my dog bit my daughter?

Question

my dog bit my 3yr old daughter today he didnt bite through the skin but left teeth marks my partner wants to get rid of him but im not sure we have had him for 5 yrs his 5 yrs old im not sure what to do he did bite my cousin 2 yrs ago but has always be good with my kids what do you think?

Answer 1

Here's the thing. Ask yourself what a dog has to defend himself. If a dog feels threatened by a child, he can't ask the child to back away, their only defense is their teeth. If the skin was not broken, that was a warning nip, not a bite.
Instead of getting rid of the dog, I would find out exactly what happened to cause they bite and talk to your child about avoiding that in the future.
If the dog wanted to hurt your child, your child would be in the hospital. That was the dog asking her to please stop whatever it was she was doing.
If the bite was unprovoked, that is different and the dog should be put down ASAP, but generally, it sounds like a warning nip because of a provocation. Kids tend to be brutal to dogs with poking and prodding them.

Answer 2

A) Only YOU know for sure whether you can "get rid of her". If you do, can you put her in a Great Dane rescue? B) The first thing I would wonder is if the bone was still there. If it was, she may be protecting it. This is called resource guarding and can (and should!!) be corrected immediately. C) The second thing I would wonder is if she was sleeping at the time? It is never a good idea to surprise a sleeping dog, no matter how sweet and docile they normally are. D) The third thing I would wonder (actually, this is the first thing I thought of but the other two should be asked first) is if it's a medical problem. A normally well behaved dog doing something completely out of the ordinary signals a possible medical problem. This is anywhere from having an aggravated area that the daughter pressed on or simply not feeling well to something much more serious, like a brain tumor. Something that, if the other two things I mentioned were not issues, you should get checked out ASAP by your vet. You said yourself that this dog has never been an issue before so, while a bite is completely and totally unacceptable and you have to think of your children first, I do wonder if there is a medical issue. Or perhaps something as simple as your daughter hugging too tightly or stepping on her tail as she did it, etc. It is fully up to you whether you decide to rehome her and *no one* will condemn you if you do, but I don't automatically think, "This dog is a MENACE and dangerous!!" I wonder if something happened other than a simple hug. I won't TD those who disagree, because they have valid points...just wondering. And if you DO decide to rehome her or place her in a rescue, it would be good to note that she does best in a home with older children, or none at all. Just in case.

Answer 3

Thats a tricky one. Most dogs have a reason for biting. What was your doing at the time? The other thing could be that maybe she petted him, and he was sore there. Other thing could have been out of fear or out of aggression. You might want to contact your vet, or a trainer. Dog bites in children are very serious, and he may do it again. If you do have to give him up, I will tell you know that most animal shelters cannot adopt out a dog that has bitten before, and they are usually euthanized. Not all the time, but most of it. It's hard for some people to give a dog another chance once they have bitten. And he has bitten twice. Was the age of your cousin? Young? Your dog may have a problem with small children, and needs a home without one. Some dogs do not respect children as being "alpha" over them until they are a lot older, and are trying to establish dominance over a child. It might be the case with this, or maybe he was protecting a bone, or food, or a toy. Either way, I would say that it is unacceptable behavior for a dog to bite anyone, especially a child. I would seek the advice of a vet and/or a trainer, and try to keep the dog away from teh child as much as possible if he displays anymore aggressive behavior ( including growling, showing his teeth, etc.) Good luck to you.

Answer 4

I do not understand some of the people answering this question. I agree that children should be supervised with dogs but I will not ever tolerate a dog that I own biting any of my children or any child, regardless of the reason!!

This is not the first time it happened and it will most likely happen again. I would not risk injury to my child from any dog no matter how long I have had it. The bottom line is the dog bit someone, not once but twice, and if you do nothing to correct this problem and keep the dog, if/when the dog bites your child or someone else, it will be your fault. Biting should NEVER be tolerated, it is totally unacceptable. You need a professional to look at this dog and determine what the problem is and whether or not you need to put the dog to sleep ( you can not re-home a dog that bites). You need to find a trainer that can come out to the house and meet your family and see the dog's reaction to your family and his environment, this way they can evaluate the dog and be able to judge what might have happened. Follow the trainer's advice on the course of action to take regarding the dog.

BTW, for those of you claiming the child must have somehow provoked the dog, did it occur to any of you that maybe the dog does not know its place within the family hierarchy? I also suppose that none of you have ever heard of a dog biting unprovoked, it does happen and when a child is bitten by a dog, it is never the child's fault!! Biting is unacceptable, PERIOD!!!

Answer 5

Stop to think how the world has changed in the last few years. When most who are adults now were three if the dog gave them a warning nip your parents would say to you "leave that dog alone". Three year old kids chase and torment dogs and that is the way they learn. If the dog wanted to harm her she would be in the hospital now. I am tired of all these self righteous people who immediately say get rid of the dog. Read the comment by shanna, I agree with her.
PS
You don't say if the first bite was also a nip but I think you would have said if it were more serious. Two years between nips hardly makes a vicious dog.

Answer 6

The first thing to ask is what did your daughter do? Dogs and children need to be supervised closely because children do so many things that either hurt or threaten a dog and have no idea that they are doing so. When I was a little guy, I was sooo mean to the dog (an American Spitz) but once I got older, we were inseperable (the night he died, he climbed from the basement to the second floor to be with me).

I meant to mention that he had nipped me once but I was afraid to tell my parents lest he "ran off" or something.

Answer 7

I agree with Shanna. A three year old should be supervised around a dog, kids can torment them. He didn't break the skin, maybe he growled first and you daughter didn't know to leave him alone, if it wasn't witnessed you don't know what happened. Dogs don't usually bite unless provoked. Maybe take advantage of the situation and the lesson you daughter learned today, it might come in handy when she's around strange dogs. Don't teach your daughter to give up on family when they make a mistake.

Answer 8

there should have been a reason for the dog biting your daughter because my dog tries to bite people when they bug her but you should keep the dog but watch out for your daughter and dont leave her alone with the dog if you think it will bite her again

Answer 9

What was the situation ?? Did the dog walk over and nail the kid? Or were they playing? Or was the dog sleeping?? What exactly happened?? I wouldn't convict any dog on the story you have relayed.

Answer 10

first off was the child playing maybe to rough w/the dog?If so maybe just forgive the dog and explain to th e3yr that she is to be nice at 3 yrs they can understand how to treat animals..If the child did nothing wrong and the dog just bite maybe consider keeping the dog out side depending on the breed or maybe you'll just have to get rid of that dog..