rdc

I have an English Bulldog and the same thing happened to my 3 yr old daughter, albiet not as severe as what happened to your son. It seemed that when my daughter would run and play the puppy would jump and bite her. I was ready to do what you wanted to do.
But, since and daughter was not hurt and we paid a small fortune for the dog and she was only 9 weeks old I called my vet. He advised me that puppies MUST have a cage to be put in and slowly let out to play in short intervals. This worked like a charm and now my English Bulldog is extremely well behaved around my children. (Not to mention too lazy now to bite anyone.)
I can not stress enough however that my situation was NO WHERE NEAR as severe as your situation. If you are like me and I have no doubt that you are, My childrens welfare is my first and ONLY priority, be it a dog, a person, or whatever. If it hurts my kids it will have to go. Period !!

PanteraGSTK

I agree. We're not trying to tell you what to do but think of it this way. I guarentee the dog felt the child was too close while he was eating. Ihave a Rott and when I bought him he growled when somebody got close. My sister was 9 at the time but he only weighed 8lbs. I told her to carry him around all the time. She did that for a few days and he stopped growling. He loves my sister more than me and never sees her. He is now almost 3 and 150lbs.

With that said, one day he was sleeping and she sat on him (she was 10 or 11) and he growled and I told her to get away NOW. She got mad. I told her that he'll growl for a few seconds and if you ignore him he snapps. He has NEVER bitten anyone, but will warn you.

When he's eating my mom (when she was around him) would take chewy (rawhide) away from him and he'd wait to get it back. If he's eating out of his bowl he'll just let you annoy him. It took CONSTANT training and annoying him to get him this way. You can do just about anything to him and he doesn't care. BUT. One of my friends diddn't believe how much he weighed and I told him to pick him up, but be careful not to hurt him. This friend has been around this dog since I bought him. He tried to pick him up my dog turned around and tried to get him. Grazed his nose. I had no idea he'd do that. BUt my friend hurt him. I tried to pick him up and he whinned. I guess he's too heavy now and it hurts him.

My point is you have to not only train the dog on how to behave, but teach the child what they can and can't do to the dog. ALLWAYS tell them to leave them alone when sleeping or eating. DOn't let them take things unless they are playing. Little kids don't know dog behavior so sometimes they get attacked. The child and the dog are at fault, the dog just happens to be the stronger one in this case. If this has never happend before, the dog was reacting(badly). He may have just been trying to warn your child and accedently bit him. How did the dog act after this? If it knows it did something wrong then he might not have meant it. But who knows? Don't put him to sleep if you don't trust him. Ask your child what they want you to do.

I have rules with my dog. If he EVER bites me in anger he's gone. But if he is protecting his territory and is trying to warn not hurt, he gets another chance depending on the injuries. If your dog was laying on the floor and eating and your child gets down next to him close to his face, that is a challange to a dog because the child is small and younger(maybe, I don't know). He may have been warning and the child's face was too close.

All of that being said I don't want a dog to die if there is no need. If he blatently attackted your child... no question, it must be put down.

I hope you and your child recover from this. It happens a lot sadly.

Gotlift01

Sorry to hear about your son, not a good thing to have happen to a little kid. Glad he is doing ok though, as it could always be worse.

I agree with what everyone else is saying about him just snapping because he was to close to his face and his toy. Some dogs get incredibly moody and testy when they are playing with toys.......it's kinda like there private time and they don't want to be bothered....some dogs are just that way. Granted he sucks he did it, but animals are animals.

How old is the dog?? If you need to get rid of him to a good home, I might be interested in taking him for you.......just a thought!!


~Nick

yarddog

I know what the dog was doing, he was acting instinctively and I'm sure it was an accident. He's always been tolerant of the little guy. I really love the dog that's why he's not dead. The problem is I can't change what happened. If I keep him and do more work and training and he "accidently" bites someone again, I'll feel much worse than I do now and I'll always tell my self I was stupid for not getting rid of him the first time this happened.

I can't afford to give him a second chance. I'm the only one that wants him gone, my wife and two kids want to keep him but I'm afriad it's to risky. I have to admit, that has time goes on my resolve to let him go is getting weaker. That 10 day quaratine rule is making this hard.

yarddog

Nick, the dog is 8 months old. He's a very handsome dog and well behaved except when he's excited like when you first get home but I've been working on that. He can sit and stay fairly well and he knows how to guard. I'd love it if you could take him.

My son is healing up well and there shouldn't be any permanent scars.

Tfeore, My heart goes out to you, man. I hope she makes a full recovery.

Steve

here's a pic:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...69#post5701169

Moose10

yarddog, sorry to hear about your son, and I'm glad to hear that it wasn't a severe bite. Well you sound like you know why this happened in the first place, but I feel like throwing in my 2 cents. When a young child and a dog are on the floor together at the same level, #1 is they should always be supervised closely, and #2 is that there should be no toys, food, or treats that could possibly generate jealousy or a protective (it's mine) sense in the dog towards the child.
I know you feel bad about this whole thing, and I don't want to rub it in, but spunbearing came the closest to saying it....it's your fault. That being said, time to move on.
If I was in your shoes, and the AB is a puppy, I'd keep him. I doubt the dog has any agressiveness towards your son. Just make sure that in the future there is nothing that could come in between your son & the dog.
I've got three big boys (see gallery) and they all have accepted our 8mo. old son...and my oldest dog (10yrs) insists on sleeping in the same room as my son
Best of luck to you !

