dog bit my sons face, how would you react

[45-70sapper]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

Nope, big difference between a get away from me im scared/in pain/grumpy bite and "attack".
As i have said, no matter how fast things happen the dogs changes it body language beforehand showing its "feelings".
Dogs old/deaf, up to the owners to prevent this. They should of seen the signs before it bit.

Bottom line, not a humans job to know the body language of a dog. It's an animal, not my equal. It lashed out and harmed a child. Doenst matter if it was a grumpy bite or a scared bite. Besides, there's still the big question: what happens if it gets out and a child approaches it? It would be scared in that situation so it's fine if it bites right?

[Immigrant]

My son got bit in the face at a baseball game. The dog was on a leash. The owner was minding his own business. My son got in to their "personal space" and the dog lunged forward telling my son "close enough". Some scratches and a bruised lip. In my house dogs are part of the family, so my kids assume all dogs are friendly. We have to remind them often that not all dogs let you in their personal space. I could not blame the owner or the dog for what happened.
Even though my dogs are awesome with my kids, i lock them up in their run when visitors come.

[bessiedog]

A dog has bitten kids on the face twice.

And this is ok with people?

Do some here have secret PETA meetings as well?

To the OP. The dog has bitten people twice. Your wife has an excellent reason to fly off the handle. Your child got lucky. What would your tune be if your kid lost an eye?
Please carefully consider what you are exposing your child to.


What is going to happen when that dog gets older, more irrational, and cranky?
What's more important here?

Think hard please. Other peoples well being might very much be in your hands.
Fatherhood is tough. Sorry.

[silverdoctor]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

What is going to happen when that dog gets older, more irrational, and cranky?

By your reasoning, there's a few on the forum that should get the same treatment

[Peter Abelard]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

A dog has bitten kids on the face twice.

And this is ok with people?

Do some here have secret PETA meetings as well?

Yes, because anyone that doesn't agree with you must have some secret vested interest.

[bessiedog]

Whoop... Shoulda used the 'snark' emoticon... Is there one for when I'm being snarky..?

Doc... We both know I shoulda been sent to the glue factory long ago.......
I just keep hoppin the fence!

Wheeee!


Cold meds!

[Red Bullets]

If the dog, no matter what size or breed, was a known threat it should have been muzzled when company with kids or anyone came over.

Your son was fortunate but now the dilemma with the dog. Muzzle and/or segregation of the dog when kids are around is the only way to avoid more incidents without having to destroy the dog.

IMO...Dogs that are not good around kids shouldn't even get a chance to be around kids. Diligence of the owner must be part of the dogs routine.

Years ago my cousins 3 year old boy was bit on the face by by his uncles dog. He unfortunately was badly damaged. He had to fly from Edmonton to Toronto Childrens hospital that day for major reconstructive surgery and for several surgerys as he grew up. Changed his life in a big way because he had to be home schooled to accomodate surgeries and recoveries as he grew up. His face is disfigured now in his adult life. That dog was destroyed promptly. It was an older dog that had never bitten anyone before. The parents and uncle were all present in the yard and right there when the dog bit the boys face. If they hadn't been there the boy probably would have died. It happened in a blink. I think the uncle and his farm insurance were sued for damages.

[Selkirk]

Unfortunately, I see that there's a few nut-bar posters here who would have their children/grandchildren 'sanitised' and 'bubble-wrapped' against the possibility that some animals, if provoked and tormented enough, will rightly defend themselves.

As in my previous posts here on this thread, I will always stand against you.

Mac

[Kanonfodder]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

If I read it correctly, it was a 'known' risk, and your son wasn't hurt too badly ... and he also learned an important life's lesson.

Let the ol' dog live, and let you and your son be the wiser.

