A nightmare for a dog owner...

[JerseyJanice]

We have a lot of kids living in this neighborhood. Most of them are boys of varying ages. We have a lot of dogs, too.

The "short" streets that run north/south intersect east/west avenues and have stop signs every block. This means that cars driving north/south can't get up much speed, having to stop every couple houses. So the boys in the neighborhood set up impromptu ball games on those short streets--baseball, football, hockey, for example.

Beautiful day it was today, the boys got a touch football game going, near the corner of our block. There lives a police officer of a nearby, respected township, his wife, their soon-to-be 2 year old, and their 6 year-old Great Dane.

The wife's father and mother were at the house to help her get ready for the baby's 2 yo party on Sunday. During the course of that, the dad got their 150 lb+ Great Dane ready for a walk.

They made it out onto the driveway, when one of the boys started backing up on it to catch a football. The kid (15 or 16) ran backwards, arms waving, to get the ball, and the dog got nervous for whatever reason. She grabbed the boy hard by one of his forearms and tried to pull him down, growling and tugging nastily.

A police car happened to be patrolling nearby, and they caught it right away. The officers got the dog off the teenager after a huge struggle. One of the dog's lower "fangs" got stuck in the boy's arm. That tooth broke off inside the kid's arm. An ambulance was called, and that's how the kid went to the hospital--with a large canine tooth stuck inside his arm.

As far as I know, dogs are allowed "one strike" around here, meaning that if this is the first time this dog has bitten anyone, she has one more chance if her owners still want her.

I feel so much for the kid who was bitten; I don't know if he even saw the dog coming at him. I don't know how serious the bite is/isn't at this point. I feel so much for the dog's owners; I know they love her deeply and won't want to put her down. I have to wonder whether a dog, whose teeth would just pop out when pulled off something, is past the point of saving. And that's on top of worrying whether the dog is a danger to the 2 year-old.

Poor kid, poor doggie, poor owners! I am so sad for all of them.

 

[PrincessPatty]

This makes me sad.....the dog was just trying to protect its owners. They aren't really sure what is happening, all they know is that someone is intruding in their yard. Maybe the fellow who owns the place should have had some signs up or something.

Hopefully they let the pup go this time. If it happpens again, then I could undersatand someone taking action.

I love my dog dearly, and she is allowed out without a leash as she knows her boundries, but if anyone stepped into our yard, Im sure she would be upset (German Shepard mix) and try to take care of "her yard". My dog is socialized, and my nieces (2&5) and nephews (1&7) are her best friends (allows them to take toys and treats from her with NO problems) but if a 'stranger' would approach her, Im sure she would be very upset.

 

[minkydog]

What a terrible thing! I'm sure both families are upset. It seems the dog was protecting his people and it's too bad the teen got hurt. I hope they don't have to put the dog down, but i wonder if they have ever had any other "incidents." It would make me nervous, knowing a 2yo lives in the house.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

This makes me sad.....the dog was just trying to protect its owners. They aren't really sure what is happening, all they know is that someone is intruding in their yard.

Yes, but as Cesar Milan would put it, the dog is a "Red Zone" dog. A dog that is healthy and well balanced would not feel threatened and attack.

More than likely it is not "isolated" and the dog probably has been displaying other subtle behaviors that are "overlooked".

Simple things...One of them is the dog feeling like the "alpha" at the window or in the yard. Barking at passing strangers for example.

Now my wanna-be alpha dog does this. Before Cesar I would have chalked it up to a dog protecting his space and I would have considered that "normal".
Now I know that if I am the alpha a dog has no need to "protect" the space.
So I take this "cue" right now as my dog has "issues" that we correct and not let go.

You could say this is very similiar to what happened in the case with the lady killed in her apartment in San Francisco.
Now it is not in the same way that the dogs in this case we extremely dangerous, no, not what I mean.
What I am saying is that the dog probably displayed subtle behaviors that were warnings overlooked.

