Reply to 1 yr old dies after being bitten by friendly pit mix

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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?[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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.  [/quote]

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.

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