Mac

This

[Deemoss]

i didn't go through the comments others wrote, just to have an unbiased opinion...

i had a similar incident in Jan 2011 (actually an identical incident), when a young golden retriever attacked my 2.5 year old (at the time) son...
the bite was to the forehead and chin and while i was trying to get my son away from the dog, it managed to get a hold of his leg his leg...

i was so devastated and furious... shaken and horrified to say the least... but honestly, i completely took all responsibility to this incident and didn't blame it on the dog... or its owner as a matter of fact... my son was standing right there between me and my wife when this happened...

my son was shaken a bit, but now (he's gonna be 7 in summer) he doesn't recall the incident... at all!!

i have 3 dogs at home and he loves them...

i'm not paranoid from dogs, but honestly my wife (who always loved GRs) freaks out whenever a GR gets close to the kids... I wouldn't get a GR myself, but that's for many other reasons as well..

However, when I was in your place, I actually didn't blame the dog, nor did i recommend it to be killed... on the contrary i made sure i told the owner clearly, before running to the hospital, not to beat, hit, harm the dog by any means... I asked him just to keep her under observation for medical reasons though (so i can be sure it's not rabies or distemper) ...

Dogs are animals... we sometimes tend to forget that though... and animals sometimes act in a strange manner for many reasons!! it can be them feeling intimidated, scared, shy, excited, defensive, dominant, territorial, hungry, happy, sad, depressed...etc... hundreds of reasons can go there i'm sure... but at the end it's us that should be responsible not the animal... no matter how smart they are, we were created with much more capabilities and aptitude... It wouldn't be fare to just staple our own mistakes to them...

Apologies for the long post... Just thought since i've been in the exact situation, i'd share how i handled it and what i learnt from it...

hopefully it'll be a story he'll grow up telling while patting his own dogs!!

[RagingPenguin]

Keep it under supervision and chalk it up as experiance for the kid. Its an animal. It doesn't need kisses or hugs. If the animal wants affection it'll come get it. In my eyes my dogs are animals first, pets last. My son is going to learn the same. Respect the critters space. Some have a big bubble and thats simply how they are. My dogs are well looked after and part of the family. They are awesome with my son and guests. But when the shaw man comes they get kenneled. They don't get to stay with my son alone. In the same respect he doesn't get to use them as his personal trampoline or punching bag.
For those suggesting kill the dog. Save yourself some grief and stick with a goldfish. Theres a significant difference between a dog telling someone to back off and full out mauling someone unprovoked.

[dalmore62single]

Originally Posted by Hydro1

No offense inteded with my following statement.
Dog reacted the only way it knows how. Chances are it showed several signs of un-ease prior to biting that the parents in law missed.
Its up to you guys to prevent everything that happened.
Dont blame the dog, dont blame the kid, prevent it from happening again.
Thats it.

Edit, Glad your kid is relatively un-harmed.

X2 , was not like the warning had not been put forth. I am sorry the kid got even a little hurt , but situation should not have been there to begin with.

[blackpheasant]

It would be just plain dumb to have that dog anywhere near children again.

[Big Racks]

I can certainly sympathize with you. Glad to hear your little guy is okay.

When my daughter was 5 she was bit on the nose by a family friend's pit bull. She was visiting with their daughter, also 5, and the dog was asleep on a chair in the living room. The girls went to pet the dog and being asleep, it was startled when it woke and its reaction was to bite. They had owned the dog since a pup and it had never shown aggressive tendencies, and to be honest, without being woken up and startled it most likely would have been fine still. Yes, it was the girls' fault for startling it, but that dog was still being put down at the same time we were driving all over the lower mainland getting my kids face fixed up. We started in Abbotsford at the ER, and then off to Children's Hospital in Vancouver where they had a pediatric plastic surgeon on call. She'll carry an inch long "y" scar on the bulb of her nose for the rest of her life, though luckily due to the quality of care and aftercare, it's faded quite a bit, but it could have been a LOT worse. She's 14 now, and while not afraid of dogs she is definitely not super warm to larger breeds. She is still trying to overcome a terror of needles, chalk that one up to the surgeon shooting her nose full of anesthetic before stitching her up. Poor kid, she watched the needle come at her face again and again and could taste the stuff due to the needle piercing into the nasal cavity, I think I would have the same fear, lol.

