I had to take my dog to pound today!

[IandGsmom]

I am telling you all this with the heaviest heart. Yesterday my 1 1/2 year old dog, Tinkerbell, bit my son on the leg. I was not outside so I don't know exactly what happened but to me there was only one outcome. My sons do not hit the dogs and she had been biting the other dog and killing birds also. I still feel horrible knowing she is in a strange place tonight. They said at the pound they will try to have her adopted since she did not break skin.
I am sooo sad.

 

[msteddom]

I'm so sorry to hear that! I can't even imagine what I would do if I faced that situation. I think you made the correct decision though.


Melissa

 

[N.Bailey]

I think you made the right decision too.

 

[mommytotwo]

I'm sorry that you had to deal with a situation like that. I hope that your dog finds a new home and all works well.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I am so sorry to hear that. I couldnt imaigne having to give my dog away. Glad your son is okay though. Sending pixie dust your way**

Have a Good Night
Matt

 

[Squem]

I couldn't imagine life without my dog - But I'm sure you made the right decision, and I'm sure Tinkerbell will find a good home to be adopted into.
Best wishes, {{{HUGS}}} and ***Pixie Dust***

 

[CBRorBust]

You did make the right decision! You have to remember that!

A friend of ours dog bit her son and they decided to keep the dog because they thought their son was provoking it at the time. (The Dog had been perfect up till then.) Well a few weeks ago, the dog bit their son again! This time it was in the back of the head. Needless to say they will always regret not getting rid of that dog! No matter how much of a part of their family he was. You just cannot afford the risk when it comes to dogs biting.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm going to say the unpopular thing and say you did the wrong thing. If your dog starts biting people, it is not resonable to expect someone else to take over your problem and run the risk of the dog biting someone else. If a 1 1/2 year old dog is that agressive and can't be rehabilitated, then it should be put down. It should be classified as a dangerous dog. First thing to do would be return it to the breeder to see if they can work with it. They would be able to determin if it can be rehabilitated or not. If not, it can be their decision to put the dog down.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
I'm going to say the unpopular thing and say you did the wrong thing. If your dog starts biting people, it is not resonable to expect someone else to take over your problem and run the risk of the dog biting someone else. If a 1 1/2 year old dog is that agressive and can't be rehabilitated, then it should be put down. It should be classified as a dangerous dog. First thing to do would be return it to the breeder to see if they can work with it. They would be able to determin if it can be rehabilitated or not. If not, it can be their decision to put the dog down.

While I normally agree that everything should be done to keep a dog with it's family, when the dog is biting children unprovoked, you can't risk it. (re-read CBRorBust's post).

Also, while in an ideal world everyone would buy dogs from responsible breeders and there would be no need for aoptions and only the most professional , great people would breed, this is not an ideal world. This dog may not have come from a breeder. I suspect if it had, it would have been returned there.

I also think most any dog can be rehabilitated by a good trainer. The ones who can't (very few) usually have something seriously wrong with them.

My only concern with the OP is that the dog was brought to a pound where it will likely be killed in a few days if not adopted, instead of to a no kill shelter, or kept segregated from the child until a suitable home could be found. This only bugs me because my dog is bites all the time, but he play bites and never breaks the skin and I know he won't break the skin unless he is very scared. I just hope this dog doesn't meet a very early death because she was trying to play a little rough.

But again, I'm not in her situation, and I think when a dog bites a child, a parent HAS to act and they have to act immediately, and it seems like the pound was the only available option. Because the next bite could be worse and that is just not a risk you can take with a small child.

To the OP - I think you did the right thing (I PM'd you) for your son's safety. Maybe you can post a little about your situation here, such as the dogs breed, etc. and the location it is at now, in case someone here wants to adopt her.

Is there anyone you know who could keep the dog until a permanent home could be found? It does sound to me like the dog was just trying to play and would probably be okay in an adult only home or with older kids. I PM'd you. If you can PM me some info about the dog, I can see if I can find someone in the area through the various message boards I go to ; to take her in.

