What is it with some people and their dogs?

[RitaZ.]

I was wondering what the outcome of that whole thing was...glad to hear she didn't get off scott free!

Thanks!

 

[disneynutt1225]

If a dog has a history of biting, it is considered a dangerous dog and has no right to be anywhere, much less a ballfield where there are children.

I think that unless it's an area that expressly forbids it, dogs can go anywhere. Just because a dog has bitten in the past doesn't make it a "dangerous dog". Maybe the owner who took the dog to the ballfield was trying to socialize the dog. Not everything is black and white.

 

[mking624]

Many people are notorious for thinking their dogs *think* like humans. They don't. They want and need boundaries. This woman was doing nothing but REWARDING her dog for its aggressive behavior every time she patted and cooed to him. That dog needed a swift jerk on his collar and a strong command right at that moment. Basically that woman and her dog are a lost cause.

Hmm, I'd be careful in saying she and the dog are a lost cause when we don't know the completely circumstances. Now it's possible she did just reward for bad behavior...but like I said earlier, it's also possible this was a very uncommon reaction for her dog and she wanted to make sure he was ok. Only the owner knows her pet and only she can determine was punishable and what's not. If it were my dog and he acted like that out of nowhere and he's never done that before...you can be sure I would make sure that he's ok because of how unusual the situation is. While I definitely would remove the dog from the room and profusely apologize for what happen, I'm also going to try to determine what caused him to act out like that before I punish him. If the behavior was something more common, then yes, I'd punish him immediately.

I am also coming from a perspective as one who has been bit by a dog. When I was younger (I don't know, maybe 8 or 9, I can't remember), my cousin and I were rough housing on the floor. Her beagle freaked and attacked me...and I wound up having huges gashes on my left cheek. To this day I still have a scar about half a centimeter big on my cheek from the incident (which really is nothing compared to what it looked like that night). My aunt & uncle were devastated, my parents were not angry at all. When they found out what happened, they realized that the dog assumed I was attacking her owner and she was trying to defend my cousin. She didn't realize it was all in fun. To us, that was not a case where the dog should have been punished because then it's telling her that it's wrong to defend her owners (which then, what happens when the owner is REALLY being attacked). The dog was pretty "new" to them, so I had never been able to get to know the dog before that night. After that night when I able to get the know the dog (and she me), she never felt threatened by me again. She was typically a stand offish dog but was really quite an angel. This was the only time she really acted out...but like I said, she was assuming I was attacking her owner.

 

[disneynutt1225]

Thanks!

You're quite welcome!

 

[mking624]

I think that unless it's an area that expressly forbids it, dogs can go anywhere. Just because a dog has bitten in the past doesn't make it a "dangerous dog". Maybe the owner who took the dog to the ballfield was trying to socialize the dog. Not everything is black and white.

I FULLY agree with you.

If she intends to have the dog around children in the future, she should keep it on a leash until he/she learns proper socialization.

I would agree if this was outside the house...but apparently this was inside the pet's owner's home...in which case I don't think a leash is mandatory. My parents got a cocker spaniel many years ago and she has been abused and neglected when they got her and she was pretty aggressive because of that and because she lacked socialization skills. One thing that helped was keeping her in a separate room, but using one of those gates so where she could still "socialize" but she couldn't actually leave the room (I hope you know the kind of gate I'm talking about, the name of those types slips my mind). This way she wasn't being restricted in her movement in her own home, but she was learning how to behave around people. It took no time at all before she calmed down. She became one sweet little angel and still is to this day.

 

[momof2inPA]

I think that unless it's an area that expressly forbids it, dogs can go anywhere. Just because a dog has bitten in the past doesn't make it a "dangerous dog". Maybe the owner who took the dog to the ballfield was trying to socialize the dog. Not everything is black and white.

Umm, so it's ok to use kids as guinea pigs to try to socialize the bite out of a dog? That's crap, too (kinda kidding with the "crap"). It is a dangerous dog by definition if it's bitten once with severe damage or twice without in my state.

 

[mking624]

Umm, so it's ok to use kids as guinea pigs to try to socialize the bite out of a dog? That's crap, too (kinda kidding with the "crap"). It is a dangerous dog by definition if it's bitten once with severe damage or twice without in my state.