Our friends family's youngest daughter was just a toddler at that point and learning to walk. It could just as easily have been her pulling herself up to the chair. I'm sure that was part of their thinking in putting the dog down. Plus, at the time they had no idea what damage was done to my kid as she was just a mess of blood. Probably the worst phone call I've ever received was my wife calling me at work and being in hysterics. All she could tell me was my girl had been bit in the face and they were rushing her to the ER. Scary drive to meet them, not knowing what to expect. Luckily it just split the nose, rather than taking any tissue away.

I guess the point being, unless you can control every minute of exposure to a dog, once it's shown that tendency to react aggressively, it has to be gotten rid of, either put down or put with an owner who CAN micromanage its surroundings. Pretty hard to re-home a dog who has bitten a child already, so that usually means a shelter of some sort.

[Dog_River]

The dog has bite two kids = Dead dog, not even a question. What's he going to do to the third kid ??? Not worth the risk. If he would have been my dog he would have been out down after the first one.

Dog_River

[NINJAABOY99]

Originally Posted by brohymn2

was visiting my in laws who breed shelties, they have one old dog that's deaf and as my father inlaw says "does not like children". anyways over the past year ive visited multiple times with my son and have always done my best to keep my son away from the dog as my son is only 3, the dog in turn has always been good with my son and over the past year has warmed up to him allowing him to pet it. anyways was in the washroom and my inlaws were watching my son in the livingroom, as I walked out of the bathroom I rounded the corner just in time to see my son going in to give the dog a kiss(apparently hes done this before) before I could yell at my son to stop him from doing what he was doing the dog lashed at him and bit his face leaving scratches on his forehead and a bleeding lip.

I quickly grabbed my son with my mother in law and we checked him over as my father inlaw locked the dog in the bedroom,

anyways when I returned home, my wife obviously asked what happened to his face and when I told her she flew off the handle and basically got ****ed I didn't kill the dog, now shes in a big argument with her mother about putting it down.

just wondering how other people might of reacted or handled this situation.

either way im chalking this up as a life lesson for my son to be weary with dogs

Let the Dog live and supervise the child next time

[bb356]

Originally Posted by Dog_River

The dog has bite two kids = Dead dog, not even a question. What's he going to do to the third kid ??? Not worth the risk. If he would have been my dog he would have been out down after the first one.

Dog_River

+ 1

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by NINJAABOY99

Let the Dog live and supervise the child next time

Do you have kids or grandkids? Supervising isn't walking the child around by the hand every second of his or her life. Unless of course you want a nanny state full of coddled, bubble wrapped, over privileged young adults ignorant to the world around them. Oh wait...

You control their surroundings and remove or mitigate known dangers. Mitigate in this case would be a muzzle or lock up the dog, remove would be dead dog or no more visits to gramma and grampa's house.

[JohninAB]

Originally Posted by Dog_River

The dog has bite two kids = Dead dog, not even a question. What's he going to do to the third kid ??? Not worth the risk. If he would have been my dog he would have been out down after the first one.

Dog_River

X2

[avb3]

If they don't muzzle the dog when kids are around, dead dog.

[Newf]

Given the history I would say get rid of the dog. But I do have one question possibly in the dogs defence. Was the dog cornered with no place to go?

If the dog could not get away from the uncomfortable situation, it reacted the only way it knows how. However if the dog bit, in spite of having other methods of avoiding the situation, I would say the dog is more than likely to do it again.



Next time the victim may not be so lucky.

Glad to hear your son wasn't hurt bad.

[edmhunter]

Was attacked by a dog once that I tried to pet when I was 11 years old. The dog was on a leash and tied to a building in an industrial park, ended up getting away after I was bitten a few times and bleeding. We had 4 hunting dogs at home at that time and none of the dogs were aggressive, so I was completely unaware that this could happen.

I had a pellet rifle at home that I used to hunt starlings and squirrels with. I got back on my bike went home and got some money out of my piggy bank and went to the local store and bought a canister of 500 pellets.