I think what Cesar has done has brought the subtle world of dog behavior so you can see that it leads up to a dog going nuts, barking, attacking, etc...
Now if the attack was out of the blue, that is actually worse.

 

[Jennasis]

If the incident happened on the dog owner's driveway then technically the kid was trespassing, so I can't imagine that the dog or the owner would be held liable. I feel bad for the kid though.

6 years old is not old for a dog (even a Dane, since large breeds don't live as long as small ones). The tooth could've "popped out" because it was broken, loose, or diseased from poor dental care...OR it may have just lodged in the bone of the kid's arm. Those dogs have POWERFUL jaws, so that seems the most likely reason.

I'm not worried about the two year old as much as some. The child has been rasied around the dog and the dog would likely be fiercely protective of both kids (as every Dane I've ever known is. They're big lugs, with a heart of gold...just don't mess with their "people").

Sad situation all around. I hope the dog isn't put down, and the owner puts up "Beware of dog signs".

 

[AprilShowers]

I feel bad for this whole situation. It's not in a Dane's nature to attack like that. He must have felt threatened, or has other "issues" as another poster mentioned.
6 years old is actually on the older side for a Dane. Some only live 7-10 years. It all depends on the breeding.
Hopefully it was an isolated incident and everything will be ok.

We had a Great Dane when I was growing up. He was VERY protective of my mother. Once, my mom & dad were play wrestling on the couch. He was tickling her and she screamed.
The dog never hit one of the stairs on the way down. He launched himself over the coffee table and grabbed dad's arm. He didn't put any pressure on him, but just wanted to say "Let this be a warning to you not to mess with my mama!"
I hope the boy isn't hurt very badly, and recovers quickly.

 

[minkydog]

If the incident happened on the dog owner's driveway then technically the kid was trespassing, so I can't imagine that the dog or the owner would be held liable.

Au contraire...it doesn't matter that the kid was trespassing--if he got hurt on their property, they will be liable. He wasn't there commiting a crime; he was catching a ball. The dog over-reacted, for whatever reason. I'm betting the home-owners' insurance will be shelling out on this one(at the least.)

 

[JerseyJanice]

No update yet. Neither the dog owners nor the kid who got bit have been around today. I'm very interested to know how the boy's arm is and what they're going to do about Bonnie (the dog).

Jimmy (the boy) is a tall kid--close to 6 foot. His arms were waving while he was trying to get the ball, and I guess that's why Bonnie felt threatened. He must have gotten right over her. The kid was running backwards and never even saw her.

I wonder whether the dog was feeling grouchy because of all the commotion from the kids playing there. When it happened, there were close to 20 kids out there, playing noisily and running around.

Bonnie's mom has told me that life expectancy for a Great Dane is about 7 years. They got her when she about 2 through a GD rescue group. She had some big medical problems early on that they spent thousands to correct.

If it were my dog, I think I would put her down because of this and because of her age. It would break my heart to do it, though. Tara (Bonnie's mom) was crying her eyes out last night. Poor thing! She has a big party planned for Sunday too.

 

[beckmrk04]

Ugh- what an awful situation. It all sounds like a big misunderstanding- but of course, dogs don't get much leniency in misunderstandings, since they can't explain themselves.

I hope everything works out for everyone involved. Poor things.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Jimmy's arm wasn't too horribly torn up. He wound up with 12 stitches, and his bones are all intact. Thank God! No word on Bonnie yet.

Mystery Machine, I think you're right about the dog giving aggressive clues. I have a 4 year-old lab mix that I used to be able to walk past Bonnie's fenced-in yard. She and Max used to be friendly toward each other, but in the past 6 months or so, she's gotten to acting so aggressively toward him that I now avoid walking him past their house. She barks, then growls, and shows her teeth to him, whereas she used to put her butt up, playful style, and trade pees with him.

I mentioned this change in her to another neighbor, and she said she noticed the same thing happening with her cockapoo. I wonder now whether Bonnie has gotten a physical ailment that's making her mean. She used to be a nicer dog.

