Dog biting child: What to do?

[Anonymous]

I cannot for the life of me understand the posters who would place the convenience of a dog over the safety of a child.

That's not what this thread is about. Try reading before posting nonsense next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I cannot for the life of me understand the posters who would place the convenience of a dog over the safety of a child.

That's not what this thread is about. Try reading before posting nonsense next time.

Obviously you skipped over the half dozen or so posts from the crazy dog people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot for the life of me understand the posters who would place the convenience of a dog over the safety of a child.

That's b/c many pet owners understand that they took on a modicum of responsibility to at least try to fix something that's pretty easy to fix (according to many dog owners who understand what might be happening). Your reaction is similar if the OP complained that her son keeps touching the stove when she's cooking and he gets burned. Would your response be "Get rid of the stove"?? Of course not. I'm assuming you have experience with stoves and how little kids don't necessarily appreciate the dangers therein.

Same here. To those of us who have experience with dogs - it's as simple as "my dog bites when my child pulls his tail". So stop pulling his tail. Rough handling/approaching from behind/taking his food - are all similar "dangerous practices" that can be amended by changing behavior. Simple.

Of particular note - the OP isn't saying that any of the other family members are experiencing a similar predicament - just her young son. IMO the owner bears a modicum of responsibility to the pet since the owner brought the pet into the house. Obviously if the problem is worse than described - the family is more important than the dog. I don't think anyone debates that. But in this case - the fix seems so simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it is more important to me to teach my family about loyalty. The dog goes.
When we got our dog (non rescue) I told my husband that if our youngest, who was deathly afraid of dogs did not get over his fear in three weeks, puppy had to go. It all worked out in the end, but at least my son knew that he came WAY above the dog.

How is getting rid of a member of your family (the dog) loyal?

Dogs are animals.

So are people.

[Anonymous]

These posts are disturbing in so many respects. I have dogs and children, and both need to learn manners and proper behavior and the only one who is able to teach both of them is the parent. You can not trust a dog not to be a dog or a child not to be a child. A child will pull ears, sit on them, hit them with toys etc. This is normal and they will learn to stop. Most dogs are incredibly tolerant, but a rescue will definitely need more training and watching as you never know what human behavior could trigger a memory of a bad previous situation.

If you are not able to keep constant watch on both of them, either wait until your children are older, or get a puppy whose behavior and environment can be fostered from the start.

1) if a dog bites a child it is neither the fault of the child nor the dog - it is the PARENT!
2) if a dog growls at a child, it does not mean the dog is aggressive, it is a warning to you as the parent. You want a dog to growl as it is telling you that something is happening that is not right. You do not want a dog not do give you warning and just bite. People associate growling with aggression (which of course it can be), but normally it is their way of telling you to stop (pulling ears, pinching nipples, pulling tails, sitting on chest, etc.).
3) young children must ALWAYS be watched around animals. They are animals and children are children. Let's be realistic and again, the PARENT has to keep constant watch and never leave them alone together.

These posts drive me nuts. Too many people get dogs and expect them to behave and think like people without really teaching them through proper training and positive reinforcement how to behave. More often than not, the dog looses out as naturally, the child ultimately needs to be protected. But again, all of this is manageable if the PARENT is constantly diligent.

Use your judgement and protect your child, but your dog will probably be fine if you teach both of them how to behave and keep the child away from the dog. Takes work, but I have done it multiple times with dogs that outweigh my kids by 40 pounds.

[Anonymous]

How old is this kid that was bitten?

[Anonymous]

The dog needs to go before you ruin the dog. It is probably adoptable now, but won't be if this escalates. Your child really can't be trusted with a pet.

Don't let your kid near any animals until your child learns how to respect other creatures.

Some kids are like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to give the boy up . The dog was fine. The dog gave a warning by growling and snapping. It only bit when not listened to. You need to give the boy to a nice home that has no other boys or animals.

I like you.

[Anonymous]

I am shocked you need to ask DCUM! Get rid of the dog. He/She is a biter. What would you do if he mauled your child, took out an eye or even worse.

[Anonymous]

Our dog bit our daughter twice, unprovoked. We got rid of the dog. Vet suggested it since we'd been talking it over with him from the first bite, but we knew we'd have to. It wasn't easy, but it was definitely the right thing to do. It was NOT the right dog to have around babies -- or adults, for that matter.

[Anonymous]

Dog farm in China. He'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

There are lovely child farms, you may know them as camps, in western Maine.

[Anonymous]

Get rid of the dog but PLEASE don't get another dog until your child is old enough to be trusted to be responsible around a dog.

[Anonymous]

DCUM Alarmists at their best. Just add dog.

I really appreciate an educated (GASP!) response that the K-9 trainer posted.

WHY do people get dogs if they don't know what to do with them? Is that fair to either side?

I have seen people walking their dogs, with the person (!) being dragged around like a complete idiot. Guess what? Shouldn't happen! Not the same as OPs case, but if you look around, so few people know what they are doing.

It is irresponsible at best to not give your dog adequate and very basic training.