 

[Christine]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX

I also think most any dog can be rehabilitated by a good trainer. The ones who can't (very few) usually have something seriously wrong with them.

My only concern with the OP is that the dog was brought to a pound where it will likely be killed in a few days if not adopted, instead of to a no kill shelter, or kept segregated from the child until a suitable home could be found. This only bugs me because my dog is bites all the time, but he play bites and never breaks the skin and I know he won't break the skin unless he is very scared. I just hope this dog doesn't meet a very early death because she was trying to play a little rough.

[

Esmerelda,
In total agreement with you here. I do not disagree with the OP having to make a decision, but I just cringed when I heard it was the "pound." Our pound does keep the dogs for awhile (more than a few days) if the feel the dog is adoptable.

I probably would have gone to a trainer myself (I have two dogs and two kids) and would have tried some training. Short of that, I would have tried some adoption program.

I agree that it might be wise to contact one before the dog is put down.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

We had a shepherd mix when DD#1 was born. The dog was 4 then. At that point she had slept in our bed, after we brought Kelly home she would never get in our bed again, even if asked.
When Kelly was 2 1/2 (dog was 6) I was making cookies and heard a snarling bark sound and a scream on the other side of the kitchen counter. Kelly had tripped over her and the dog bit her face! She still has a little scar by her nose and eye--we are very lucky the eye was missed (and she is 12 now!)
Well, we didn't put her down--we put her in quarantine for the 10 day period and brought her home and watched them like a hawk--but noticed when I brought DD#2 home a few months later that the dog was giving her a wide berth--at an age when all she could do was gurgle in her car seat--and growling at her a little. That was it, and we went ahead and put her down.
I think she probably felt displaced by DD#1, but we couldn't keep her growling at the baby, or give her to anyone else with a child. There aren't a lot of people on farms or stuff anymore to give problem dogs and cats to. Many towns also do NOT have no=kill shelters.
I think you did the right thing by giving the dog up--I hope it all works out.
Robin M.

 

[FayeW]

Well, let me be the first, and apparently only, person to say that I think you over-reacted. If I am understanding this correctly, for the first time ever, your dog nipped your son, didn't break the skin, nobody was there to witness or really say what happened, and you gave the dog away?????

We don't know how old the child is, and we don't know the circumstances. I worked for a vet, and we had an animal shelter as part of the clinic. We used to see this kind of knee jerk reaction all the time.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by FayeW
Well, let me be the first, and apparently only, person to say that I think you over-reacted. If I am understanding this correctly, for the first time ever, your dog nipped your son, didn't break the skin, nobody was there to witness or really say what happened, and you gave the dog away?????

We don't know how old the child is, and we don't know the circumstances. I worked for a vet, and we had an animal shelter as part of the clinic. We used to see this kind of knee jerk reaction all the time.

I think several of us have mentioned that she overreacted, and suggested she get the dog back before it is killed and give it to a better facility than a pound if she can.

BUT

...none of us were there or in her situation and it obvious from the very fact that she posted here that she is saddened by this, but has done what she , as a parent feels is best for her child's safety.

 

[luvwinnie]

My first thought would be to try to find out all the details of what happened and I'd first take my dog to the vet. If he is ill or in pain and your son accidentally did something to trigger it, this could have been the reason for the nip.

 

[Lynn CC]

I know just how you feel. We had to take ours to the pound when my son was 2 months old (he's 17 now). Sometimes they just arn't kid friendly. You did the right thing even though it's heart breaking.
{HUGS}

 

[HollyJoy]

Wow! I'm so sorry that you had to do this! Do you think that maybe you acted rather quickly on it? Do you know why the dog bit your son? I know our youngest DD aggrivates our cat, and so far, he's done nothing horrible to her; actually puts up with a lot, but I'm sure the day will come when he has had enough. Right now he just nips at her in a playing way because he knows she'll leave him alone. He will then come back and lick her! LOL GUess I'm wondering if your son did something to trigger the bite.. or maybe your dog wasnt' feeling well? So sorry!