Ahh, there's the crux. You're going by what your state says and then determining that for all the dogs in the world. Do you know every last dog in the world and all of their histories? What if the dog had been severely abused in the past? What if those bites were a result of trying to protect the owner? If you don't know the history, then you cannot say what is and is not a dangerous dog....though I'm sure you'll continue to do so.

 

[jenks0718]

There was a lady at my 6 year old's baseball game the other day, whose little dog bit her grandson's hand. The kid cried and cried, while the mom, grandma, and grandpa did nothing. Another kid then came up to the dog later and the grandma said, "Don't pet him. He's biting today." Why would someone bring a dog that bites to a busy ball field full of kids?

Another story. Did anyone here the story about the woman who was mauled to death by her wolf hybrids? That was so gross. The neighbor found them eating their owner.

Why would someone want to have a dog that bites people period? I will never get that.

 

[jenks0718]

Eh.

I tend to fall more on the side of "the pet lives here, you don't", but I do agree that dogs and small children aren't usually a good mix. I don't blame her for being primarily concerned with her dog (the kid has his mom to look out for him) but I think the best solution would have been removing the dog from the situation. A couple of hours outside (in nice weather) or in the master bedroom wouldn't have been the end of the world.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't so much disagree with her mindset, just the way she handled the situation.[/QUOTE

People need to come to the realization that a person, let alone a child, comes above a dog. ANY CHILD OR PERSON. If my dog even looked like he was going to snap at an innocent child he would be going to obedience classes or the local animal shelter. I understand people love their pets, but they are PETS and a child is a CHILD

 

[disneynutt1225]

Umm, so it's ok to use kids as guinea pigs to try to socialize the bite out of a dog?

If the dog is on a leash, how is it using kids as guinea pigs? Dogs have to learn socialization at some point, and if an owner is responsible and doesn't allow people to just walk on up to the dog and pet it without asking there shouldn't be a problem.

Also, if an owner pays attention to the cues a dog is giving - getting antsy, ready to leave, etc. it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

My parent's Jack Russell hates kids and for good reason. We caught one of the neighbor's grandkids tormenting the heck out of her one day and it had apparently happened before (long story, don't want to get into it).

Every time a kid comes near her now, she will growl. How they solved the problem? Keep her away from kids. The grandkid is now a teenager and doesn't play outside at grandparent's house anymore, so that helped. But we have some extended family who have children that will come for a day visit. What do we do? We let Rudi have the basement. She loves it! It's ACed and she has plenty to do down there and she's in the peace and quiet.

Marseeya, I understand what you are saying and I would have been annoyed too.

 

[paigevz]

My dog always goes into his crate when people come over, because I assume they might not find him as adorable as I do (he's a jumper), and they came to visit us, not the dog.

My son was bitten by my brother's girlfriend's dog at my parents house. We were all there for the 4th of July (he was 2). We had brought our dog in a crate. My mother doesn't like dogs in the house (she has one now and he is allowed), and we would let our dog out for a time and then crate him for a time. My other brother's family left their dogs at home with a neighbor to look in on him. My mother slated the playroom for my brother and his girlfriend to sleep in. The girlfriend brought two dogs and did not even ask if they could wander about my mother's house, but just let them. When we arrived, it was obvious that the bigger dog, a Briard, did not like the two little boys. She was fine with my older son, but when the two little ones were playing/running/whining, she'd growl and sort of make little rushes at them. The girlfriend seemed to find nothing wrong with this either, but we convinced her to put them in another room with a secure door that locked. However, when night came, she moved the dogs into the playroom with her and my brother. Well, they sleep VERY late. So the next day, about 11 am, the kids were still waiting to use the playroom. There is no door there, but they had put a piece of plywood across the doorway to keep the dogs back there. The kids walked back there to look.....I assume they were sort of hoping they'd be up..........Next thing we heard ALL the kids screaming, and all this barking.........the kids come running pellmell down the hall with the dogs chasing, and as I watched, the Briard reached out and bit my baby (who being the smallest was also the slowest at the back of the pack) on his butt. I snatched him up and yelled at the dog, and my other sisinlaw chased the dog back to the bedroom. My little one was just stunned. He was so quiet as I held him at first, and then began to cry. When we removed his diaper, he had a HUGE bruise across his bottom and 4 punctures. The kids apparently had leaned on the plywood to look in, and knocked it over.

