My springer spaniel bit my daughter.

[HOGEYE]

Today our springer spaniel bit our daughter on the cheek. She was pulling on his ears at the time. She is almost three and is always pulling on his ears and trying to ride him. She likey needs a stich or 2 on the cheek and is at the emergency room now with mom. He always has growled but has never bit anyone. Dog is 8.5 years old and is neutard.

Should we find a new home for the dog, euphanize, keep him? I am not sure what to do.

[Ralph Wiggum]

It's tough, but if I were in your shoes, the dog would be gone. That's just asking for a disaster.

[goose89]

I don't have kids, and I may be wrong, but I don't see the problem being your dog. If you know that she's doing this to the dog and the dog has given you warning (growling), keep her (your daughter) from pulling on him / riding him. I do not have the answer on how to do that, as I don't have kids.

Your dog is only protecting itself and sound like it had it's patience tried to the breaking point. Hope he doesn't just "bypass" the growl if / when it happens again, and just go for the bite. Then it's time for new home. I don't feel he deserves the needle though. Good luck.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

That's tough, could be the start of something though. Has the dog shown any other aggression other than the growling you mentioned and is that specifically always regarding the ear pulling?

If the situation is like Goose said, then ya, need to talk with the daughter. (I don't have kids either) If that is the scenario, then ya, sounds like your Dog had warned the child about this before

[fishinmajishin]

Same situation with me two years ago. Dog be gone.

[bigred1974]

your gonna have to remove one of the equations in this problem, and seeing as you cant get rid of the kid, kiss your dog goodbye. we got rid of 2 dogs when I was growing up due to biting. its hard but needs to be done, otherwise your asking for more problems. there is no do-over once he bites, do you want your daughter disfigured because she was just "playing" with the dog?

[dewyg]

My dog bite me daughter when she was three, I put the dog down! No second chance period!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SpringerGuy]

I believe it's time your daughter stops pulling on his ears. I would eventually get tired of someone pulling on my ears too. The growling should have been a warning to someone.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I agree with Goose89 & yopaul, It sound like the dog give plenty of warning with the growl.

Springerguy is dead on, I don't think it is the dogs fault at all.

It definetly does not deserve the needle!!!

[1runhotshot]

Let the pooch live, just at some place else.

[DaveT]

Put your family in front of the dog and get rid of him. How do you blame a 3 year old kid for getting bit? Kids do not pick up on the subtle and sometimes even the not so subtle signals the dog gives out. Even if you can teach your kid to stop aggravating the dog, can you teach the neighbor kids? Your nieces and nephews? The dog wanted the kid to stop, he bit and it stopped. He learned that biting works. He will do it again.

Your call on whether to find a home or put him down, but he wouldn't be staying in my house.

[DaveT]

Oh yeah, call your insurance agent and ask him what he thinks!

[Snag]

Find the dog a new home and don't get any more dogs. Most dogs would probably snip at a child that is yanking on its ears or in it's face or whatever.

If someone is just petting a dog and it bites, then that dog should be put to sleep.

[icehousebob]

I think the dog needs another chance. There should be some training for the daughter and closely supervised play time with the dog. If it was an unprovoked attack, I'd say put it down, but it seems like a spur of the moment mistake. If he had continued to attack, no question, put him down right now.

[Steve Foss]

A dog that bit the kid for pulling its ears will either bite the kid again or bite some other kid for doing the same thing. You can't police a 3-year-old that closely, and the minute you tell her "NO" and then turn your back, there she'll be pulling the dogs ears again.

It's not the dog's fault and it's not the kid's fault. It's just the way most 3-year-old kids and some dogs are built.

Find the dog a new home where the new owners don't have small children who will abuse the dog, and if you want a new dog before the child has learned how to behave properly with dogs, I'd definitely go through a kennel or dog breeder who knows both parents and knows whether or not it's likely their offspring will be tolerant enough for young kids.

I've known plenty of dogs who would lay there and grin when kids poked them in the eyes, pulled their ears and jumped up and down on them, and other dogs who were great in every other way but wouldn't tolerate any of that.

Just gotta find the right match.

Just my $.02.

[Ralph Wiggum]

It's not the dog's fault and it's not the kid's fault.

Couldn't have said it better.

Kids are gonna mess with dogs--no buts about it. Get rid of it. If you want another dog, find one from a reputable breeder (i.e. bred for temperment first!) and socialize the heck out of that dog. From day one, pull it's ears, play with it's mouth, do anything you can to annoy it. Get it used to it young and it'll be no problem.

