Mum's dog bit my LO

theoretica

Could she get a dog walker to take the dogs elsewhere when you are there? Sounds like you might need to organise it.

krlyr

Solsol wrote: »

Just thought I would add that my son is ok - his arm was bruised and swollen and still has bruising on it now but the bite didn't penetrate the skin so there was no blood and he was quite shocked.

I know it's probably not a major concern to you right now, but this is actually a somewhat positive thing in the situation. To have not broken the skin shows bite inhibition - the dog had the chance to bite harder, and even a small dog (don't know what breed your mum's dog is) could break the skin if it intended to.

It's still not great for a dog to bite someone, even with bite inhibition, but it does show that the dog is still able to restrain itself somewhat. It's intention was to scare the child off, not to maul it. I'm no behaviourist, but it sounds like this dog may have fear issues around children and it wanted your son away from it. A behaviourist could be a very worthwhile investment for your mum to look into, as from this bit of information, there is hope for the dog yet.

Winter_Jasmine

j.e.j. wrote: »

You are welcome to your doggy psychology, it is very interesting. Unfortunately it gets even more interesting when the mutt sinks its teeth into a person (or in this case a young child).

I don't mind dogs, and most of them (I find) are not vicious, unless provoked. But some of them are, unfortunately, and there's no point being soft-headed or sentimental about it.

I don't think the poster was being soft-headed or sentimental. It's perfectly possible that the dog had had a bad experience with a young child before the op's Mum took it on - certainly it was known that the dog had a problem with young children.

Regardless of whether the dog is reacting to a previous experience or is aggressive for any other reason, it clearly should not be around children. I struggle to understand why someone who regularly has small children in their home would take on a dog with these problems. No responsible rescue centre would have let her have the dog if they'd known about her grandchildren.

The fact that the dogs aren't walked regularly won't help the situation either - dogs (like most sentient creatures) get bored and frustrated if they're confined.

Have you contacted local rescue centres? There are a lot of brilliant ones in my area who will do everything they can to take on dogs like this to avoid them being put to sleep. They have behavioural experts who work with and retrain the dogs and would only rehome a dog like this to experienced dog owners without children.

If you can persuade your Mum to let the dog go to a rescue, that might be the best option for all concerned here. If she can't look after the dogs properly and they're a danger to her grandchildren, this situation just can't go on. It could be a choice between her letting the dogs go to a rescue now or having them forcibly removed and destroyed when the aggressive one seriously hurts someone.

I love dogs but you're certainly not over-reacting or being petty by trying to keep your child safe.

RuthnJasper

My dog is not a biter, but when my niece and nephew were little she was secured in a separate room with a readily available 'stair gate' with opening door. That way, the dog and children could see each other and get used to each other without any danger to either.

Tough situation though, I can understand the OH's anger and am somewhat disappointed in the OP's mother - though she is ill and perhaps this is a factor.

I am saying this bit just as an illustration of an experience I once had, and not as any form of comment on the OP, her children, her mother or the dog - but I once looked after an ex-neighbour's little kids for an evening (awful people - the baby got dysentry from their own house ). At one point, there was an almighty scream and the little girl (about 4 yrs old) came howling to me having been badly scratched by the cat. She and her brother swore faithfully that they hadn't been doing anything to the cat, but she later said that she had been trying to poke things "into its bottom". I pitied that cat, for more reasons than that one, and I'm not really a cat lover.

However, the OP has not suggested anything like provocation, so I don't see how the dog can be in the same room as the children. It is not difficult for the dog to be shut safely away whilst the children are there. Surely that is what MUST happen and, if it does not, the children don't visit. No need to ban visits outright OR get rid of the dog. It's not that difficult.

Hope things get sorted OP, and that your mum gets well soon. x

Indie_Kid

Solsol wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies btw my family had left me feeling like I was over-reacting but feel a bit more assured that I'm not!

I do wonder if they'd be doing the same as you, if it was their child who was bitten? EDIT: I do find it strange that your niece was bitten and is still taken there. I wouldn't take her if that was me.

I don't see what you've done wrong here. We do normally shut our dogs out if we have visitors. But it does depend who it is - mum's mum and her siblings are fine with our dogs; so they don't get shut out. The worse that any one of them has done was smack my uncle between the legs. They are, for the most part, well behaved.

gettingtheresometime

Solsol wrote: »

J
He is also more wary around dogs now although that could be a good thing really as I don't want him thinking that all dogs are friendly as they clearly aren't! I am happy for him to play with dogs I know and trust but will definitely be more wary myself of him playing with other dogs in the future

I have to say this is one of my real bug bears when I'm out walking my dog -the number of people who think its ok to let their child wander up to him with the intention of stroking him. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to tell a child not to stroke any dog without asking its owner's permission

He may be a softie but he may be having an off day one day and if he reacts badly, then it would be his neck on the line.

I'll keep my dog away from the child but I wish parents would keep their child away from my dog as well

Pollycat

Solsol wrote: »

It isn't the first time it's happened, the dog has previously bitten my three year old niece twice and still my mum refuses to give away said dog.

Solsol wrote: »

I agree but I wasn't aware that it didn't like children until after it had bitten my son. I also didn't know about the times it had bitten my niece either as I assume the family had chosen not to tell me in case I decided to keep my son away from my mum's house.

I find it quite shocking that your siblings didn't tell you about the dog biting your niece.
What on earth were they thinking?

Don't bow to their pressure.
You are not in the wrong here.

sulphate

The problem IMO is not the dog as such, the OP is mainly frustrated with her mother's inability to manage the situation. The dog has bitten a child on 3 separate occasions. I have never owned a dog but if I did own one that had bitten a child just ONCE I would take suitable measures to ensure it never happened again. If there were suitable restraints in place (similar to what krlyr mentioned) then the dog would not be a problem to children because he/she would never have the chance to interact with them.

PuzzledDave

From the very first second of life, the primary job of a parent is to protect the child from harm. Everything else is a very, very distant 2nd, 3rd, 4th...

I'm glad your little one was not too badly harmed, I certainly would not trust the dog not to do more serious damage. I mean, regardless of what your siblings think compare that to how you fell if the dog bites your LO's face and leaves permanent scars, bites off part of your LOs nose or ear.

DaveTheMus

The dog is locked in a room and doesn't get walked.....it's no wonder it's volatile......

Both dogs should be rehomed, your mother is obviously incapable of looking after a dog.