Went back to where the dog was which happen to be about 20 yards away from the railroad tracks. I emptied the canister of pellets into that, rather large German Shepard. When I left the dog didn't look so good, in fact when I went back the next day the dog was not there and I never saw it again, so I am assuming it died from acute lead poisoning.

To me a dog is a pet, and I love dogs and treat them like family, but when a dog turns on people, especially family members or children it gets dead. If the dog is worth any money it gets sold immediately.

I am happy I learned that lesson, never tried to pet another person's dog again. Oh and when I hunt bears, I do not try to hug them either

[Famabrav]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

A dog has bitten kids on the face twice.

And this is ok with people?

Do some here have secret PETA meetings as well?

To the OP. The dog has bitten people twice. Your wife has an excellent reason to fly off the handle. Your child got lucky. What would your tune be if your kid lost an eye?
Please carefully consider what you are exposing your child to.


What is going to happen when that dog gets older, more irrational, and cranky?
What's more important here?

Think hard please. Other peoples well being might very much be in your hands.
Fatherhood is tough. Sorry.

X2

What good is a child biting dog.....Bye-Bye!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

If I read it correctly, it was a 'known' risk, and your son wasn't hurt too badly ... and he also learned an important life's lesson.

Let the ol' dog live, and let you and your son be the wiser.

Mac

Yes it is a life lesson for all involved. Every adult new the dog was cranky, little guy running around and nothing was done to prevent this

Next time all involve smarten up an don't let this happen again.

[dgl1948]

Personally, I think that old dog did your son a huge favor in teaching him that lesson, even though some minor injury was done.

I cannot believe I read this statement. Is this how we teach our kids a lesson???

[Sporty]

I see a lot of blame directed towards the dogs in many situations but how about parents teach their kids how to interact around animals? A viscous dog is a viscous dog and it's pretty apparent who they are when you encounter one. There are also dogs who aren't accustomed to children who have never been taught animal etiquette. Not saying that's what happened in this case but it does happen where kids provoke a dog, get bit and it's automatically the dog's fault. There is a responsibility on the parents part to teach their children how to behave around animals.

Hell, some kids I want to bite them myself, can't imagine how my dog would feel.

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/ki...ract-with-dogs

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by dgl1948

I cannot believe I read this statement. Is this how we teach our kids a lesson???

Hard lesson, I was bit or more a less attacked by a dog at a young age and 40 years later I still remember it and still approach dogs with a well deserved respect learned as a life lesson....trust, strangers whether two or four legged all have a bite!

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Dog should have been locked up. Kid should have been supervised, so kill the dog?

First off, good on you for not flying off the handle, and of course its good your child wasn't seriously hurt.

I have had two small dogs that aren't wild over strange children. Fact is they see them as a threat and young kids often act in a manner the dogs see as a threat. My current dog hates my niece's daughter. So. I'm not killing my dog and I'm not forbidding my niece and her family to visit. When they come the dog goes away, simple as that. I would say that the incident was equal responsibility on you and your in laws. No need to kill a dog for that.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Dogs don't like when humans stick their faces into the dogs face. I have a dog that will do a low growl and sometimes bare teeth if our kids do that....

He at least gives a warning, now I have told the kids (11 and 16) time and again do Not do that to the dog. He is telling you not to and you are smarter than him so don't do it....

Well one day of course the 16 year old pushed the limits and the dog nipped his cheek, red with a small bruise...so that was the day he learned! I told him if you stick your face in the dogs face and he bites you its your fault, over and over. He learned what I had been saying all along

Sorry to hear about the circumstance and I can understand how it would make an uncomfortable situation, but I agree that the adults present should have seen it coming and prevented it. A three year old isn't going to know what not to do.

LC

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by blackpheasant

It would be just plain dumb to have that dog anywhere near children again.

They took the kid to the dogs house, it's the parents fault, they even knew the dog didn't like kids and was known to bite them. How stupid is that? When and where I grew up I don't know of too many kids that didn't get bit by a dog once or twice. It was part of growing up, it also taught us that dogs were animals with minds of their own not some Disney puppet that you ran up to and maul and crawl all over, at least until you knew the dog. Dog was doing what dogs do.