1 yr old dies after being bitten by friendly pit mix

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a shelter puppy and were told it was a lab mix. We did wisdom panel which suggested 50% american staffordshire terrier (which I think is a type of pit). It's completely not agressive, wonderful with children, and I could take food out of its mouth. We've had it for nearly two year without any incident.

But I am also in the camp of no pit is safe. We're unlikely to get rid of the dog, but I can't help being a bit worried. What would you do?

Older children - teach them how to behave around dogs. Teach them not to poke or pull on the dog. Teach them basic dog training (eg. if they want the dog to get off the sofa teach it "off" and give the dog a treat). Teach them dog body language.

If the children are younger - never leave them alone with the dog. I would never leave a young child alone with ANY dog regardless of breed. If I'm not supervising either the children are contained or the dog is contained.


My completely perfect mutt (I'm sure she's got some pit bull because she's just a random dog from rescue) developed some joint/ health problems and began showing signs of aggression towards the younger child (who was learning to walk). I believe she was scared he would land on her and hurt her or poke at her or pull on her fur - and she was in pain. Fortunately, I was there and when the dog growled at the toddling child I snatched the child up. As younger child has gotten older, we have slowly allowed them to interact more, but always supervised. Her joint condition has treatment, but it's never going to away (Arthritis). So even a very even tempered dog can become aggressive in certain circumstances.

NP. Our rescue lab was arthritic and our toddler tripped and fell on her haunches. She whirled around, grabbed our toddler's head in her mouth and "bit". There were no bite marks, no bruises, no punctures, no crushing or harm. She was communicating to the toddler and to us to be more careful.

We kept them more separated after that and started her on stronger pain medicine. But no, any dog wouldn't kill a 1 one year old, even or especially if the child came too close to the dog or hurt the dog.

[Anonymous]

How many threads can be about pits and pit-mixes? At this point it needs its own category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse works in an ER and treats kids who've been bitten by dogs. Sometimes they're pits, but often not. Aside from the pit issue, all dogs (even family-friendly breeds like goldens) are capable of biting kids. Usually the family is surprised, the dog has never done anything like this before, they were just alone w/the kid for a second, etc.

All that to say, even if pit bulls are more likely to bite or more capable of inflicting serious damage, ANY breed is capable of biting kids.

We took a class when I was pregnant that teaches how to read signs that a dog is about to bite. Often little kids miss these signs, or think the dog is "smiling" if baring teeth. Just something to keep in mind, especially if getting a new dog. We tried to "dog-proof" our kid to decrease likelihood of bites by making sure to always supervise them together, not encourage kid to climb/pull on or corner dog, making sure dog had a safe place to retreat, etc.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29245098/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912736/

https://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/characteristics-of-dog-bites-in-arkansas/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261032/

And here are some studies in peer reviewed medical journals showing that pitbulls and pitbull type dogs cause much more serious injury when they decide to bite a person, especially when the person happens to be a small, vulnerable child. Dogs can bite, but pitbulls maul and kill children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse works in an ER and treats kids who've been bitten by dogs. Sometimes they're pits, but often not. Aside from the pit issue, all dogs (even family-friendly breeds like goldens) are capable of biting kids. Usually the family is surprised, the dog has never done anything like this before, they were just alone w/the kid for a second, etc.

All that to say, even if pit bulls are more likely to bite or more capable of inflicting serious damage, ANY breed is capable of biting kids.

We took a class when I was pregnant that teaches how to read signs that a dog is about to bite. Often little kids miss these signs, or think the dog is "smiling" if baring teeth. Just something to keep in mind, especially if getting a new dog. We tried to "dog-proof" our kid to decrease likelihood of bites by making sure to always supervise them together, not encourage kid to climb/pull on or corner dog, making sure dog had a safe place to retreat, etc.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29245098/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912736/

https://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/characteristics-of-dog-bites-in-arkansas/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261032/

And here are some studies in peer reviewed medical journals showing that pitbulls and pitbull type dogs cause much more serious injury when they decide to bite a person, especially when the person happens to be a small, vulnerable child. Dogs can bite, but pitbulls maul and kill children.