PanteraGSTK

I agree completely. He's just too young to get rid of. He hasn't even matured yet(9mo). This is as bad as he will EVER act. Is he cut? If not do that if you keep him. It sounds like you are dead set on getting rid of him. I've had too many friends that get dogs only to find out you have to train them and take care of the ALL THE TIME not when it is convienent. After the puppy is a dog and not cute and fun they get rid of them. Your puppy made a mistake, true you don't want it to happen again. Two things you can do. 1 is get rid of him and eliminate the problem. 2 is keep him and make SURE he won't do it again. I guarantee the 10 day quarenteen will traumatize him. If you get rid of him and buy another dog, you may have a worse dog than this one.

Tfeore

yarddog, I know how hard this decision is for you. If that dog ever gets out and bites someone, you could be in for a major law suit. You know the dog can bite, even it's own family and don't think a lawyer will hold off on pointing that out.

I am not defending what happened to my daughter, it's MY fault!!! She wedged open a 10 ft tall screen door open, crawled outside, got next to the food bowl. It happened and was over in less time than it took my wife to point out how cute Marisa's new church outfit was.

We profesionally trained our dogs, we took steps to avoid the bad situations but things happen.

My dogs were older dogs; 8 & 10. I had to put both down because we could not know for sure which one did it. Yours is a pup and maybe that makes a difference but if something were to happen again, could you live with your choice.
Sorry to steal the thread guys, this thread too close to home. I'll bow out now.
tom

I realize I'm in the minority here and my view is skewed but please guys don't judge until you've walked in these shoes.

crobtex

I'm sorry about the kid and hope all turns out well for him. Having a dog that is very protective, I have mixed emotions about your situation.

My three legged Akita/Lab mix (about 110#'s) has only snapped at two people (that I know of). One was my 12 yo nephew that was picking on my 3 yo grandson. Got him on the face, not hard, but hard enough to let him know to leave the kid alone. The second was my 14 yo niece that was horsing around and ruff-housing with me. I caught Woody by the collar before he got to her. In both cases, he was protecting "family". Woody can be aggressive toward strangers, but not vicious until THEY cross the line and become aggressive. I know how he is and make sure he is restrained or kept at a distance when strangers are around.
Even though he's been "fixed", other dogs, coyotes, etc are another story. If they don't yield immediately or can run faster then his three legs, which most do, it don't take long for him to make them comply.

FWIW, I've had two German Shepard's that were just as protective.

Lrdchaos

I wouldn't give you 15 cents for any type of bulldog mix or full blood for that matter. Any dog can bite, but that is what those dogs were bread for originally, and although it may have been suppress in the breeds over the years it is still there. Sorry to hear about the situation but your making the right decision.

Timmay2

If itll snap and draw blood once itll do it again. .

You cant always be there to supervise and you need to be able to trust the animal to not bite all of the time no matter what.

Good choice, child safety first.

big jimmy

We have 4 dogs and its the Shepard that is always out watching the edge. He sleeps in the hallway between the kids rooms. No stranger, and I mean this, will ever get past that dog while he's alive.

That said, he is the one dog of the four (other than Big Black Dog) that I trust completely wiith the kids.
I want to repeat what I said earlier- that dog was warning the child it was too close. That is a good sign. If he'd wanted to maim or kill he'd of done it. The fact he did not shows he was making a point, not a grave.

I've seen one dog in my life that was out to kill/maim and I can tell you its a totally different thing going on. A lot faster, much more intense, the bites more brutal. "Relentless" is a word that comes to mind.

Big Jimmy

yarddog

DING! We have a winner!

I take full responsibility for my mistake and it was my fault. I was irresponsible and my son had to suffer for it. It would also be irresponsible of me to keep him. I think he's already got a new owner and I'm sure he will be a great dog for that family. I've been around animals my whole life I can easily recognize a dangerous or mean hearted animal. If he were either he'd be dead.


This is to anyone who hates any specific breed because that breed is seen as dangerous or vicious: Bully's are awesome dogs. So are German Shepard's and rotties. I've been around these dogs my whole life (pit bulls too) and that's why I got one. Bullies are not edit dogs, they're extremely tough, loyal and smart. They are stubborn and hard headed but once you establish dominance and they recognize you as the alpha they great. I googled a little on this subject and found something that summed it up nicely:

Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner most often is responsible -- not the breed, and not the dog.
An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, as in the case of the Pomeranian that killed the infant (google if you want to learn more about this).
Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be potentially dangerous. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.

spunbearing

Here are some pics for the pitbull haters. I have owned over a dozen pitbulls in my life ( currently 3). I have been involved in the rescue of probably 30-40 more pitbulls over the years that have come to stay at my house for short periods of time. I have never had one bite anybody or even think about it. Pitbulls by nature are very social dogs and love humans. They can be aggressive towards other dogs if you allow them to lead you. You must always be a strong leader with dogs. If you allow the dog to be the pack leader all kinds of bad things can happen. I could trust my dogs alone with any children including infants. Although I know 100% for sure that my dogs would never have an incident with a child I am always there to supervise. To leave any small children alone unsupervised with ANY kind of dog is irresponsible. That being said here are a few pics of my dogs maiming small children. Note: the 3 year old in the pink shirt is sitting ON the dogs back and the dog is happy to have the company. I brought 2 of my dogs to the chapter 27 BBQ and I thought that people would be nervous. Nobody showed any concern with my dogs or their children being around my dogs. That tells me that people see the difference with a well socialized dog. I'm proud of my dogs and all of the work that I have into making them well socialized well behaved animals that people enjoy being around.One more note: My older dog is 16. Sorry that I ran so long.[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][IMG]

spunbearing

[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

Again sorry for being so long. I just want you all to know that pitbulls are not the brutal killers that people think that they are.

Jeff