Dog bites son.... Now what?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mega1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mega1

Guest
Need some opinions. We have a 6 lb Maltese dog. We’ve had him for over a year and he has …from time to time…snapped at our 7 year old son. I always solved the issue with punishment etc. well, 2 weeks ago he bit a woman walking by our home. He has never done this before! I scolded him and checked the woman. She has broken skin but was okay.

Now, the last 2 days he’s been snapping at our son again. He lunged at him this morning and broke HIS skin.

He is normally a great dog…loves our son (typically). We’ve taken him to the vet… No illness

What would you do? Our son sees him as a brother. I am thinking the dog may need to go…
 
Sorry, but this dog definitely needs to go. In addition to being a danger to your son, it has already bitten someone who was just walking down the street. The next person it bites might decide to sue you. Granted, a six pound dog is probably not going to do too much damage, but the hassle and expense of defending a lawsuit is something you probably want to avoid.
 
Take him to a dog trainer, so they can figure out what is going on and help you fix the problem.
Dogs can unlearn bad behaviour. But you have to be actively involved in this process and be consistent with how you handle him.

I’ve seen good trainers work magic with dogs. So don’t give up on the little fella just yet.
 
Of course the dog stays. It’s your son I worry about. I am sure he provoked the dog, as aside from the old woman it has shown no aggressive temperament. Is there a good home you can place your son? I believe they sell strong lads in India…
Get real. Either the dog is retrained or it goes. You have no other alternative as a father.
 
In our state, after two bites, the dog has to be put down. Protect your son and your neighbors from this dog and get rid of it. I sat in a waiting room across from a woman who’s neighbor’s “good” dog attacked her when she went to get the paper. She had staples all over her legs and arms. My neighbor was bitten by the family pet of a friend. All were “good” dogs who had “only” bit someone once before… How many time will you let it bite someone before it goes too far?
 
Well, my husband says I’m overreacting. He just joked and said “good thing I got the rider on the home owners insurance policy” … Regarding our neighbor who got bit.

I know if I insist the dog goes… That he will freak out and of course our son will be heart broken. I don’t want to break our son’s heart, but this is an inside dog. He’s a little one… So, I can’t just easily separate them. And I’m concerned about what could happen when I’m not home. My husband is not exactly watching him intensely.
 
It’s too bad that your husband thinks it’s funny, because people can get bad infections from animal bites. Your dog has now bitten two people, and I would push to get rid of it if I were you. You are lucky if the woman who was bitten did not call animal control, or that she isn’t immunocompromised in some way. I think some doctors advise people who have had their spleen removed against owning pets for this reason.

I love dogs, but responsible pet owners take action when their dog has become a danger to their children and other people. How did the dog even reach the woman if she was just walking by? It sounds like it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. Your son will get over it.
 
He was in our fenced yard and he squeezed himself through the bars and got to her. I was running after him, but I was too late.
 
mega1 said:
and of course our son will be heart broken. I don’t want to break our son’s heart,
Click to expand...
Yeah, it might break his heart. Time can heal that, though. What time won’t heal is permanent scars, or worse, that could happen. Just imagine your son laying on the floor, roughhousing with this dog, and the dog snaps at your son’s face. Just imagine it for a few moments. Visualize your son loosing an eye or having his cheek torn open.

Now ask yourself if a broken heart is the worst case scenario.

I’m a big time pet lover and almost always advocate for the animal in just about every situation. In a situation like this, I have to advocate for the child. But if you think about it, this is best for the dog, too, because right now you could find him a new home. Guess what happens to the dog if he hurts your son in a bad way?
 
mega1 said:
Well, my husband says I’m overreacting. He just joked and said “good thing I got the rider on the home owners insurance policy” … Regarding our neighbor who got bit.

I know if I insist the dog goes… That he will freak out and of course our son will be heart broken. I don’t want to break our son’s heart, but this is an inside dog. He’s a little one… So, I can’t just easily separate them. And I’m concerned about what could happen when I’m not home. My husband is not exactly watching him intensely.
Click to expand...
If your husband said that, he is crazy. You could be seriously sued or charge criminal for a dangerous pet and I am sure that no matter what “rider” he thinks he has. Plus your rates will go up.
 
Train the dog with firm negative correction appropriate to his size. Get your son to stop doing whatever he’s been doing to get the dog spun up.

If the dog is young yet ( 6 lbs seems a couple lbs light for a full grown Maltese. Ours was more in the 8 lb range ) this is a phase they go through chewing/biting that you have to break them of. Play and aggression can look very similar either way stop it.

But I wouldn’t loose sleep worrying about an aggressive maltese. They are little itty bitty critters.

…

Your husband sounds level headed on this.
 
mega1 said:
Well, my husband says I’m overreacting. He just joked and said “good thing I got the rider on the home owners insurance policy” … Regarding our neighbor who got bit.

