My dog bit the neighbor girl

[Fuzzly]

My first dog that I could actually remember was a Boxer named Roscoe. He was huge for a boxer. Anyways, I loved that **** dog. When our house flooded my dad went into our backyard (which was where 2 creeks met) and saved him. Before that, the dumb galoot fell through some ice and my mom went in and saved him. That dog had been through more **** w/ me and my mom/sisters than anyone else. Unfortunately he got brain cancer, and started to forgot who we were and would get aggressive. We had to put him down.


As for your dog, kennel him when there are guests over. You can not take any chances, especially with a dog that old. Dogs seem to get a little crazy in old age, like people.


Thanks for getting your dog at a shelter, I helped run a dog rescue out of my home a couple years back. There are some wonderful dogs out there who never get adopted because people seem to think that stray/abandoned dogs must be damaged goods or something.

[Three Harmonies]

Sorry if this ruffles feathers, but the dog is untrustworthy and should be destroyed. Period. My father is a vet and I grew up loving animals, but when you have any animal attacking kids (or adults) in an unprovocked manner, needs to be destroyed. If it was my kid, the dog would be shot!

[Oso]

naw, jake, that's too harsh a response to a single incident. and, from the dog's perspective, it was provoked. would you want someone shoving you out of a bed you were comfortably sleeping in for no good reason?

and, think about it, at 91 years of age: how cranky are you going to be?

if the dog couldn't be trusted with anyone, then yea, put him down. but for one incident he should be allowed to be left alone but kept from situations like the above.

my dad is about to retire from a 25 year stint as an animal control officer. i used to ride with him all the time when i was in HS and still do once or twice a year.

[David Jamieson]

put him down.

bad news i know, but you can't ahve a biter living in your house and you can't have a biter around kids.

the dog either goes in a cage out back or is put down.

probably less cruel to destroy the animal.

[Water Dragon]

You have two options.

1. Put the dog down.
2. From now on the dog is either crated, or leashed next to you. Even in the house, no exceptions.

The dog is biting because you have not established dominance. The dog thinks he is the boss, so he gets to make the rules. The kid broke a rule, the dog put her back in line. He did what he was supposed to do. That's the root of the problem.

[David Jamieson]

You have two options.

1. Put the dog down.
2. From now on the dog is either crated, or leashed next to you. Even in the house, no exceptions.

The dog is biting because you have not established dominance. The dog thinks he is the boss, so he gets to make the rules. The kid broke a rule, the dog put her back in line. He did what he was supposed to do. That's the root of the problem.

This is the crux of it.

there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Not that you're a bad owner chief, you probably just don't have the necessary understanding of how to train a dog and how to establish the rules with a dog. many people don't so you are not alone and very few people understand animals at the level they need to be understood at. Instead, many of us ascribe human traits to animals in order for us to think we have some grasp of whatt hey think and feel. this is refered to as anthropomorphizing and is the very thing that leads to the situation you find yourself in now.

[Water Dragon]

Exactly. I'm guessing there were times in the past where the dog has growled, and the responce was something to the effect of, "don'[t mess with him, he might bite." Anything like that reinforces the dog's idea that he has clout. He growled, the other person backed off, so the dog must have higher status than that person.

Dogs are even more worried about status than women.

This happens enough, and the dog starts to think he's right up there in the pecking order. My guess is he acknowledges you as the Alpha, but he has the number 2 spot. So he has the right to put anyone else in their place.

My two year old used to boss around our 85 pound American Bulldog. It was hilarious. That dog did whatever the kid told her to do, and the kid made her do stuff all day long. The dog knew it's place.

What you have to remember is that dogs do not believe in equality.

[Sihing73]

Hello,

I love dogs more than most people but I would have to say that I would have to either crate this dog or put him down. As Chief Fox stated in the beginning of this thread this is not the first time the dog has bitten someone. The dog bit his wife previously and his son is afraid of the dog. Sorry, but this indicates a serious problem and would make me shy away from keeping or doing anything more with this particular dog. Of course, I do not know all of the circumstances but, if I had a do which frightened my children and had bitten my wife and now bit my neighbors daughter then I would be getting rid of that dog.

