Yes, you should be more worried. Or more careful.

Make a safe space in your house (crate, basement, back half of the house with a baby gate in the hallway), and make sure the dog is there whenever you aren't actively supervising your son (and any other children who may be around). Make very clear boundaries for your son (don't hug the dog, don't chase the dog) and make sure you're around to enforce them.

I don't think you need to worry about your dog being aggressive. From what you've written, this is very clearly defensive behavior that should be easy to prevent/avoid in the future. Hopefully it will be the only warning you need.

OP here. 19:54, I agree with you and think this is some good advice. I will also note that the PP who said the dog gave a warning nip more than a bite is probably accurate. Saying he "bit his head" sounds pretty intense, but it's not like he had his jaws clamped down or anything -- it's highly possible he even just swung his mouth around while barking and scratched DS more than biting him. (Maybe I am denying things by saying this, but honestly, it has happened this way to me before when we were playing and I know he didn't mean to hurt me at all but had his mouth open.)

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks -- I do agree that we need to think about things more, but there's no feasible way for us to constantly be in between the dog and kid all of the time. Seriously -- they both live in this house, and the dog can't be outside all the time we're inside. I was 5 feet away from the dog and toddler when it happened.

We will be much more cautious from now on, and it's a good wake-up call to remember not to let DS do so much to annoy the dog.

Honestly, I'm much more cautious about this than DH is, and he was the one who was encouraging DS to chase the dog with the toy. I felt that the dog might be getting overwhelmed, but it was really hard to tell.

I don't think that the dog could possibly give much warning. I suspect DS did something that cause him sharp and quick pain (something I obviously didn't see), and the dog just wanted to get away quickly. He didn't continue to bite him or bite him very hard. I think it was a quick defense mechanism that he couldn't control.

Anyway, to avoid this in the future, I would definitely try to keep DS from hugging him without me right there. But I have no reason to believe our dog is at all dangerous (seriously, he is the most passive dog EVER). I think this is just what you get when you have a dog. Unfortunately, his style of allowing himself to be "beat up" probably makes him more prone to getting into trouble. I wish he would run away when DS tries something he doesn't like. Sigh.

For the first two (in italics) + 1000!!! Even the most patient of people can get irritated by the type of toddler beavior you're describing.

For the last one - I disagree to some extent. Your dog sounds a whole hell of a lot more patient/family friendly than a lot of other dogs I've known. However, simply put, if you don't start establishing boundaries of what your DS is able to do with/to the dog, the dog will.

(btw - the dog likely DID give warning signs - running away, trying to get out from under the child, etc. YOu need to start paying as much attention to the dog as to the child with the interactions until you can tell how he's signaling)

Anonymous wrote:19:46, seriously? I think this is an overreaction. It sounds like you had a bad incident with a dog in your family, and I'm sorry for that, but I don't think you're right about this.

OP, you need to supervise your dog and kid better. Others are right that you need to prevent the toddler from doing what he's doing with the dog. But I also have a dog and toddler, and I know it's not always that easy. I encourage my DD to be gentle with our dog and show her how to pet him nicely, but of course, she sometimes gets overly excited.

I wouldn't rehome the dog unless he shows aggression toward people. The dog is old, as you noted, and rehoming him would probably be harder on him than anything. Training may not be something that works great either. It sounds like an isolated incident but one that you should take as a warning. Older dogs can be edgy because they aren't as agile and might feel a little bad sometimes. You need to give the dog a place where he feels safe.

Sure, let the dog and toddler play supervised for a while, but then put the dog in another room or outside, or go somewhere else yourself. Minimize time when they are together, and supervise closely. And watch the dog for signs he is getting overwhelmed.

I'm 19:46 and I agree 100% with the bolded statement. Biting a baby's head qualifies as aggression against people.

19:46, seriously? I think this is an overreaction. It sounds like you had a bad incident with a dog in your family, and I'm sorry for that, but I don't think you're right about this.

OP, you need to supervise your dog and kid better. Others are right that you need to prevent the toddler from doing what he's doing with the dog. But I also have a dog and toddler, and I know it's not always that easy. I encourage my DD to be gentle with our dog and show her how to pet him nicely, but of course, she sometimes gets overly excited.

I wouldn't rehome the dog unless he shows aggression toward people. The dog is old, as you noted, and rehoming him would probably be harder on him than anything. Training may not be something that works great either. It sounds like an isolated incident but one that you should take as a warning. Older dogs can be edgy because they aren't as agile and might feel a little bad sometimes. You need to give the dog a place where he feels safe.

Sure, let the dog and toddler play supervised for a while, but then put the dog in another room or outside, or go somewhere else yourself. Minimize time when they are together, and supervise closely. And watch the dog for signs he is getting overwhelmed.

This sounds more like a warning nip.

Give the dog some space to retreat. If he is older, he could also be developing some arthritis, so some things formerly tolerated may now be painful.
I would suggest gating off a room or two where the dog can have a bed and the toddler can't wander.

Also, do not encourage the toddler to chase the dog. Dogs have very clear play behavior. If the dog wants to initiate, he will. Otherwise, let him be. Border collies are smart dogs. If the dog senses that you have lost control of the situation and won't protect him from your child, the dog may be more defensive.

Lady, your dog bit your baby's HEAD. You are in serious denial. Either get rid of the dog or commit to keeping the two separated until your kid is big enough to respect the dog. By separated I mean installing baby gates between rooms so the dog is never in the same room.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks -- I do agree that we need to think about things more, but there's no feasible way for us to constantly be in between the dog and kid all of the time. Seriously -- they both live in this house, and the dog can't be outside all the time we're inside. I was 5 feet away from the dog and toddler when it happened.

