Reply to Dog biting child: What to do?

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[quote=Anonymous]Yeah but seriously, nobody is going to take OP to task for the fact that she's got a dog that is showing food aggression, particularly with the youngest child, and she somehow still allows the child to pull a farkin' bone out of the dog's mouth?

Get real, that's so incredibly irresponsible. I have a total beta dog, he's turned the cheek since day one, and yes, there HAVE been times when my son has pulled fur or whatever, when he was a baby, but these episodes were VERY rare. People who think dogs should just "deal" with whatever their kids chrun out or think that just reprimanding the kid AFTER the kid messes with the dog is enough, are kidding themselves. Dogs are dogs. Even the kindest and gentlest can be unpredictable. So the moment yours shows any sign of aggression, you watch the kid / dog interaction like a HAWK. LIke a mama bear. You do not, under any circumstance, allow the child to be bitten because he is pulling a bone out of the damn dog's mouth.

Now, the dog has bitten someone. When the dog gave you very clear signals about his boundaries and capabilities. It would have been appropriate for you, OP, to deal with this or rehome the dog before it got to this. If you think the dog is otherwise sweet, perhaps you could call in an expert in dog behavior but honestly, I think in your shoes I'd have to rehome the dog. Unfortunately, you have to be honest with the agency about the bite. However, you should make it VERY clear that the bite took place becuase you put the dog in a bad situation, with a child pulling at its bone. (Are you positive the dog didn't bite the kid accidentally while chewing the bone btw?). Anyway, don't try to pad the story to make it less uncomfortable surrendering the dog. Do it honestly.

And as for your other kids, just tell them that your family is not ready to supervise little kids and dogs. Honestly, you've got to be on it constantly when the kids are still in the "hey I'll pull this bone out of doggies mouth" phase. If you're not up for that, that's understandable, but I'm surprised that you didn't know this going in or that the adoption agency didn't tell you clearly. This is why some agencies won't adopt dogs out to families with children. [/quote]

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