The worst part was that my brother's girlfriend never came out to see if he was okay or anything. My brother was worried because he felt his girlfriend was being attacked by my sisinlaw (who was going off on irresponsible pet owners and how experienced dog people had TRIED to tell her, and she should have left the dogs in the locking room). But he did finally come ask about the baby later on.............she never did.

 

[disneynutt1225]

Why would someone want to have a dog that bites people period? I will never get that.

Maybe the dog doesn't bite the owner? Maybe the owner loves the dog? Maybe the owner realizes that when you have a pet, you don't just put it down when they become inconvenient?

 

[MushyMushy]

Why would someone want to have a dog that bites people period? I will never get that.

My grandmother... she was this tiny little woman who was gentle and shy to a fault. She barely spoke above a whisper and never said or did anything negative to anybody. However, she had this evil little poodle named Suzie. Suzie was the complete opposite of my grandmother -- she was snarly, growly, and so nasty and would bite anyone stupid enough to go within a foot of her. Except for my grandma, that is. When that dog bit the dust, we all breathed a little easier.

Anyway, looking back on it now, I wonder if it was my grandma's way of being a little bit rebellious towards the world. Everyone took advantage of her because of her quiet nature, so maybe Suzie was just what she needed.

 

[kayeandjim00]

For all of the people worried about their children: Teach your child to always, always ask if it's ok to pet a dog before they do it. Teach your child the RIGHT way to pet a dog. I can't believe how many people come up to us (and not always children ) when we are walking and assume the dog wants to be pet. I think sometimes the owners are not at fault. I always try to intercede when a kid is coming up to my dog who's not kid friendly but when there are 5 of them and one of me and they aren't really listening to me saying "no - she's not friendly" then if they get bit I'll feel awful but I feel like I'm doing everything i can to not let that happen. I avoid kids whenever possible with my dog but I do take him places. He's never bitten anyone but he's visably scared of kids and I don't want to chance it. In some case though the owners aren't always at fault if a kid comes running up to a dog before you can get them out of the situation and you are saying NO what else can you do??

 

[momof2inPA]

In some case though the owners aren't always at fault if a kid comes running up to a dog before you can get them out of the situation and you are saying NO what else can you do??

You shouldn't take a dog that you know wants to bite a kid to any place where a kid would run up to it. I tell you, if a dog ever bites one of my kids, that dog is not long for this world. If animal control won't take care of it, I will.

Does anyone remember a story that happened a year or so ago about a dog that bit a kid at a neighborhood park. The kid then went home and the kid's dad, who was a policeman, went back and shot the dog. I didn't blame that dad one bit.

 

[disneynutt1225]

You shouldn't take a dog that you know wants to bite a kid to any place where a kid would run up to it.

What about public sidewalks? Are they fair game? What about if the dog is playing in your own yard?

 

[kayeandjim00]

I said my dog was SCARED of children and I avoided them to prevent him from getting upset. I'm a trained dog handler and I'm confident in my ability to control my dog and "protect my pack" so I take my dog anywhere he's allowed knowing I can handle the situation. However there are dogs that are normally great who may become startled and get aggressive when ambushed by a small child. Not a bad dog or a bad child just a volatile situation. I'm saying that a little education on both parts would make it safer for everyone.

 

[momof2inPA]

Ahh, there's the crux. You're going by what your state says and then determining that for all the dogs in the world. Do you know every last dog in the world and all of their histories? What if the dog had been severely abused in the past? What if those bites were a result of trying to protect the owner? If you don't know the history, then you cannot say what is and is not a dangerous dog....though I'm sure you'll continue to do so.

I don't care what it's history is, if it's been dangerous, it needs to be kept confined or put down. That's it. You don't risk the safety of people by taking a dangerous dog into a populated situation to "socialize" it.

 

[momof2inPA]

What about public sidewalks? Are they fair game? What about if the dog is playing in your own yard?

Public sidewalks are not fair game for dogs that bite. Their own yard is fine as long as the dog can't get out.