, no matter what my DD did wrong. Dog should be taught how to tolerate children or find somewhere else to live.

I hope you don't have a dog, because you certainly don't have a clue. Respect between children and animals should be taught and should be mutual. If you can;t grasp that then you should not have animals, period.

[Anonymous]

A five year old is old enough to know that they should not get into a dog's space. She should be taught this not only for your dog but other dogs she will come in contact with over time. We have a dog and two children and all are punished if they bother the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is 9 and my dd is 5. If my dog feels threatened or gets too anxious she can "snap". She never bites or breaks the skin. My 5 year old and her get along great, but occasionally my dd will taunt her. Today when I was out and they were with out babysitter my dd instigated her and she snapped at her face. It left a barely legible tiny mark. No skin broken. No blood. I'm still upset though. How can I prevent this from happening in the future. I don't want to give my dog away but I don't want this to happen anymore.

Are you freaking kidding me? How do you prevent it? You teach your daughter to not taunt and tease the dog. My DD is 6 and we taught it from the time she was old enough to sit up and interact with the dog. Your dog is an older dog. It's not fair to rehome the dog b/c you can't teach your DD manners with the dog. So, watch them like a hawk when they are together and parent your child.

Are you kidding me? I agree that a 5 yo should be taught how to act around a dog, however my kid (not OP) would always come before an animal, no matter what my DD did wrong. Dog should be taught how to tolerate children or find somewhere else to live.

I hope you don't have a dog, because you certainly don't have a clue. Respect between children and animals should be taught and should be mutual. If you can;t grasp that then you should not have animals, period.

Agreed. People, please teach your damn snowflakes to not torment your pets!