This is not a joke so no nastiness please?

Question

I had a 7 month old German Shepard i had him since 8 weeks he came from a house with 7 children and i have 2 they all love him dearly and he has never been mis treated by anyone this dog is well socialised and trained.
A couple of days ago he bit a 6 yr old boy in the face and i have had the dog put to sleep was my choice after getting advice from police and vets and being told the courts would prob make me do it. I now feel rubbish that 1 he did it and 2 i killed him for it
please be honest did i do the right thing?
The child was not teasing the dog or eating he just went to stroke him whilst we were standing at my front door the dog meant it wasnt a accident just very out of character but i still feel guilty for watching my dog die i cant help it

Just to answer it was my friends child and he was not badly hurt he has a cut under his eye and a bruise he is ok now no stiches and the mum was there and says she was as shocked as me but hasnt reported it as i had him put to sleep that night. And knownowt I didnt take him to a house with lots of children he was born there please read the question
and i feel bad for the child first then the dog and guilty as hell for the whole thing

Answer 1

i can really appreciate what you are going through,my shepherd bit a pregnant woman,she was always a good dog ,obedient,friendly,i still cant work it out,but i had my bi*ch put down the same day,as much as you love your animals ,people, especially kids must come first,you did the right thing,,what if it had been your kid

Answer 2

poor you - yes honey, I'm sure you did the right thing. Anyway you did what you believe to be right, which is all you can do.

How would you feel if you let him live and he bit another child?? Then you would have a reason for feeling guilty. It sounds as if you had absolutely no reason to suspect the dog would bite, but once he has done it, he's more likely to repeat the behaviour.

Your conscience should be clear honey, and of course you feel dreadful. You have lost a loved dog, you had to watch him die, you don't know why he turned nasty and, worst of all, he injured and traumatised a little kid. I think we'd all feel dreadful after that little lot. Please don't be too hard on yourself - no vet would have put a healthy dog down without a good reason, and this was it.

I hope the child is ok - you may feel better if you ask how he is. Good luck.

Answer 3

Do not feel guilty of what you did, the situation could have been alot worse and death could have occured, I know you loved the dog and he was companion, friend and extended part of your family but the truth is once a dog shows signs of aggression like this one did chances are it would have happened again and the next time it could have been alot worse, think of the happy months you had with the dog and focus on the child he bit, a dog can be replaced but if the child were disfigured or killed that can't be replaced, give yourself time to get over this dilemma and maybe in the future you can get another pet, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you find peace within yourself in what you did

Answer 4

You did the right thing hun. German shephards are guard dogs and are not good with kids anyway but any dog that is still a pup bites at first because thats how they play. German Shephards are big dogs and kids are about the same head height so he probably thought he was playing. Also if you stare into any dogs eyes they take it as a challenge and will go for you so maybe the boy was doing that without realising. I think next time you should look up on the breed of dog you plan to take on.

Answer 5

I think you did the right thing. If a Dog " Bites the hand that feeds him". You should put him down. I hope the Child is ok.

Don't feel guilty. Eventually the police would have ordered you to do the same. So being that you did it with the best intentions for your family and the dog. God knows why and your reasons so don't worry about it.

Good Luck! & Chin up!

Answer 6

I love all dogs but I have always said if my dog bit anyone but especially a child I would have him put down. Children move quickly and perhaps your dog was startled by him, but you did the right thing. It is surprising how many children go to stroke a dog not knowing if it bites or not. Dont beat yourself up, you really had no choice in the matter. Good luck

Answer 7

This is what happens when people who know nothing about the breed (it's spelled German SHEPHERD) get a dog they cannot handle or train and they get one that's probably from a backyard breeder with bad nerves. 7 months old is a PUPPY. This dog needed some serious training and socialization to learn bite inhibition and to have a low bite threshold. Normal puppies that are well socialized and well bred would never do this. Something is not right here.

Answer 8

I'm sorry, but I don't think you did the right thing. I think that animals attack for a reason. They don't attack out of the blue for nothing. Maybe the dog wasn't feeling well and you didn't know it. Maybe he was hurting. Dogs attack for two reasons: protection and food. Since it wasn't for food, then he was protecting himself to a perceived threat.

I believe that many people make the mistake of taking dogs that are not well socialized (just because he is fine with your children doesn't mean he is fine with all!) around unknown strangers/children. It only takes a second for you to turn your back, blink, etc. for a child to do something that would hurt the dog. And it only takes that long for the dog to retaliate. I would have gone through all the legal channels to see what could be done to re-habilitate (train) your dog properly. Most states/cities require more than one bite to put a dog down.

I think next time you need to do more indepth research into proper socialization/training for a dog of this type. Any smart dog breed (German Shepherd, Doberman, Pit Bull, Rottie, Malinois, Staff, etc.) need very thorough training from experts who know/understand the breed. They are not vicious, just smarter than the average dog. They need better training than Petsmart can give you. They are protective by nature, and unless you have a dog that really listens to you, this dog will deal with anything it percieves as a threat. That can be good if someone is trying to break into the house, or it can be bad, if it is a small child or a friend.

I'm sorry you went through this, but next time, please get the appropriate training for your dog. And do not have it around children until it has the appropriate training.

Sorry.

Answer 9

I know this must have been really hard for you but it sounds like you did the right thing - the alternative would to have kept him muzzled 24-7 which is no life for a dog. If he has bitten deliberatly once without provocation then he would probably do it again and the outcome could be much worse.

Despite this don't give up on having dogs in the future - this type is really uncommon.

Answer 10

I have own dogs most of my life and can honestly say yes you did do the right thing for both of you . Had you try to fight it you would have lost and if you had been able to keep your dog it may have bitten others or even you at some time . I am sure that the boy must have done something to force the dog to defend it self or to make the dog feel threatened . But since no one knows why the dog did it it is best to have it "put to sleep" humanly and not have it caged and have to wait for it . I think you did the right thing .

Answer 11

I'm sorry for your loss.German shepards are very protective of their owners,was the child a percieved threat?7 months is a puppy,was he just playing rough?Also was he purebred?Inbreeding can cause some very strange traits in animals!You can ask yourself a million questions ,but only time will give the answer your really searching for in your heart.You could have not done anything ,and ,14 years later still be thinking about it,when you had to put him down as your best friend.(tears)because of age.I suspect you are quite young,and if wisdom ,(ie.. vet and cops )said its the right thing,Ride that one out, hope this helps some,I could go on forever but it took 30 mins to type this much,and my cats po'd i'm typin about her late friends. PEACE