Dog Bit - Now What?

[mountaindogs]

[quote="ezzy333] I have heard you say this before but I have never been able to make a connection from puppy playing to an older dog biting. The two just come from a completely difference source with a completely different motive. I have had lots of puppies that love to rough house but have never had one that was a biter, and this included not only Britts, Toy Terriers, but Doberman's as well.

Ezzy[/quote]

I feel that there are puppy behaviors that need to be addressed. Play biting, and play behavior are not the worrisome part. Food and toy possesive behavior should be stopped in a puppy. Dogs can become possesive about sleeping places, about their crate (This is BIG TROUBLE at the vet, or when you board your dog!!) or anything that they enjoy or view as their own. Growling at me, snapping, or other aggressive behavior for taking something away or "messing with" a puppy while it eats is unacceptable. I set them up for the trouble just so I can correct them. I do it even when they are with littermates. The growl at each other and tussle over the food, but if I reach in with my hand, they learn that human hand is not acceptable to bite or growl at. You don't have to be rough with the little ones. They understand and kind of expect you to be boss. But you set patterns of behavior and keep them there. I still use food time as a training time, and should be able to take food away or call or send a dog away from the food. Not every day, but often.

[displaced_texan]

so many things scream red flag in the original post..the OP states he feels the dog will bite again, his wife told him the dog growled at his kids a week before the incident, he dont trust the dog enough to allow his kids around it while eating or even to being loving in the dogs face, she barks at shadows, she barks at all noises outside and at people, obviously has insecurity/fear issues.. he stated he is keeping the dog, not judging him as its his life and his family but just curious as to why the decision to keep her...ruth

Because not everyone sees getting rid of the dog as a solution to every annoyance?

I don't have kids, but not every situation is the same. We have a dog that if allowed will bark at every noise, inside, outside, shadows, stuff that's out of place, etc. She's completely non aggressive, VERY gentle.

My parents have a dog that is a fear biter, he's bit me twice. He's a rescue, they didn't think he'd live to make it to the vet, much less through the first weekend, but all in all he's a pretty decent pet for them now. Mom asked me last time he bit me if I wanted them to do anything about it, I said no without hesitation.

[GUNDOGS]

so many things scream red flag in the original post..the OP states he feels the dog will bite again, his wife told him the dog growled at his kids a week before the incident, he dont trust the dog enough to allow his kids around it while eating or even to being loving in the dogs face, she barks at shadows, she barks at all noises outside and at people, obviously has insecurity/fear issues.. he stated he is keeping the dog, not judging him as its his life and his family but just curious as to why the decision to keep her...ruth

Because not everyone sees getting rid of the dog as a solution to every annoyance?

I don't have kids, but not every situation is the same. We have a dog that if allowed will bark at every noise, inside, outside, shadows, stuff that's out of place, etc. She's completely non aggressive, VERY gentle.

My parents have a dog that is a fear biter, he's bit me twice. He's a rescue, they didn't think he'd live to make it to the vet, much less through the first weekend, but all in all he's a pretty decent pet for them now. Mom asked me last time he bit me if I wanted them to do anything about it, I said no without hesitation.

i dont think people get rid of a dog as a solution to every "annoyance" dogs are dogs and SOMEthings can definitly be worked on or even accepted as dog behavior BUT to refer to biting a child in the face and previously growling at children as a warning to a bite as just an "ANNOYANCE"? wow :roll: yes its obvious you dont have children...and i will add that your parents having a dog that bites are 2 grown adults making the decision that they will keep a dog knowing they may or you may get bitten BUT when they start making that decision with a young child in their home and putting that child in harms way because of their decisions its a hole different situation, alot of dog owners including myself would tolerate and work on correcting alot more things such as dominate/possessive issues, maybe even some growling ect if it were just us adults in the home since its us that would pay the consequence like VMAN did for trying to work with such a dog but look at VMANs hand and tell me him exposing a kid to that dog because of his decision to work with the dog would be the right thing to do......ruth

[slistoe]

ruth you need to get over giving up your dog. You made the decision. It is done. Right or wrong it was right in your mind and quit second guessing or wanting everyone to get on the bandwagon and pat you on the back.