[waterwolff]

Yep once a bitter always a bitter. Find the dog a new home or put it down.

[GoneFish'n71]

hard to do, but put it down. How will you feel if/when it bites the new owner? Can't take the chance. Remember it is a DOG NOT a PERSON!

[mrfish1991]

yes this is sad and i hope i never have to go through what you are going through

but on a side note....at first i thought the thread topic said my springer bit my daughter...now that would have made for an interesting conversation

[natalie]

I'm a big animal lover, but I've also been bit by a dog three times.. sorry but I'd put the dog down.

[HOGEYE]

yes this is sad and i hope i never have to go through what you are going through

but on a side note....at first i thought the thread topic said my springer bit my daughter...now that would have made for an interesting conversation

It is my Springer Spaniel that bit my daughter. She is back and no stitches. They glued the small cut and gave her some antibiotics. They said she will prob have a small scar. We still have a hard decision in front of us.

[Dave S]

Originally Posted By: stfcatfish

It's not the dog's fault and it's not the kid's fault.

Couldn't have said it better.

I agree here. There's been plenty of warning the dog has had enough. There's no reason the dog should have to tolerate this, nor is there a reason a 3 y.o. should have been allowed to keep this up after the warnings were given.

I'm sorry to say, this is a parenting issue.

Daughter stays, dog stays, parents in the doghouse.

You just need to keep them separated so this doesn't happen again.

[HOGEYE]

Originally Posted By: Ralph Wiggum

Originally Posted By: stfcatfish

It's not the dog's fault and it's not the kid's fault.

Couldn't have said it better.

I agree here. There's been plenty of warning the dog has had enough. There's no reason the dog should have to tolerate this, nor is there a reason a 3 y.o. should have been allowed to keep this up after the warnings were given.

I'm sorry to say, this is a parenting issue.

Daughter stays, dog stays, parents in the doghouse.

You just need to keep them separated so this doesn't happen again.

You're prob right, just never thought the dog would ever reach his breaking point.

[eyeguy 54]

Yup it's a tough call. Glad your youngster is ok. We had a problem with my son when he was 3 or 4 palying to hard with the cat. One day the cat nicked his cheek. I grabbed the cat and told Mark if he doesn't stop and the cat goes after him again I will get the rifle and shoot him and make him watch. That was the end of the rough play. They became good friends. Good luck!

[goose89]

Hogeye,

I didn't want to say what LEP7MM said b/c I don't have kids and can't comment on parenting or give advice, but that's exactly what I was thinking also. My thoughts (& prayers) go out to you, tonite. Best wishes.

[Dave S]

I am a parent and have at times reminded both my kids and my pets who the boss is in the house.

Again, my apologies for putting it the way I did, but you have to establish the grounds. Not only with the dog, but your daughter as well.

Hopefully she learned from this and will refrain from tormenting the dog.

Best wishes.

[2 DA GILLS]

This is a tough situation to read about. I know what my gut tells me, but my gut feeling is not based on what may or may not have happen in your situation. If it were me, the dog would have to go.

My 2 cents and thoughts on the subject in general. In my opinion, it is very important to remember that any and all dogs should be monitored around small children. I trust my dog as much as I can trust any dog around my kids. That trust means that my 6 year old can be around the dog unattended, but not the 4 year old and for sure not the 20 month old. This of course has to do more with how the kids act compared to the dog. Beyond kids, anyone that states my dog would never hurt anyone or they are harmless probably needs to reassess how they view their dog. For the safety of all involved. How does it go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Good luck with your decision.

[caseymcq]

It's good to hear that your daughter's injury isn't as bad as it could have been. I hope this doesn't sour the little tike on dogs.

She is almost three and is always pulling on his ears and trying to ride him...

[jigging-matt]

Tough choice, I don't envy your position. I am not trying to criticize your parenting, but if your daughter is constantly trying to pull on his ears and ride him and he is growling at her, why was there no seperation until someone was bit? When my daughter was born my dog was 10. You could have beat on him to no end and he would never even wimper, but I still always watched my daughter around the dog and taught her to be gentle around him. She is now almost 7 and our dog is 2, I still keep an eye on them from time to time due to how hyper he is, but I trust both of them together. My daughter has worked enough with the dog that she obeys my daughter better than my wife. Wish you all the luck with your decision. Like I said I am not trying to be critical, you have enough to think about. Good luck.

[NWBuck]

Tough deal, no doubt. For me, the dog would be gone. Before I had it put down, I would make an effort to find a home for it, being completely open with a potential new owner about the situation. It sounds like to me the dog could be a good fit for a family where there are not young kids around.