 

[NikiM20]

Au contraire...it doesn't matter that the kid was trespassing--if he got hurt on their property, they will be liable. He wasn't there commiting a crime; he was catching a ball. The dog over-reacted, for whatever reason. I'm betting the home-owners' insurance will be shelling out on this one(at the least.)

When my darling dog (lab/chow mix) bit someone who stuck his hand over our fence, our attorney said that since the person was trespassing on our property we were not responsible

Edited to add: Just because or dog bit someone we did not have him put down. He attacked an "intruder" to our land. The dog probably felt threatened by the fact that this was a big guy and that he was waving his arms up and down...If i didnt know they were playing football and saw a 6 foot guy running at me with arms flying i would feel threatened. I hope noone forces them to put the dog down

 

[tiggger1]

be careful with the beware signs, I was told by a lawyer no to use them. I have horses and live right in a school zone and wanted to get a "horse may bite" sign in case I had any unwanted visitors. He told be that by displaying the sign, if someone does get bit wether or not they are tresspassing the sign basically says that I knew my horse bites and i did nothing to stop it and would lose a lawsuit because of it. So He said to get a no tresspassing sign and a please do not feed/touch the horses sign because if someone got hurt, it wouldnt be my fault.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Mystery Machine, I think you're right about the dog giving aggressive clues.

It sounds like it to me. Something is going on with the dog way before the football incident. The pump was primed so to speak.

The thing that would scare me the most is that the owner had no clue about the dog's cues.
If you are going to own a powerful breed you need to know dog behavior.

My dd was bitten in Feb by the neighbor's dog. They fawned over how nice the dog was, blah, blah, blah...prior to the attack. I let my guard down for a moment and did something I never do, she was in the backyard with the dog ALONE and got bit. Yes it was my fault 100%. I know better!!!! I felt so stupid.
Guess what the owners said...."you can't go near his paws" or he will BITE.
Well, I remembered an episode of Cesar Milan in which he stated dog owners OVERLOOK aggressive behaviors as "just a dog protecting", "scared", "strangers", lots of excuses...
Basically Cesar stated a dog is either well balanced and knows his place or he doesn't. There is no in between for a dog.
I get that now.
DD is fine btw. She got bit on her hand and has a scar.

 

[simpilotswife]

I agree with Mystery Machine. Another clue to the dog's attitude is that the owner could not get the dog off the child without ripping out a tooth. If the owner was the alpha, the dog would have released more readily.

 

[JerseyJanice]

The owner is not going to put Bonnie down. They had their tot's second birthday party in their yard today. I was there for a while and talked with them.

The husband (who is an ex-Marine and police officer) thinks the dog did it as a protective move since she bit the kid only once--as opposed to biting him multiple times. He thinks that she was trying only to hold him there for whatever reason and not trying to cause the kid serious harm. He also thinks it wouldn't have happened (or been as extreme) if he were the one who was holding the leash instead of his FIL.

I have to say that I'm uneasy about this dog now. I instructed my son not to play near their house anymore. Jimmy's injuries could have been a lot worse, and I just hope it's not a mistake for them to give her a second chance.

 

[RitaZ.]

It sounds like it to me. Something is going on with the dog way before the football incident. The pump was primed so to speak.

The thing that would scare me the most is that the owner had no clue about the dog's cues.
If you are going to own a powerful breed you need to know dog behavior.

My dd was bitten in Feb by the neighbor's dog. They fawned over how nice the dog was, blah, blah, blah...prior to the attack. I let my guard down for a moment and did something I never do, she was in the backyard with the dog ALONE and got bit. Yes it was my fault 100%. I know better!!!! I felt so stupid.
Guess what the owners said...."you can't go near his paws" or he will BITE.
Well, I remembered an episode of Cesar Milan in which he stated dog owners OVERLOOK aggressive behaviors as "just a dog protecting", "scared", "strangers", lots of excuses...
Basically Cesar stated a dog is either well balanced and knows his place or he doesn't. There is no in between for a dog.
I get that now.
DD is fine btw. She got bit on her hand and has a scar.

