Our dog bit dd's face

So sorry you are dealing with these troubles.

I had a Pekingese who bit my son's face when he was 19 months old. The damage was greater then in your case, and we eventually euthanized the dog. :

Biting at the face is the most aggressive reaction possible from a dog. It denotes a very high level of aggression, it was not a warning bite. Warning bites are to the hands or the ankles. You are right that Abby should never be around children. If you can find her a new home, can you guarantee that she will never come into contact with another child? Would you feel responsible if a couple years down the line she bit someone else's child? Would Abby adjust easily to a new home? Would it be easy for her new owners to learn how to handle her? Answering these questions honestly to yourself can help you decide what to do. You don't need to post your answers here unless you want to.

The chasing rabbits thing is normal. The beagle breed was developed solely for the purpose of hunting rabbits. That's just what they do.

I wouldn't get a new dog right away. Take some time to do some breed research and decide what the purpose of your dog is and how much energy you want to spend exercising, training, and grooming.

Our son is now almost three and we've had a couple of pets die. We just told him that they died and went up to Heaven (or whatever you believe). We told him that we buried their bodies in the ground, and we can't see them anymore, but their spirits live in Heaven now. I know he doesn't understand all of it, but he accepts our answers. He doesn't seem old enough to exhibit real grief. He never really was upset about any of it.

I pray that your family can be at peace with whatever you decide.

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We took Abby to a "shy dog" class at the humane society a couple times, and I've been emailing a good dog trainer who lives in our neighborhood, but really, the big issue we were working on was dog aggression. She is generally fine with dd. She'll growl or show some teeth and we work as quick as possible to break them apart (dd is fast, but we try our hardest to avoid the big doggie hugs that Abby hates). I've contacted both of these trainers for advice on this specific situation as well (waiting for response).

That's the thing I keep going back to. She's usually fine and gives a warning. We were even "okay" with it when Abby nipped at Haley a bit (not okay, but we realized this was normal dog warning/fear behavior). She snapped at her, but didn't get any skin. With us, Abby will snap when we're clipping her nails, but she never bites down hard enough to break skin. We always figured she would always warn, but never cause actual injury. There's a scratch now that's about 1.5 inches long under Haley's eye. Not too deep, but broken skin and swelling.

Our only other option would be to keep the two separated at all times (except under very close supervision), but so far tonight Abby has been whining from downstairs and Haley has been yelling "ABBY! ABBY!" (she misses her dog). I guess I don't know what would be worse for Abby, being kept downstairs alone all day, or getting a new home where the situation suits her better. (our downstairs is a big nice playroom with windows. We live in a ranch with walk-out basement. We'd have to put her elsewhere when I bring dd down to play, though)

Thanks for the responses so far. This is such a tough decision. I feel like it's my #1 job to protect dd and a dog isn't nearly as important as dd's safety, but she's our dog and she's been through a lot (we got her at the shelter at age 4 or so) and we can't just give up on her. Tough tough decision.

ETA: Not that this is something I'm proud of, but a couple times I've missed it and dd has run over and stuck her hand in Abby's bowl WHILE ABBY IS EATING. I would have been more diligent if abby was food-aggressive, but Abby really doesn't mind at all. I stopped her, but there has never even been so much as a growl while eating. DD also gives her treats and shares food with her, which according to one trainer helps with the food motivation so Abby has a positive association with Haley.

That would be tough.
It sounds like your doggie might do better in a home without small kids or other animals.

Oh man, it's last year played over in my head all over again. We had to euthanize our Rottie last year after MANY attempts at correcting aggressive behavior. We got her from rescue when she was a tiny puppy. The jack*** "breeder" docked their tails with rubberbands. *grrrrrr* She was *awesome* with DH and myself but she started exhibiting some aggression toward the kids at the age of 2 years. She would be laying on the floor and they would walk through the living room (on the other side of the room from her) and she would get up and growl and bark at them. And my kids are older (7, 9 and 12) who have lived with dogs their entire lives and understand how to behave around dogs better than most kids. We talked extensively to different trainers and our vet and we made the painful decision to put her down. That decision was made because she was a fearful dog anyway and just because she had never shown aggression to myself or DH didn't mean that we could guarantee she wouldn't turn on another adult that did not have an established dominance with her. It was the most awful decision I have ever had to make and I still cry over it but I do feel like it was best. I never could have lived with myself if she had seriously harmed someone. Nor could I have lived with myself if she ended up in a home that threw her in a backyard somewhere and didn't love her like she was used to.

I am not telling you to euthanize your dog but sometimes it is the right decision. Just make sure that the decision you make is one that you can live with and that if you do rehome her, that she is in the best hands she could possibly be in. I know you will.

Boy do I feel your pain. I am so sorry for you and furbaby. And, of course, your little one for getting bitten. :

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Respectfully, this is not true. A warning snap to the face is very normal dog behavior, although very dangerous to delicate human anatomy. I don't minimize the danger of a warning snap, as a child could be severely injured by a dog who was trying to say nothing more than "Hey, get off me NOW."

I've had a couple experiences with this that I'd like to share.

My first dog as an adult was a mini poodle/schnauzer mix. We adopted her through a rescue group. Over the year we had her, she bit three of our friends' kids. Not broken skin bites, but still. We didn't consider euthanizing her because she was a great dog otherwise. By the time our son was 4 months old, we realized that we were not the right fit for her. The rescue group didn't know that she needed a home without kids because she was at a vet's office rather than being fostered with a family with kids. We placed her through poodle rescue and fully disclosed everything they needed to know to find her the right home. Within a couple weeks a retired couple adopted her. They knew when they adopted her that she couldn't be around kids. So that worked out well.

A few years ago we adopted a lab/cattle dog mix from the SPCA. She was a good dog, but she wasn't tolerant with my son. We tried for 6 months to teach our son to give her space, but he wanted to interact with her. She nipped him on the face a few times and then finally, she bit him over and under his eye and left a mark. I knew then that she had to go. She wasn't a bad dog, but it wasn't a good match between her and my son. She went to live with my aunt who has her own spoiled pack of dogs and lives in the country.

It's a hard situation to be in. But there are solutions, particularly for dogs who otherwise do well (away from kids.)

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ITA and that is what I was trying to say. I'd be afraid of what would happen to Abby if she were rehomed. Will the next person have your compassion if this happens in a different way?

Like I said, sometimes euthanasia is the most loving thing to do.......... to protect Abby.

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I urge him to reconsider that position, though I do respect and understand his way of thinking. My Pekingese would not have done any better in any other home. I'm a vet tech and I know very well how to handle dogs. I've also read tons of dog behavior and training books just for my own enjoyment. My Peke was just insane. He didn't give warning before attacking, he had a lot of normal everyday triggers that would send him into a blind rage. He was a rescue dog, so I don't know his past, and I didn't raise him. He wouldn't tolerate having his hair brushed, so I had to just shave him a few times a year. And even that was an ordeal where I had to pin him down with my knee so he wouldn't bite me, and he still managed to always get me once or twice. He had gunky ears and I couldn't clean them properly because he wanted to bite me for it. This dog had no future with anyone. No amount of training was going to change that.