In shock - Dog just "nipped" DS

nikkiuk

We could probably do anything to our faithful lab and she wouldn't snap or bite. We frequently move her off the sofa when she's asleep, (she stretches out and takes up the room of three people!) and we make a point of regularly removing her bowl/bones/toys away temporarily when she is eating or playing to make sure there is no food aggression. My young nieces and nephews also love to play with her and the most they get is a good lick for their troubles! As a result I'm probably a little bit complacent and don't take too much notice when she is in the room with my older children although she's never left alone with the babies or toddlers, not because I distrust her but because of her size she could easily knock them over and they could just as easily hurt her.
This complacency was shown recently though when looking after SIL's spaniel. He was asleep on the sofa, my 13 year old went to move him and he snapped. No blood was drawn but my son was a bit shocked and shaken as it was so out of character. We had to explain to him about "letting sleeping dogs lie" and how that it was the dog's natural instinct to lash out as he felt threatened and didn't realise what was happening. We didn't consider the dog being put to sleep or rehomed at any point-he reacted in an instinctive fashion, it was a one off and there was no real harm done.
Lessons were most certainly learnt that day, my son will never attempt to move or disturb a sleeping dog again and I'll never leave the spaniel and my children alone. It sounds like a similar situation to the OP and I'm glad she's made the decision she has.