| Hello Cathy and thank you for your response. I completely agree about it being my fault about the bite. I wasn't stern enough with my son or the dog for that matter. She is going through formal training at this point. As far as not allowing her to play with my daughter and crate her when my daughter is out and about, I have to disagree with that theory.
I monitor those two very closely and NEVER leave them alone, however, interaction with the family is very important, especially with a rott. I have owned 4 all together and understand their temperment and behavior through extensive research and training with all four. I want you to know that I do not allow my 3 year old to prod or annoy the dog while I "sit there and think what a great dog she is". I do not allow my daughter to antagonize any animal. My 3 year old feeds Belle and gives her treats. Through letting Mandy, my daughter, feed the dog her dinner, Belle is not threatened by her and considers her as a higher rank. Again, this is all very closely supervised.
You are right about not mentioning this to the insurance company. It is not warranted either way, neither was a doctor visit, it jsut barely broke the skin and was not a bad bite. I had just never had a dog bite anyone before.
You gave me a lot of great advice and I truly appreciate it. We are very happy to have her. She likes to sit with my daughter on the floor for "story time" where Belle will lie down and Mandy will show her the pictures in her book. Its odd, but the two of them love it. Belle is very protective of my daughter. A neighbors dog wandered into our yard the other day and knocked over Mandy. Belle immediately confronted the dog and chased him out of the yard and them kissed mandy's face because she was crying. The only thing that I have to disagree with is the fact that you should seperate a toddle (if well behaved) from a family pet - any breed. They need to both learn boundaries and if there is no aggression then they can learn peacefully. However, when I have a baby over that can barely walk, I will seperate them. Thank you for your help. And thanks for the congrats, we are very happy to have her.  |