 

[onecoolmama]

 

[4greatboys]

My best friend has one of those "nice dogs" that "wont bite". Well when my 4 yr old ds was about 18 months her dog bit him in the face--right in front of me. My baby was just standing there in front of me and the dog was beside him and in front of my friend. My ds wasnt even touching the dog and without warning the just jerked over and bit him in the face. We were lucky that it wasnt really bad, he was scratched but no bad bite. And before we left the dog tried snapped at him again. Well that my friends is a dog that is NOT getting a second chance to bite my son. Since its not my dog I just dont go to my friends house with my son. If it had been my dog it would have been out of there.
No way will I take a chance with my childs safety.
Im sorry this happened to your family but I think you are right putting your childs safety first.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I have to say I know where you're coming from. Well..sort of. Last October when I was about 4 mos pregnant with DS, we had to give up one of our cats that we'd had for nearly 3 years.


Earlier in the summer, Rumpleteazer (the one we kept) had gotten extremely agitated due to a cat being outside in the front yard while she was inside. She displaced her aggression all over me, DH and Buttercup (the one we gave up). We kept the two cats seperated for 3 mos by putting one in the nursery (it wasn't done yet anyway) and letting one roam the house. We switched them out every day so that the one who'd been confined the night before was let out during the day and so forth. After 9 long weeks of that, we graduated to taking the door off the pantry and replacing it with a cheap screen door. One cat would be confined in the pantry with the other roaming the house so that they could see each other (which they hadn't previously). After 3 wks of that, they seemed better able to tolerate each other and we let them back out together. They were wary of each other, but they weren't fighting. Until one day, Buttercup made a wrong move and set Rumpleteazer off. I had to break them apart and we seperated them again. DH and I talked for a long, long time about what to do and I was a total mess, crying the whole time. I told him to take Buttercup to the Humane Society before I changed my mind. When we got there, they said if she showed any signs of aggression towards the volunteers, she'd be put down. This was the first time she'd ever been aggressive to us or to Rumpleteazer, but I know it was just because she was defending herself. Rumpleteazer had never attacked her before this and I know it had to have freaked Buttercup out to be attacked like that. Sometimes I wonder what happened to Buttercup and I pray she found a loving home. She really was a sweet cat with a very forgiving temperment. We just felt that if she was going to behave this way that it would be better if she didn't live with us anymore, esp with DS on the way. Things have been very quiet around here since she left and Rumpleteazer has tried her best to fill the void, but it's not the same.

TOV

 

[IandGsmom]

First of all I would like to say thank you for your support. One of the things I love about these boards is that you can talk to other people from all over the world. Since we do come into contact with so many different people I realize that not everone will always agree. When I wrote yesterday I was feeling guilty and sad.
I had to do what I felt was best for me and my family. We had 2 dogs, the dog in question and another older one (8 years or so) and twin 6 year old sons. Tinkerbell had been biting the snout of my older dog for a while to the point of making her bleed. I seperated them. When Tinkerbell bit my son it was her first bite yes but not the first signs of aggression. Even if my son was tugging on the dog I do not expect her to bite him (he does not do that by the way)
When I took her to the Humane Society they have you fill out a questionaire regarding why you are surrendering your dog. I told them exactly what happened. SInce no skin was broken as long as she does not get aggressive in the pound she will be put up for adoption. I do not feel I was passing the problem on since I did disclose any and all problems.
They told me there that many dogs do not lke small children.
I simply cant keep the dog to give it another chanse. If there was a next time and she had hurt my child was a situstion I was simply not willing to get in.
I love all animals I really do. We also have 2 lizards and 2 fish. I don't think I did this lighly and even waited a day to make sure I did not just rush to conclusions. Next time we buy a dog, not anytime soon, will be with more careful consideration.