I know if I insist the dog goes… That he will freak out and of course our son will be heart broken. I don’t want to break our son’s heart, but this is an inside dog. He’s a little one… So, I can’t just easily separate them. And I’m concerned about what could happen when I’m not home. My husband is not exactly watching him intensely.
Click to expand...
Your dog, you state, is an inside dog, however he bit your neighbor. Was the dog off leash in an unfenced yard?

Your son may have unknowingly hurt your dog in some way. Unfortunately dogs do not know an act was unintentional. More play time with your son, walks, etc. can retrain your dogs thinking.

The Monks of Skete have a great book out on dog training and the proper way to punish. It works. I took in a 90 pound lab, (biter), who was on her way to be put down. By using the method the Monk’s prescribe, Molly never again bit human or beast in the 16 years she was a part of my life.

I would not give up on the dog at this point.
 
mega1 said:
Well, my husband says I’m overreacting. He just joked and said “good thing I got the rider on the home owners insurance policy” … Regarding our neighbor who got bit.

I know if I insist the dog goes… That he will freak out and of course our son will be heart broken. I don’t want to break our son’s heart, but this is an inside dog. He’s a little one… So, I can’t just easily separate them. And I’m concerned about what could happen when I’m not home. My husband is not exactly watching him intensely.
Click to expand...
He won’t be laughing when the next person calls the police about a dog running around and biting people.

Sorry, but if a dog bit me, I would not just laugh it off. I WOULD call the police. I don’t care how small the dog is.

Something needs to be done. Having a rider on the home owner’s policy isn’t a solution.
 
The dog needs to be destroyed. It’s a danger to your family and others. Frankly, if I was bitten by a dog known to bite - and you now have witnesses and an Internet post to verify it - I’d sue for punitive damages above and beyond medical costs.
There are too many dogs in this world to keep one that bites.
 
The dog thinks it’s the alpha obviously. The dog needs to know it’s the runt of the household.

So:
  1. Dog (re) training
If that doesn’t work…
  1. Adopt out
  2. Put down.
 
KrazyKat said:
Your dog, you state, is an inside dog, however he bit your neighbor. Was the dog off leash in an unfenced yard?

Your son may have unknowingly hurt your dog in some way. Unfortunately dogs do not know an act was unintentional. More play time with your son, walks, etc. can retrain your dogs thinking.

The Monks of Skete have a great book out on dog training and the proper way to punish. It works. I took in a 90 pound lab, (biter), who was on her way to be put down. By using the method the Monk’s prescribe, Molly never again bit human or beast in the 16 years she was a part of my life.

I would not give up on the dog at this point.
Click to expand...
Good book!
 
Truly this was not my son’s fault. I have watched him. He has not hurt the dog and loves him very much. When he was bit, my son asked permission to go Pet him. He even put his arm out to allow him to sniff him. There’s not a reasonable answer for this… In my opinion.

And yes he’s only 6lbs but my son’s arm was scratched and bleeding. And I was there to get the dog off of him.
bitznbitez said:
Train the dog with firm negative correction appropriate to his size. Get your son to stop doing whatever he’s been doing to get the dog spun up.

If the dog is young yet ( 6 lbs seems a couple lbs light for a full grown Maltese. Ours was more in the 8 lb range ) this is a phase they go through chewing/biting that you have to break them of. Play and aggression can look very similar either way stop it.

But I wouldn’t loose sleep worrying about an aggressive maltese. They are little itty bitty critters.

…

Your husband sounds level headed on this.
Click to expand...
 
Find out what the laws are in your state, and check the insurance policy. I knew a man whose tree fell on a car during a storm; he thought his insurance would pay for it but the company disallowed it because the tree was rotten and he should have had it cut down before. He ended up having to pay for the car out of his own pocket.

In this case, since the dog has been biting, your insurance company may not cover any damage he does. Altho your dog is small, a dog bite can still cause a bad infection, or possibly damage a tendon or something, esp in an elderly person.
 
There seems to be a lot of hysterical responses to a 6lb dog.

Calling the police about a menacing 6lb dog ? I’m pretty sure there are laws against making needless calls to the police. And medical and punititve costs from an overgrown mosquito ? You’d have to have a magnifying glass to find anything resembling a wound.

Good grief.
 
Dear mega1, I have been following your other thread. I think that this dog is just one thing too many for you to handle at this time. Special dog trainers are expensive, and right now you can’t afford to be held libel if anything else happened. Your son will have to understand that a dog that has bitten two people is not a good dog for your family. As another poster said, the next victim may sue. Just because the dog is little doesn’t mean that it’s can’t cause injury. One of my cousins, a woman of sixty, not a kid, was seriously bitten on the face by her little dustmop of a dog. You do not need this risk on top of your other problems. I am sure that you are worried that you will not get any support from your husband, but as long as you are responsible for the bills, it has to be your call. I am praying for you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top