I think the PP was just saying that other dogs bite too, and that no dog is bite proof. People should not be lulled into a false sense of security because the have a Golden Retriever or an XYZ. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse works in an ER and treats kids who've been bitten by dogs. Sometimes they're pits, but often not. Aside from the pit issue, all dogs (even family-friendly breeds like goldens) are capable of biting kids. Usually the family is surprised, the dog has never done anything like this before, they were just alone w/the kid for a second, etc.

All that to say, even if pit bulls are more likely to bite or more capable of inflicting serious damage, ANY breed is capable of biting kids.

We took a class when I was pregnant that teaches how to read signs that a dog is about to bite. Often little kids miss these signs, or think the dog is "smiling" if baring teeth. Just something to keep in mind, especially if getting a new dog. We tried to "dog-proof" our kid to decrease likelihood of bites by making sure to always supervise them together, not encourage kid to climb/pull on or corner dog, making sure dog had a safe place to retreat, etc.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29245098/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912736/

https://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/characteristics-of-dog-bites-in-arkansas/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261032/

And here are some studies in peer reviewed medical journals showing that pitbulls and pitbull type dogs cause much more serious injury when they decide to bite a person, especially when the person happens to be a small, vulnerable child. Dogs can bite, but pitbulls maul and kill children.

I think the PP was just saying that other dogs bite too, and that no dog is bite proof. People should not be lulled into a false sense of security because the have a Golden Retriever or an XYZ. That's all.

Yep, that's all I meant. Thanks for saying it more concisely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse works in an ER and treats kids who've been bitten by dogs. Sometimes they're pits, but often not. Aside from the pit issue, all dogs (even family-friendly breeds like goldens) are capable of biting kids. Usually the family is surprised, the dog has never done anything like this before, they were just alone w/the kid for a second, etc.

All that to say, even if pit bulls are more likely to bite or more capable of inflicting serious damage, ANY breed is capable of biting kids.

We took a class when I was pregnant that teaches how to read signs that a dog is about to bite. Often little kids miss these signs, or think the dog is "smiling" if baring teeth. Just something to keep in mind, especially if getting a new dog. We tried to "dog-proof" our kid to decrease likelihood of bites by making sure to always supervise them together, not encourage kid to climb/pull on or corner dog, making sure dog had a safe place to retreat, etc.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29245098/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912736/

https://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/characteristics-of-dog-bites-in-arkansas/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4261032/

And here are some studies in peer reviewed medical journals showing that pitbulls and pitbull type dogs cause much more serious injury when they decide to bite a person, especially when the person happens to be a small, vulnerable child. Dogs can bite, but pitbulls maul and kill children.

I think the PP was just saying that other dogs bite too, and that no dog is bite proof. People should not be lulled into a false sense of security because the have a Golden Retriever or an XYZ. That's all.

But pits usually inflict much more damage than a chihuahua.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 1 year old would never be near a dog, certainly not while eating. This is the parents' fault. Heck the baby wouldn't even be near my 5 pound chihuahua. Babies grab and pull and that's never, ever a good idea.

It's irresponsible owners that give dogs a bad rap.

It's the parents fault for owning a pit bull breed, despite so much evidence that they are the most dangerous dogs. But not all pits have irresponsible owners. It's the breed itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many threads can be about pits and pit-mixes? At this point it needs its own category.

Unfortunately there will be many more of these threads, because there are more and more shelter pits being adopted out to clueless families with young kids.

[Anonymous]

A toddler should not be near a dog when it’s eating and reaching for the dogs food. This is setting the dog up for failure and now the baby is dead. A dog eating out of a child’s hand is not the same thing as that sane child reaching for the dogs food at mealtime.

[Anonymous]

This is why I hate all those "cute" pictures of babies and dogs. IDGAF if you think it's cute. Laying your baby on top of a sleeping dog is a terrible idea. it's even worse to step away and try to set up a photo shoot.

