dog has bit my son

epsilondraconis

Reminds me of John Lennon's poem, 'Good Dog Nigel'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ub2HHepSc0

Hopefully the OP can find another home for the little doggy.

meritaten

ladymarmalade1970 wrote: »

I think it's a rare dog that has never bitten. They all go through the mouthing stage anyway. The smaller breeds it's a lot more common as they don't do so much damage so can get away with more. Also, we tend to humanise them. I now have a rottie and a staffy X. The staffy X gets away with lots more than my rottie does, such as jumping up or stealing bones etc but when i think back to what i let my JRT get away with, purely because he was small, it's not surprising really that he bit. In fact, most small dogs i know have bitten at some stage. My mums shitz zu (apologies for spelling) even growls at her and bites her when she is being groomed! It's shocking! I wouldn't let either of my dogs get away with this but then if my dogs bit they would do serious damage so we have to be consistent and NEVER forget they are just dogs.
I feel for you but as another poster said no dog should ever be left alone with small kids. I think it's how you react to it that determines if they will do it again. Have you made up your mind yet what you are going to do????
Oh and it's an interesting point that the other poster made about the no kill policy with the old grumpy dog that can't be walked. Makes you wonder :-(

I must have been very fortunate with my Staffy and my Springer Spaniel then! The OP was NOT talking about the mouthing stage when they are puppies but an adult dog who was used to her two children.
I would not tolerate a dog that bites. - my dogs always understood that I was the boss, then my OH and then the kids! the DOG was much loved and petted,but, the humans come first! both those dogs adored the kids and were very protective of them. the kids were taught to RESPECT the dogs and give them space if the dogs needed it.
and to be honest - from reading your post I really feel sorry that your experience with dogs is that they bite! my experience is that a true family dog DOES NOT BITE!

McKneff

I knocked at my friends door, the JR came to the glass door, was barking and waiting for my friend to open the door, he immediately went for me, bit my leg, I insticitvely turned away, friend picked him up quickly and the bluddy thing bit me on my back.
I had known the dog for quite a long time, only days before had him on my knee stroking him.

Since then I would never, ever trust a Jack Russel

loztiggy

I have nver experienced a bite from any of my 4 adult dogs, nor have I heard of any of the dogs I have bred biting. However I have a baby coming up 6 months old, and until she is considered adult I wouldnt leave her alone with any of my dogs. Animals read body language and can take things in a different way they are meant from a youngster, what seems like a clumsy hand near a dog to a person may seem like a threat to the dog, and likewise a child cannot read a dogs body language when it is being unhappy or standoffish- my nephews live nearby a dog who puts his ears back and snarls at them and they would still try to stroke it if they were unnattended around it.

I would look into the vet option first, a thorough check over. Then purchase a muzzle, whilst the dog is around the children he must wear the muzzle. Allow him to get used to wearing the muzzle first while the children are in bed as it may make him nervous. Then once he is used to it reassess his behaviour with the children and take it from there.

Seeking the advice of a behavioural expert probably wouldnt go amiss either.

If all else fails for a JRT the best home may be a farm or someone who will work him.

Best of luck with the situation.

peachyprice

ladymarmalade1970 wrote: »

I think it's a rare dog that has never bitten. They all go through the mouthing stage anyway.

There is a HUGE difference between mouthing/nipping during play and agressive biting that requires stitches, how can you possibly compare that to the actions of OP's dog, unprovoked or not.

Humphrey10

Maybe see if you can give the dog to someone with no children? If I was in the position to be able to look after a dog, I would willing rehome a little dog that has bitten a child. It wouldn't be any danger to me, unless it managed to break into my bedroom while I was asleep and tear my throat out, which I think is unlikely.

I hate all this nonsense about 'once a biter always a biter' etc. Little children are often horrible to animals, and are often really irritating even when they are not trying to hurt the animal, and are not able to read warning signs eg growling, ears down, snarling, which mean 'leave the dog alone'. If a dog bites a child who is pulling its tail or poking it in the eye or screaming loudly or taking its owners attention away from it or running around irritatingly or disturbing it when trying to sleep or disturbing it when eating etc, it does not mean the dog will bite an adult who is minding their own business and leaving the dog alone. It just means the dog shouldn't live with children.

ladymarmalade1970

meritaten wrote: »

I must have been very fortunate with my Staffy and my Springer Spaniel then! The OP was NOT talking about the mouthing stage when they are puppies but an adult dog who was used to her two children.
I would not tolerate a dog that bites. - my dogs always understood that I was the boss, then my OH and then the kids! the DOG was much loved and petted,but, the humans come first! both those dogs adored the kids and were very protective of them. the kids were taught to RESPECT the dogs and give them space if the dogs needed it.
and to be honest - from reading your post I really feel sorry that your experience with dogs is that they bite! my experience is that a true family dog DOES NOT BITE!

Maybe i should have worded that differently. Neither of my dogs i have now have ever bitten aggressively but they did go through the mouthing phase when they would nip and also, you will see that most dog bites are from family dogs so family dogs do bite. I think smaller dogs are the worst. When my JRT bit my daughter (could be described as a nip) it was for no reason that we could see whatsoever. I saw it. He was a very much loved dog and had never been abused etc. He was about 2 so it definitely wasn't mouthing. I have an aunt who's westie bit someone when he just woke up and an old neighbour who's cairn terrier also bit. People like to say snapped or nipped but its the same. They bit people.
I don't think many people would tolerate a dog that bites unless it was a chihuahua or similar.

bluenoseam

There's a difference between the mouthing stage and a bite, i simply put wouldn't tollerate a dog which has bitten someone unprovoked.

ladymarmalade1970

bluenoseam wrote: »

There's a difference between the mouthing stage and a bite, i simply put wouldn't tollerate a dog which has bitten someone unprovoked.

What would you do if it were a family pet that you had had for 4 years and it had never done anything like this before?
You can assume that, because of the dogs size, the bite isn't bad and doesn't need hospital treatment etc???


The OP situations sound practically identical to what happened with our JRT and we didn't get rid of him. As far as i am aware he never bit anyone again. (We rehomed him to friends about 3 years after this incident due to work commitments - he is still alive and well).
To this day we have no idea why he did it and i can say hand on heart it was completely unprovoked.

bluenoseam

ladymarmalade1970 wrote: »

What would you do if it were a family pet that you had had for 4 years and it had never done anything like this before?
You can assume that, because of the dogs size, the bite isn't bad and doesn't need hospital treatment etc???


The OP situations sound practically identical to what happened with our JRT and we didn't get rid of him. As far as i am aware he never bit anyone again. (We rehomed him to friends about 3 years after this incident due to work commitments - he is still alive and well).
To this day we have no idea why he did it and i can say hand on heart it was completely unprovoked.

I would do what my parents did to our lovely Springer Spaniel, we'd had it for 6 years in a loving home and it bit her, breaking the skin, completely unprovoked. (we were all sitting in the garden at the time) As soon as that happened, it was off to the vet the next day - there was no reason for the bite, it was out of character, but ultimately it was a bite.

Truth is while you understandably can't hold them to the same standards as humans let me put it like this. You're out in town one day, randomly out of nowhere someone punches you in the face, breaks your nose & leaves you with panda eyes. You would expect that person to be arrested & charged with assault would you not? As much as we all like to believe that pets are 100% domesticated & intelligent creatures, they are after all ANIMALS, with primal instincts who just so happen to be largely tollerant to human contact. You cannot accurately predict if the animal will bite again, as such you are taking a calculated risk that it won't happen again - something which as i understand they're not capable of rational thought processes i would not take the risk on.