Help: dog snapped at DS' face

[Anonymous]

PP here, thank you for your opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First time dog owner here just finding this thread. Freaking out a bit. We have a 20lb five year old poodle mix we just adopted from the shelter. Very mild mannered around people and lots of shelter promises of very well behaved with young kids and socializes well with large dogs.

He's been home for a few days and out of the corner of my eye I saw him snap at my 3 year old. He immediately retreated to his bed running from my son. I've deduced my son was trying to look at the letters on the new tag and twisted the tag, inadvertently tightening the collar (unacceptable I know!). We were both spooked by it but he followed my calm lead and wasn't that affected.

My husband has owned dogs before (minimally trained) and dismissed it as fine because it was the dog's way of warning. I thought so too.

Reading this thread has me questioning our judgement!

Oh, and growls and lunges on the leash when on walks near other dogs. Maybe not so socialized!

You need to return the dog. Anyone who would leave a 3 year old unsupervised with a new dog doesn't have the sense to be a dog owner.

+1

[Anonymous]

Update from PP, we returned the dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update from PP, we returned the dog.

You did the right thing. I'm sorry, I know that wasn't easy.

[Anonymous]

Yep, you did the right thing.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't be surprised or alarmed at a snappy small dog. Many small dogs are snappy. But I wouldn't want one around my 3 year old. I agree, PP, that the dog would do better somewhere else.

There are plenty of dogs that will be gentle with young children and forgiving, instead of snapping. We adopted an adult lab from a shelter and she is very tolerant of my 2 and 4 year olds. You can find a good family dog, they are out there.

[Anonymous]

PP here, didn't mean to hijack but appreciated your collective wisdom. It cemented what I knew but didn't want to admit. I watched the shelters Facebook page and he was adopted by a single older woman within days. Alls well that ends well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here, didn't mean to hijack but appreciated your collective wisdom. It cemented what I knew but didn't want to admit. I watched the shelters Facebook page and he was adopted by a single older woman within days. Alls well that ends well.

Are you OP who had a she? What size was this dog?

[Anonymous]

OP, you did the right thing! We adopted from a reputable rescue. They had failed to tell us this dog had bitten before and that he had been adopted before. We didn't feel the occasional growl was worthy of a return, but once he bit our child, that was it. We witnessed the whole episode and our child did nothing to provoke. The vet and one of the trainers we tried said they have seen quite a few rescue dogs with issues. We made it clear biting was not acceptable and we were very clear about what we would and would not deal with and this still happened. To the rescue's credit they took the dog back. I had to push them to put in the profile he should not be with kids. About 6 months later he was adopted by a single woman.

I personally will only adopt again from a rescue if I have a close friend working there. I no longer trust even the nicest people. I researched dog breeds, and rescues. I got to know many lovely people from this rescue, but unless I had a dear friend looking out for me, I just wouldn't do it. Fosters sometimes lie and unfortunately they make the whole organization look bad when they do.

I too have noticed they rarely admit "bull dog mix" and I laughed at the "lab mix" thing because I cannot tell you how many "lab mixes" I have met that are clearly pitbull mixes, not just from rescues, but also at the dog park (when we had our dog). I am not anti-pitball, but I do think you need to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Rehoming to a single person means what? That person will never have company or a child or take the dog to other's homes or gatherings?