[lunghushan]

I think we're giving Chief Fox too hard a time. If it were your dog and you had it for 13 years what would you want to do?

Anyways, there's these dogs, Blue something ... some kind of terrier or something. A friend of ours had one, and it was usually just a normal nice dog. Never bit anybody. Our friend used to take it bird hunting.

But a neighbors baby somehow got loose from the house and crawled into their yard through the fence. Well the dog wouldn't let anybody near the baby -- it growled and went for anybody who tried to get close. They had to wait until our friend got home. Seems like that would make a good family dog.

[Chief Fox]

I don't think anyone is giving me a hard time. When I was a kid, we had a great dog. She was playful, fun and completely docile. A great member of the family.

The 12 week class that I took my dog to really was a class for humans. How to understand dog behavior and how to adjust that behavior.

It turns out, we were doing everything wrong in the way that we handled this dog. We would let him lead us on the leash, he would run out of the house first and even sit on all of the furniture.

After the class, (over 10 years ago) all of that changed. The trainer told us that we were treating this dog like an equal and in some cases letting him be dominant. Ever since the class I've had to constantly let the dog know who was boss. He's no longer allowed on the furniture, he must sit before going outside. When on the leash he stays right at my heel. I even stare him down on a regular basis. I stand over him until he rolls on his back. I even get on him and growl at him sometimes.

The thing is, I'm the only one that does all of this.

He recognizes me as the alpha but does try to dominate everyone else. This is the problem. We asked the trainer about this and she said that he is just an Alpha dog.

I've pretty much made my decision.

It's hard though. This dog has been a great friend to me. He's run countless miles with me and has been good with the kids.

Over the past few years, he has slowed down a lot and he's gotten grumpier (less willing to be dominated by me).

What makes it even harder is, 2 months ago he got sick and alsmost died. After several trips to the vet and medicating him, we have finally nursed him back to health. Then he goes and bites the neighbor girl.

The fact is, if he had bitten my daughter or son he would already be gone. I'm not going to wait for that to happen.

Thanks to all for their opinions and comments.

[Black Jack II]

I know a bit about dogs, at least from the working breed perspective, as one side of my family has raised specific lines. APBT and Scot-Style American Bulldogs.

The only recourse you have is to put it down. It's not easy to hear but honestly it sounds like the dog should of been culled a LONG time ago.

He's been agressive his whole life-

That line there should say it all. You don't want any more bites being your responsibility as this one is. It sucks man but that is the only really humane option you have. That or keep going and hope the next time the dog doesn't take out someone's eye or worse.

Oh and whoever said they wish there dog was that aggressive....whatever.

opps...just posted this before seeing your answer. Sorry it has to be that way but your making the right but tough choice.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

how is the girl?

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

I think we're giving Chief Fox too hard a time. If it were your dog and you had it for 13 years what would you want to do?

Anyways, there's these dogs, Blue something ... some kind of terrier or something. A friend of ours had one, and it was usually just a normal nice dog. Never bit anybody. Our friend used to take it bird hunting.

But a neighbors baby somehow got loose from the house and crawled into their yard through the fence. Well the dog wouldn't let anybody near the baby -- it growled and went for anybody who tried to get close. They had to wait until our friend got home. Seems like that would make a good family dog.

wait ... what?? how the **** does a baby "get loose?"

[lunghushan]

wait ... what?? how the **** does a baby "get loose?"

Stupid neighbor lady? I have no idea. Somehow the baby went from the house to the neighbor's yard without anybody noticing.

They were extremely lucky it wound up in the yard with a protective dog rather than the street or some other yard with a not so nice dog.

[unkokusai]

First of all, the "there's no such thing as a bad dog" bit is nonsense. Some individual dogs are just 'off' and some breeds are quantifiably more dangerous and unpredictable. People who go out of their way to own such breeds are just irresponsible and asking for trouble.

The owner is responsible for the actions of his pet, but its more than a little harsh and inappropriately simple to just tell the guy to put down an old friend.