Exactly!

I'm amazed at the way people react when a person is bitten by a dog! I'm sure that many will come up with all kinds of excuses for the dog, but don't even bother me with them.

I was bit by a dog in early April. I did absolutely nothing to provoke the dog, he literally attacked me while I was sitting in a chair. It happened so fast I couldn't even recognize the dog if I saw it again, all I know is that he is white. The owner, a total idiot, insisted that he had never bitten anyone before. When I told her that I would be going to the hospital to get the bite treated, she told me it wasn't necessary to do that. She said that he had bitten her before and showed me the scars on her forearms! But, remember, he had never bitten anyone before! Their dog wasn't properly socialized and trained, it was that simple. His shots weren't even up-to-date, which the owner insisted they were. In the end, the owners were fined about $270 for an unprovoked bite and $55 for not having its shots up-to-date. I had to hear, ad nauseam, how sweet (a big baby- in their words) and wonderful their dog was and how he had never done "this" before. Of course, they also kept trying to come up with theories on why the dog had attacked me. When I told the owner that I had to have an antibiotic shot and oral antibiotics for 2 weeks, she asked me if my family was prone to infection. I told her this was protocol for an animal bite. She said that she never required antibiotics when the dog bit her. Again, remember how he had never bitten anyone before. Yeah, whatever! I guess if you deny it long enough, then it becomes reality. All these pathetic excuses and assessments just prove how clueless and stupid the owners were/are about their dog.

I know that dogs can be unpredictable, but like MM said, a lot of times the owners have overlooked dangerous signs. If you are going to have a dangerous breed, then take the time to get educated and train your dog. If you can't afford to get the dog vaccinated, then you can't afford the dog.

I didn't require any stitches from the bite I sustained and I can tell you that it was quite painful. Twelve stitches? I can only imagine how that kid feels right now, the pain will get worse in the next two days. As for the family, if they have any brains, they will get rid of the dog. He has just given them a serious warning, they should heed it.

 

[kcdarr]

Hello,

I think it is up to the owners of the dog to control her. Dogs all have
there own unique personalities and behaviors. The owners of any breed
of dog must know what there dog is capable of and how to ensure the
safety of anyone around her.

I have 5 dogs ( 3 great danes & 2 basset hounds) and they are all very
different. My youngest dog is a great dane, 1 year old. At about 4 months
old, he started aggressive behavior when he was on a leash. He goes
to doggie day care and can play with 50 other dogs all day, but when you
put him on the leash to go, he will bark and growl at the same dogs he
had just been playing with. Frustrating YES. We never let anyone else
walk him or hold his leash (even just for a minute) because we know what
he is capable of and will not stand for it. He goes on daily walks and is
just now able to walk past most dogs without incident.

I do not think he is cured. This takes much time and effort on our part.
Many classes, many set backs, and some successes.

Our other 4 dogs can be walked by children and not have any problems
what so ever. Mind you, one of us was always there, they did not just
take the dogs and go. But I will never let a child walk Mickey, he cannot
be trusted, and I will not let my own neglect get someone hurt.

I have been walking him, with him right by my side, when other dog owners
walk by with their dog 6 feet in front of them, or on those retractable leashes
stretched to the fullest and think-- are they crazy? Why don't they control
their dog? People should be courteous when they are around other people
or animals, and not let their dog run willy nilly.

The matter of if the dog should be "put down" lies with the law. I feel bad
for the kid that got bitten, and I feel bad for the dog. The owners are
ultimately responsible for this incident IMO because they did not have the
dog secured by someone who could handle her.

All dogs can bite given the right circumstance. It is up to all pet owners
to be responsible and know their animals personalities. We take them in
and care for them. We are the humans they are the animals. We must
show them how to behave. We are responsible for the good, the bad, and
the ugly.