I think then that you need to rehome the dog now. First of all, it's not fair to the dog to put up with the physical abuse you describe, and it's not an acceptable risk to take with your toddler. I have a child in our family who came very close to dying because of a family pet who everyone thought was safe.

Are you sure you can't come up with strategies for more separation? Get a trainer to teach the dog to stay out the kitchen or playroom or whatever space you use a lot? Babygates? Doggie daycare?

Anonymous wrote:I think now that you know that your toddlers antics are too much for your dog, you need to keep them separated unless you can devote 100% of your attention to supervising them. And as soon as your toddler comes even close to doing something he shouldnt, separate them. But unlike other instances on dcum of dogs biting unprovoked, I don't think you need to get rid of the dog.

Your toddler is too rough with the dog. I seriously don't understand why you've let so much go on for so long. I know a lot of people assume that it's fine when kids do this to their own dog and then the kid tries to do this dogs they don't know. I know you probably think it was cute, but it's just dumb.

Also, don't let him hang on him or hug him any more. Your kid is obviously way to young to understand. But gentle pets are fine. I would talk to your vet too.

OP again. I like the idea of a safe place for our dog to go. He hasn't used his crate, so we moved it to the basement, but it might be a good thing to bring back.

OP here. Thanks -- I do agree that we need to think about things more, but there's no feasible way for us to constantly be in between the dog and kid all of the time. Seriously -- they both live in this house, and the dog can't be outside all the time we're inside. I was 5 feet away from the dog and toddler when it happened.

We will be much more cautious from now on, and it's a good wake-up call to remember not to let DS do so much to annoy the dog. Honestly, I'm much more cautious about this than DH is, and he was the one who was encouraging DS to chase the dog with the toy. I felt that the dog might be getting overwhelmed, but it was really hard to tell.

I don't think that the dog could possibly give much warning. I suspect DS did something that cause him sharp and quick pain (something I obviously didn't see), and the dog just wanted to get away quickly. He didn't continue to bite him or bite him very hard. I think it was a quick defense mechanism that he couldn't control.

Anyway, to avoid this in the future, I would definitely try to keep DS from hugging him without me right there. But I have no reason to believe our dog is at all dangerous (seriously, he is the most passive dog EVER). I think this is just what you get when you have a dog. Unfortunately, his style of allowing himself to be "beat up" probably makes him more prone to getting into trouble. I wish he would run away when DS tries something he doesn't like. Sigh.

I think now that you know that your toddlers antics are too much for your dog, you need to keep them separated unless you can devote 100% of your attention to supervising them. And as soon as your toddler comes even close to doing something he shouldnt, separate them. But unlike other instances on dcum of dogs biting unprovoked, I don't think you need to get rid of the dog.

Does your dog have a safe place to go when she doesn't want to be bothered? My 14 month old ds tries to get at our golden in some of the ways you described and when she's had enough of him, she retreats to her crate. We never allow him near there bc it's her safe zone away from him. She hadn't entered her crate for many, many months until ds became a mobile maniac! now she puts herself there often.

I think that you need to change your definition of "supervising". Appropriate supervision of a toddler and a dog means that you are between them and watching, your hand is close enough to intercept before the child bites or hits the dog. It doesn't mean that you are in the same room and allowing your child to chase the dog, hang off the dog, and otherwise abuse the dog.

I would have a huge concern that your dog has just shown that he doesn't give clear warning signs that you can read before he bites. That, combined with an unsupervised toddler, seems really dangerous. I really really think you need to look at your routines and practices very carefully and make sure that they are never together unless your attention is 100% on managing the interaction.

We have a very sweet Border Collie who has patiently taken a lot from our DS, who is 15 months old. Our DS loves him and loves to come up and hug the dog, try to chase him, offer him food, etc. Inevitably, this sometimes ends in DS hitting the dog with a toy or doing something that the dog doesn't love (i.e. he doesn't really like being hugged or "petted" by the kid).

We always supervise them together and usually have to look out for the dog's safety more than our son's. Before we could stop him, DS has hit the dog on the head with a toy very hard, bitten his ear, and fallen on him. He also tries to stick his finger in the dog's eye. Although we try to stop this, sometimes we can't get there quickly enough. All of the things I mentioned have been met by no reaction at all from our dog -- not even running away or whining when he tries to poke his eye.

Tonight DS was getting a little overtired and hyper and chasing the dog around with his large push-able truck. Clearly, the dog was getting a little tired of it but still being a good sport. Then DS stopped and started hugging/hanging on the dog. Since our dog has never minded this too much, I didn't think much of it and finished preparing a bottle I was working on. All of a sudden, I looked over, and the dog has jumped up barking. DS had fallen on the ground, and the dog bit him on the head. We yelled at him, and the dog immediately stopped.

DS is fine but has some teeth marks on his head. He didn't need stitches and will go in tomorrow for an early tetanus booster just to be on the safe side (we talked to the dr on the phone). I feel terrible for DS, but I also don't blame our dog TOO much. He's getting older (8 years old) and less mobile, and I think everything that was going on was just too much for him. I'll admit that I got a little complacent because the dog is always so tolerant of everything and that I should be more cautious, but I don't have any huge concern about this. Does this seem reasonable, or would others be freaking out?

I don't know exactly what DS did to cause this reaction -- it seemed like he was just hugging him while the dog was in a sitting position, which he does all the time. I suspect that he either lost his balance and fell on the dog or possibly tried to bite/pull his ear or something. I think our dog just overreacted while trying to escape and feeling threatened/hurt. I don't suspect it will happen again, and I know the dog knows it was wrong. Any thoughts?