Every single person who has an aggressive dog think their dog is "sweet". Every. Single. One.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a shelter puppy and were told it was a lab mix. We did wisdom panel which suggested 50% american staffordshire terrier (which I think is a type of pit). It's completely not agressive, wonderful with children, and I could take food out of its mouth. We've had it for nearly two year without any incident.

But I am also in the camp of no pit is safe. We're unlikely to get rid of the dog, but I can't help being a bit worried. What would you do?

At a minimum, I would say the name of the shelter here and email the shelter the results of the genetic test that you did on their “lab mix.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A toddler should not be near a dog when it’s eating and reaching for the dogs food. This is setting the dog up for failure and now the baby is dead. A dog eating out of a child’s hand is not the same thing as that sane child reaching for the dogs food at mealtime.

Which basically means most yougn children should never be in homes with dogs. I agree, but I seem to be in the minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A toddler should not be near a dog when it’s eating and reaching for the dogs food. This is setting the dog up for failure and now the baby is dead. A dog eating out of a child’s hand is not the same thing as that sane child reaching for the dogs food at mealtime.

You're really "setting the dog up for failure" by adopting it in the first place. If you have to watch your dog like a hawk around your kids lest it maul or kill them, you shouldn't have the dog at all. It's not rational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adopted a shelter puppy and were told it was a lab mix. We did wisdom panel which suggested 50% american staffordshire terrier (which I think is a type of pit). It's completely not agressive, wonderful with children, and I could take food out of its mouth. We've had it for nearly two year without any incident.

But I am also in the camp of no pit is safe. We're unlikely to get rid of the dog, but I can't help being a bit worried. What would you do?

Older children - teach them how to behave around dogs. Teach them not to poke or pull on the dog. Teach them basic dog training (eg. if they want the dog to get off the sofa teach it "off" and give the dog a treat). Teach them dog body language.

If the children are younger - never leave them alone with the dog. I would never leave a young child alone with ANY dog regardless of breed. If I'm not supervising either the children are contained or the dog is contained.


My completely perfect mutt (I'm sure she's got some pit bull because she's just a random dog from rescue) developed some joint/ health problems and began showing signs of aggression towards the younger child (who was learning to walk). I believe she was scared he would land on her and hurt her or poke at her or pull on her fur - and she was in pain. Fortunately, I was there and when the dog growled at the toddling child I snatched the child up. As younger child has gotten older, we have slowly allowed them to interact more, but always supervised. Her joint condition has treatment, but it's never going to away (Arthritis). So even a very even tempered dog can become aggressive in certain circumstances.

NP. Our rescue lab was arthritic and our toddler tripped and fell on her haunches. She whirled around, grabbed our toddler's head in her mouth and "bit". There were no bite marks, no bruises, no punctures, no crushing or harm. She was communicating to the toddler and to us to be more careful.

We kept them more separated after that and started her on stronger pain medicine. But no, any dog wouldn't kill a 1 one year old, even or especially if the child came too close to the dog or hurt the dog.

One of the many, many reasons labs are great family dogs... they have a soft mouth after generations of breading as hunting dogs -- a duck hunter wants the dog to retrieve a duck and return it in tact, not mangled. Mine recently died and even when he wasn't feeling well, was so incredibly gentle and patient with my toddler. It was difficult to keep my toddler off of him, try as I might, because the dog always wanted to be underfoot and, well, the toddler was forced to be. Sometimes it got to be too much and I'd have to use a baby gate to separate them.

Anyway, I think the point of this post is not dismissing that any dog can bite. It is the damage done when the dog bites -- and is it just a warning bite or a relentless attack? I know people love them, but I wouldn't put my child, or the pitbull, in a situation to be in the same house.

[Anonymous]

We contacted a couple of rescues that flatly refused to adopt out dogs to us until our child was 10 years old. I’m surprised shelters let families with young kids take pits/mixes home.