[GUNDOGS]

ruth you need to get over giving up your dog. You made the decision. It is done. Right or wrong it was right in your mind and quit second guessing or wanting everyone to get on the bandwagon and pat you on the back.

i dont have any regrets at all about my decision so you assuming that is WAAAAY off base..believe me when i say i havent second guessed my decision once after it was made and it was not ONLY my decision it was a decision made by my husband and my family as well as discussed among close friends who spend alot of time in our home and not one taken lightly but to say i want people to "jump on the bandwagon and pat me on the back" is way off base and i dont need approval nor did i ask for it..so do the other 40 people on here who say under no circumstance would they keep a dog who did this have hidden deep regrets about rehoming a dog in the past too?? many have said they have, are they secretly wanting people to pat them on the back :roll: its safe to say almost if not all people have rehomed a dog or put it down so does the same ignorant uninformed comment go for them too?? vman was on here and posted a pic of his hand as a result of taking on a dog who someone else wanted gone after it showed warning signs of biting and look what happened so he shared his story to say he regreted making that decision which should be a lesson for people to pay attention..again you are wayyy off with your comment it seems youre the one still thinking about my decision, more so then me......ruth

[slistoe]

You are the one going around in circles and calling people out on these threads.

[GUNDOGS]

You are the one going around in circles and calling people out on these threads.

it seems you are the one calling people out on here (me)...asking questions, being curious, trying to understand peoples decsions is going around in circles or calling people out? i thought it was a forum and you discuss and ask questions, post on your experiences, share stories, debate things, learn and every now and again agree on things but maybe im wrong about that :roll: its really something how people on here can post about the same thing and say the same exact thing ive said but i get "analysed" and it all ends up back to an issue thats done and over with for me but you assume something without even truly knowing about it and post it so therefore it must be fact right?? im actually very curious about this subject and peoples opinions, experiences and reasoning for the decisions that theyve made and have gotten on here to share and obviously im not the only one who feels this way if you have read the 3 pages of responses..i can count on my hand the amount of people who would say to keep a dog that bit their kid and i seriously am interested in understanding why someone would keep it, especially in the house with the kids..as a parent, as a dog owner just very curious..the thread i started is because i am honestly interested in how many dogs are successfully bred for temperment AND hunting ability and how often people actually get both, how often people will prefer one over the other so much to the point the things are overlooked or tolerated and also how people view their dogs in their household which varies GREATLY and is interesting to me..i think the thread mountaindogs started is out of that same curiosity as well and has been insightfull and informative..for me thats how i learn about people, dogs, training, hunting and all of it coming together, by reading, asking questions but i dont have a secret agenda and if you knew the entire situation with my dog you would not have made that comment, believe me, FYI she never bit anyone so its not the same situation as the OP and not what was on my mind when posting, sorry to disappoint you..i did share my personal experiences with the OP just as others have done and as i said whether i agree or not makes no difference what so ever, its his life and his child but he did share the issue so now im just curious as to what was the deciding factor(s) that made him decide to keep the dog despite all his concerns in his post....ruth

[Knightfarms]

It's been a little while, lots of opinions, I'm wondering what's up with the dog now? What was the decision? What's changed?

[midwestfisherman]

I'm glad you put the photos on here,you just might get through to someone and save a child.A dog is an animal,not a human,too many people seem to forget that.

I know what your saying and not trying to pick a fight but what makes us any more special then a dog. We are animals too so just because we have a bigger brain means that we are better. People also seem to forget we are on the same genetic map as they are. If we could speak their language we might actually learn something. They have been around longer then us.

Seriously?! :roll: I love my dogs a lot but in no way do I even remotely compare them to a human! They're an animal plain and simple!

[ezzy333]

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I agree and that pretty much sums up my experience too.

Ezzy

[ezzy333]

Since this topic has been discussed for sometime now and everyone seems to be spemding more time defending their opinion than offering any new advice I think it is time to close this one. Most of the posts are just restating what was already been said. Though things have been handled well by everyone we seem to be drifting towards posting about someone elses opinion rather than coming up with anything new. With all of this taken into consideration this will be locked before we get into a heated battle rather than afterwards.

Ezzy