6 year old daughter attacked this weekend by our dog :( - Page 2

[greenmagick]

Growling over furniture is not really a dominance behavior, its just bad manners.  Its resource guarding that you can train out.  My dogs "place" is actually the couch, keeps them out of the way of the kids.  The key is they understand what OFF means.

If a dog is growling over it, yes, keep them off until they learn, but for dogs who dont, there is no reason to keep them off.

[Oubliette8]

I would make sure you only approach the dog from the side with the good eye. Make a conscious effort to do so, and teach your children to do the same. Also, talk to her and let her know you are coming and nearby. That should help reduce the startling when awake. I'd stay away when she is sleeping. Being blind in one eye creates a large blind spot for the dog. They don't know you are there until you are touching them, particularly since this is recent. It would be like if someone snuck up on you from behind, even if they mean well, you still jump.

[Peony]

Definitely get into an animal behaviorist. We went through this in late 2009 with our beloved dog, who was 7 was the time. Out of nowhere he bit our 3 y on the hand, a warning bite. We did a full medical workup after that, nothing. I kept them separated unless I was directly within arm's reach, one day he did it again, I was right there and was powerless to stop him, it was so quick. He went after her face that time, right under her eye, she turned just in time and he barely got her, thank goodness. He was just lying there on the couch, jumped up and jumped at her. One of DD1's friend's little sister had just been severely mauled by a "friendly" neighbor's dog that the child frequently played with a couple months prior, tore her cheek apart, she is quite scarred now so that was very much in my mind. 

Anyway, I kept him completely separate from all children, it was very difficult to do, we finally got into the top behaviorist in our area. We had a long appointment, went through his entire life, history, any behaviors. She pointed that things that I only saw as quirks, and basically said that she hated to do it but she would only suggest euthanizing him. That he could never be trusted around children again, that this just wasn't out of the blue, it had been a long time coming, we just had no idea. He had never been aggressive towards people, other dogs, yes. It broke my heart, I was going to do it, I felt like it was between my child and my dog, but the child wins. At the last minute we actually we able to find him a home with DH's coworker's parents. They were an older couple so no children and had years of experience working with aggressive dogs. He is doing well there, I still miss him daily, just typing this out has me bawling. 

[Passport Kids]

You need to get this dog out of your home. I understand, I have a 7 yr old dog I hand fed from birth that is now blind in both eyes due to illness misdiagnosed. I have a family member that still has a dog that ripped the face off a 2 yr old (after warnings), 5 years ago. My kids have never seen that dog, and I have very close tabs on my dogs.

Protect your kids, that is your job. Your fur baby has to go, after biting your child, no matter how heart broken that makes you.

[MidwifeErika]

Several years ago we had to rehome our pug. She had gotten just kind of strange in her older age. She had begun acting poorly around our children and she ended up biting my son and he had to have several stitches to put his ear back together. She was going for some food and got his ear.... we debated on what to do about it and had nearly convinced ourselves that it was just a fluke, but then only a few days later (and even with our efforts to keep everyone away from the dog), she bit his arm.... didn't break the skin, but the message was clear that she was going to continue. We were going to put her down, which was horrifying because we had her for 6 years. Fortunately, my husband worked with a woman who knew what had happened and offered to take the dog. She knew to keep this dog away from all children. This dog is still living with her and has become more aggressive towards other dogs as well. I don't regret getting rid of our dog, as much as I missed her! It was so heartbreaking to watch my child with a mangled ear scream and cry while it had to be put back together. I never wanted to go through that again.

It is hard to know what to do in these cases. I won't tell you what you should do as there is too much at stake no matter what you choose. Just know that some of us have been there too and had to make decisions that sucked and had to feel the uncertainty that comes with wondering if you are making the right decision.

[jazzharmony]

I appreciate everyone's input.  

I have struggled a lot and will continue to, as we figure out what's best for everyone.

My husband does not support putting the dog down.  Our son broke down in tears at the thought of it and is still recovering from that discussion.  Our daughter said she loves pug more than anyone and that she would go with him if we sent him to live somewhere else (rehoming is not an option)  Both children are bonded to both of our dogs as if they are siblings.  They have never known life without our first dog, who is almost 13yo and our rescued dog, who is 6, has been with us since our daughter was 1yo.  She considers him her best friend.  At this point, we are choosing to keep the dogs away from all children, in an attempt to save his life and preserve our children's emotional well being.  It may not seem like the right course, to others, but we feel we have to try it.  

[starling&diesel]

Hello, jazz ... I just wanted to chime in here as someone who went through what your daughter is going through.  When I was six, our family dog bit me (2 yrs old at the time).  My mom took her to the vet, but nothing showed up.  The dog bit my brother.  My mom kept the dog apart from us.  It was difficult and traumatizing for us all, as it was not how we wanted to live, and not how the dog wanted to live.  My mom sat us down and we talked about putting the dog down.  My brother and I protested, bawled, threatened to hate my mom, etc.  The dog bit the postal worker.  My mom had the dog put down.  My brother and I were devastated.  And then we got over it, and an important lesson was learned.  My mom's priority was to keep us safe. 

I know you're struggling with the situation, and I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this at all.  How hard.  How very hard for you all.

[provocativa]

My sil owns a franchise of Bark Busters, an Australian dog training company.  It is their theory that dogs do not see children as leaders of the pack, the way they see adult humans.  They believe that dogs consider children to be middle members of the pack, and therefore they are allowed to discipline the children the way that dogs discipline each other- mostly nipping and biting, some growling as warning.  It does sound like a soft muzzle is in order. 

What about nutritional therapy for aggression?  I am snappy and bitey without my magnesium and fish oil to calm me down, and I know that lyme depletes many nutrients in humans. 

[K1329]

We had a dog for many years. When we added our human baby, she was fine. But, when dd hit the toddler years the dog started exhibiting aggressive behavior toward our dd, and, I feared that she would bite our dd. I brought her to the vet, who did a 45 minute exam, said there are several types of aggression, your dog has fear aggression. You have 3 options: total separation, rehoming, or, having the dog put down. The vet went on to add, you never take a chance with animals with fear aggression and that you don't wan't to risk your dd going to her prom with a scarred face. Don't take the chance. We agonized over the decision - this dog was our first baby and very much a family member. In the end, we couldn't bear banishing her to the backyard, couldn't find a home for our elderly pup, and had her euthanized. A difficult decision, but, I believe we did the right thing. Don't take a chance with your children being permanently scarred. Maybe you can have the dog evaluated and get a professional opinion? What a difficult decision. I'm sorry you're going through this.