Mum's dog bit my LO

Nicki

I think everyone in the vicinity of the attack was terrorised Kylr whatever the backstory of the animals was. The point of posting the article last night was in response to the eye rolling post by someone several pages back which said that saying dogs ever terrorised humans was being a drama queen!

FBaby

Kim_kim wrote: »

I think people are saying the dog has bitten a child three times now & should be given no more chances.
I doubt this grandmother will agree, so the op has a choice of going to the police or ensuring her mother really does take steps to ensure the child's safety - like a properly locked room.

The sister, the one who has experienced it twice seems fine with the situation, but I agree with you, the dog should be locked away. Now that OP knows the circumstances, she can also make sure that happens. It's two of them looking after her son safety, so double security.

As to the issue of childcare, OP says she has a husband, so unless he works away, I'm sure she could manage to find some time when he is home. I don't think she should feel she has to, it is her choice such as much as it is her mum's choice not to see her grandson, but it would make things easier for everyone around.

Georgiegirl256

Tropez wrote: »

Mate of mine tried to convince me that the one about the girl at the petrol station being warned that there was some bloke in the back of her car by the attendant actually happened.

That apparently happened at our local petrol station. Although now of course you've got me wondering if it was made up after all. I actually find that quite terrifying....imagine looking in your rear view mirror and seeing some physco sitting on the back seat! Sends shivers through me....

krlyr

Nicki wrote: »

I think everyone in the vicinity of the attack was terrorised Kylr whatever the backstory of the animals was. The point of posting the article last night was in response to the eye rolling post by someone several pages back which said that saying dogs ever terrorised humans was being a drama queen!

A scary sight for everyone, I don't doubt, but they weren't attacked for no reason. I find it interesting how the dogs just ran off after attacking the owner - they didn't go on to attack anyone else in the vicinity, despite multiple people attacking the dogs with spades, golf clubs, etc. Even in what would be a very heightened state after the attack, those dogs chose not to go on and attack anyone else in the vicinity. They were big and strong enough to have taken on at least one or two of the witnesses - they chose flight, not fight.

One of the dogs was later secured 'on a lead', as an article quotes, which suggests to me that it calmed down after whatever triggered the attack.

My point was that dog aggression is far less simple than 'dog goes on a rampage for no reason'.

Waldemar

MrsAtobe wrote: »

And different dogs of the same weight can react in completely different ways to the same dose of theobromine, which is why I would no longer risk feeding chocolate to a dog. You have no way of knowing whether even a small amount will kill your dog. HPoirot, my first dog used to share everything with me, she loved a Mars Bar, but I wouldn't risk it now.

I agree metabolic rate and tolerance will be different in dogs of equal weight no hard and fast rule. Also not condoning the use of chocolate as a treat either. Never have fed chocolate to a dog, however I do remember waking up one Christmas morning to find that my German shepherd had consumed a large toblerone bar wrapper foil and all. Was quite worried about it but then did the research and found out he had about 40g milk chocholate from a 400g bar not a lot for a 44KG fit and healthy dog just took him out for a walk and let him sleep it off. If it was a more serious amount you would want to induce vomiting if it had recently happened, best to call the vet first.

Even less chocolate in a mars bar but then so much sugar it is going to cause major problems with teeth. Going back to the original point some idiot made about feeding the dog in question chocolate and grapes to kill it all I can say is what a low life. I have not owned or known of any dogs that have liked grapes, I have dropped some and the dogs of course investigate maybe give it one chew and spit it out.

Pollycat

Nicki wrote: »

I think everyone in the vicinity of the attack was terrorised Kylr whatever the backstory of the animals was. The point of posting the article last night was in response to the eye rolling post by someone several pages back which said that saying dogs ever terrorised humans was being a drama queen!

Unless there's a different post, I don't believe that anyone referred a 'drama queen'.

catkins wrote: »

Terrorise humans! God some of the posters on here really like to dramatise things don't they

Dramatising something is not the same as being a drama queen.

I don't think posting random articles (which quite often turn out to have much more to them than initially reported - especially in the Daily Mail) proves anything (other than the Daily Mail is a rubbish newspaper).

seven-day-weekend

krlyr wrote: »

Just because there is not obvious provocation, does not mean the bite is irrational. Dogs can have their triggers, for the dog in question it seems to be young children.

We don't know enough details about each situation to know why the dog bit. Even if there was no identifiable trigger from OP's child or niece, there is something that has made the dog act out of character and bite.
Even where there is no obvious trigger, many cases on "unexplainable" aggression can be health related - one of my dogs, for example, suffers hypothyroidism which causes anxiety, and led to her becoming reactive to other dogs when she was previously great with them. Pain can cause sudden aggression - e.g. young child leans full weight on a dog to balance, hurting a dog with sore hips. Or even a neurological condition, brain tumour, etc.

That's not being soft headed, it's realising that behaviours can be explained, and those explanations can help prevent a repeat incident (as should have happened after the first bite really - but that is the owner to blame, not the dog)

But it is not out of character, is it? It has bitten at least twice before.

I do agree that the situation has not been managed well. I find it difficult to believe that the woman would have chosen to re-home a dog which had issues with young children when she had young grandchildren coming to visit, and then exacerbates the situation by not dealing with the problem correctly . She could have re-homed a dog without these issues.

She seems to prefer the dog to the grandchildren. If that's the case, she won't mind if they don't visit.

If I had a young child, they would not be visiting, unless the dog was securely locked away AND muzzled.

Pollycat

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

If I had a young child, they would not be visiting, unless the dog was securely locked away AND muzzled.

This really is the simplest solution for the OP.

Her Mum & siblings will just have to accept the fact that - unless she can leave her son with someone - she will not be visiting her Mum, regardless of how much assistance she needs during this illness.

tinkerbell28

A dog who has bitten three times before should be reported and destroyed.

What if it gets out the house op? Will you ever forgive yourself for keeping it hush.

Oh I am a dog owner and I love my dog. However, human children before pets EVERY time. Your a Mum seems one of those who thinks dogs are top.

krlyr

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

But it is not out of character, is it? It has bitten at least twice before.

But we don't know anything else about the dog other than that is has been put in a situation where it has felt the need to bite three times. We don't know how it reacts to other people, how it reacts to children outside the house, what exactly happened prior to the bite on those three occasions, and so on.

This doesn't necessarily reflect the dog's character at all. If you, for example, happened to have a phobia (let's go for the typical arachnophobia) and ran and hid every time you saw a spider, does your behaviour in that instant reflect your character? Would it be fair for someone to judge you as having a fearful nature - despite the fact that you, perhaps, could climb up mountains as a hobby, perhaps you volunteer in the TA, or were a surgeon who was blood and guts on a daily basis?

Dog aggression is often very closely linked to fear. A dog who had fear issues with children could certainly act out of character on three occasions, if put in an enclosed space with children on those three occasions. If the behaviour has just been managed (by shutting dog away) rather than addressed (careful counterconditioning to change the dog's emotional response to children - best done in this kind of case with a good behaviourist for everyone's safety), the cause of the aggression will likely remain, just like someone's arachnophobia if they didn't seek help with it.