My dog bit my son I love them both, but obviously my son more what do I do?

Question

My son is 3, and he tryed to take the dogs bone away, I think it may have been an accident.

The dog has all her vaccinations, so that's not an issue.

We've the dog since she was weened and she's never done this before, she grew up with my son.

They're always together and have been for almost 2 years, he loves her. I can't just get rid of her.

it was just a little nip on his pinky, barely enough to bleed

Answer 1

Take you son to the doctor to get the bite checked out.
Make sure he knows it's not ok to take the dogs bone away.
Punish the dog so she knows it's not ok to bite your son ever.
Watch them closely when they are together.

Answer 2

Was your son injured/needed to go to the hospital? Or was it just a snap from the dog with no harm really done? Having a dog myself, I watch the dog and my daughter very closely when my daughter suddenly gets interested in the dog, his toys or bones. The dog does not know any better and neither does the baby. Was this bite from the dog an issolated incident, or has he bit or shown aggressive behavior before? I guess these are the questions I would be asking myself. I guess I would recommend never leaving the dog and your 3 year old in the same room together alone, since you never know what your child might do when you turn your back. Your son will be old enough very soon to know better than to touch the dogs toys. I hope you can work this out.

Answer 3

There is no reason why you should have to give your dog away. It is obvious this was an isolated incident. Be thankful that it wasn't worse than it was and just be more careful. Dogs are animals and you have to always remember that. Don't leave your son alone with the dog and never let the dog get close enough to bite. You don't want your son to be afraid of dogs either, so it is important that you let your son know that your dog is an animal and never go near them when they are eating or have a bone or favorite toy. Instinctivly the dog will take dominance over such a small child. Just be smart. It is obvious the dog is part of the family.

Answer 4

It was an accident. You can clearly see why the dog would have bitten him!

However, doesn't mean you shouldn't take action. Talk to your son in a way that he understands and tell him the dog doesn't like it when he takes away his toys or touches him while he's playing.

Secondly, get the dog in for some training. He needs to learn that humans arent gonna steal his toys. You need to train him to not care if something is taking away from him. Practice taking the bone away yourself and giving him it back a second later so he knows its not gone for good. Try reaching in and taking a bit of his food while he's eating.

Thirdly, you really need to supervise the kid and the dog playing just a tad more. The dog's shown a bit of a protective side and it may not be the dog's fault, but accidents happen.

Answer 5

Animal Rescue's will do test aggressive tests before they put a dog up for adoption... if they show any form of aggression from his/her food or bones or a special toy being taken away, the dog is not put up for adoption (rather put to sleep).

Your dog will never "learn" to not be mad if his bone or food is taken away - it's just something about how the dog is.

I know you love your dog, but if it happens again, it could be worse. I'm sure you don't want that to happen again. Your baby is too young yet to know better also.

I would suggest posting a "free dog to good home" sign. And be thankful you still have your son!

Answer 6

Your son needs to learn how to behave around dogs, as he will meet several during his life. You could try to use the incident to teach your son that he can´t play with the dog when the dog is eating.
If you give your dog away now, your son might be afraid of dogs for the rest of his life. Try to talk to him, he´s old enough to understand, and see how it does. My bet is that, since you haven´t had any problems before, this was an isolated incident that won´t happen again, as long as your son understand that he needs to respect certain rules.
If your dog hated children or saw your son as a rival, believe it, you would have had problems since the beginning.

Answer 7

Take the dog to obedience school and take your son with you too. The dog bit your son because in your dog's mind he is higher up in the pack than your son. You and the other "alpha" people in the house need to make your dog understand that he is at the bottom of the food chain. And train your child how to talk to the dog. That's my advice. I love dogs and I think dogs and kids are a great combo if everyone works together.

Answer 8

Please do not put the dog to sleep. Yes, it is a bad thing that the dog bit your son, but the dog got mad that his bone was getting taken away. So the best way to feel safe, is bring your dog to a training facility, and let a professional take care of the problem. You will only have to bring your dog there a couple weeks. And you will see a big change in your dog. Good Luck

Answer 9

Well you made the same mistake a million other dog lovers have made. They trusted that their beloved dog would never harm their beloved child.
Its a dog and your child is 3 and its great to be together but one moment unsupervised and bites happen even from our most trusted beloved dogs. Unless you can supervise better they should be separated. A three year old is learning about how to treat a dog and the dog obviously has no respect for your son as a leader of his pact so this will happen again.
Dogs think like dogs and your three year old think like a toddler-until he can be taught to become one of his superiors you should be cautious.

Answer 10

This is just the beginning of what comes next. The dog has aggressive issues. You need to call a trainer and find out how to help you dog with this situation. There is a show called the Dog Whisper and it has a lot of good information on it. If your dog bit once he'll do it again. If you love your dog do everyone a favor and find out how to help him not be aggressive. If your not willing to put in the time or the effort then call a dog rescue group and let them place him. Either way you owe it to your child and your dog to do one or the other. It's the right thing. You can't just ignore it and think it was an accident. There are no accidents when it comes to something we could of prevented for our child's sake.

Answer 11

I think you answered your own question when you said that your son was more important. A dog that bites over food/chew toy or bone will always bite when someone tries to take something away. I don't see how you can possibly classify it as an accident. The dog shouldn't even be nipping or growling at him.
Get rid of the dog before he does irreversible damage.