Oh no... Sadee bit our son

[David Gerdes]

We have a 2-1/2 year old rescue dog named Sadee whom we adopted shortly before Christmas. She's been a wonderful girl... very sweet tempered and eager to please, so friendly the vet joked that she's a golden retriever trapped in a rottweiler's body.

So this was the situation 2 nights ago. Our two boys, ages 6 and 4, are in the family room watching TV, my wife is out of the house. I go upstairs for a couple of minutes to reply to an e-mail message. Next thing I know Paul, the 6 year old, is crying, so I run downstairs. Apparently what happened was: Sadee got a ham bone from out of the kitchen sink, and took it into the family room. Paul tried to take it away, either by grabbing it from her mouth or by grabbing her collar to pull her away from it, and she bit him on the wrist. The bite broke the skin on the front and back. One of the marks was pretty deep; fortunately it missed major blood vessels and tendons, or things could have been a lot worse. As it was, Paul went to the emergency room... you should have seen the looks on the nurses faces ("We have this rottweiler, and she just bit our son...") Meanwhile, I gave Sadee a huge reprimand and put her in her crate. Frankly I was more worried about Paul just then than about how to discipline the dog.

Now, I know that I am primarily to blame for what in hindsight was an egregious lapse in supervision, and for not burning into the kids' brain the fact that "Thou shalt not attempt to take food away from the dog--ask a grownup." (Though Paul should have known better too.) Finally, if Sadee had really wanted to hurt him she could have done a lot worse. But still... can we guarantee that something like this couldn't happen again? That it couldn't be worse next time? That it couldn't happen to a neighbor kid? No, I can't--you can't watch everybody 100% of the time. And if something did happen, wouldn't we feel awful for having ignored this warning.

I waited a day to write this since we've all been taking some deep breaths and trying to figure out what to do. We all love this dog. She is a really sweet girl who was not trying to hurt Paul, she was trying to keep her bone. But I'm reluctantly coming to the conclusion that she is just "too much" for a family with kids as young as ours... the dog is supposed to be fun, not a source of constant worry. I just wanted to share this story, because we are all just incredibly sad.

[frontierrots]

MANY, many dogs will bite a child when they have a REAL bone or MEAT they are chewing on. Kids should be taught to NEVER go near a dog if they are chewng on ANYTHING especially meat or bones.

Yes it is a training issue but one that not many average people are able to handle effectively. That is why I tell all my puppy people that above paragraph. I also tell them bones, meat etc are crate items only! Just to avoid the possibility of this very problem

Years ago one of my puppy people had the EXACTsame thing happen! Afterwards they were uch more careful about what they did with leftovers and chew toys and it never ever happened again and the dog is now 7 and still adores kids

I give you this same advice and otherwise get on with your life as it was before

------------------

Diane
Frontier Rottweilers & Shiba Inu and
Volunteer with NorthEast Rottweiler Rescue & Referral http://www.rottrescue.org

[FairlyNewRottyOwner]

David- While I cannot help you, I can sympathize with you. I just put in a post about a similar situation. The causes of the bites are different, but our feelings seem to be the same. We were very lucky because the dog did not actually get to bite my daughter, thanks to my husband being right there, but it was an eye opener. We are also considering getting rid of our dog because of what happened. I too have wondered how we would feel if something happened again, only if at that time an actual bite occured. I would feel forever guilty because we were given a warning.

I can't imagine how you dealt with the faces of the nurses. I'm sure they were looking at you like you caused it to happen because you had a rottweiler. I am afraid my daughter will tell people outside of my immediate family about what happened. I don't want to listen to the "I told you so"s.

I just wanted you to know that you weren't alone. Make sure you post what you decide to do, I still haven't made up my mind yet.

[MVARTANIANM]

You say you haven't had the dog very long (since Christmas) and you also said you had adopted her, was she at the pound, was she a stray, whose dog was she? What was her condition before you decided to take responsibility for her? Do you know her background? If she was trained, have you been continually training her? Has she showed any aggression since? Do you know if she was guarding food before?
Most dogs, EVERY BREED an EVERY AGE including 8 week old puppies HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BITE when there is any meat on the bone, as frontierrots pointed out. Even well trained dogs can become guarded. Please reconsider the situation, the ways and whys (no child should be left unattended with any dog and bones or any food should never be within reach of any animal)I am not making any excuses but all of the elements were completely right for an incident to happen.
Take care and I hope your son's recovery is speedy.

[German Vanegas]

As Diane said it well, many dogs (including "sweet" Labradors and small dog breeds) will bite someone (including a child or another dog) over a bone being guarded (possesed)... particularly when is not the leader of the pack ("Top Dog": means YOU), but another member of it who tries to take it away. The problem here is about dominance issues that can be easily corrected assuming the appropiate role of LEADER OF THE PACK: YOU ARE THE BOSS. Plain and simple.

BASIC OBEDIENCE COMPLETE TRAINING will eliminate the problems here for both of you. If we were to put to sleep, or get rid of, dogs for growling or guarding bones, I guarantee you there were would be very few dogs left in the world!!!... But If you both take the time to learn about pack leadership and how to correct dominant behavior, you will eliminate the undesirable behavior and you will live happy everafter ... No need to extreme measures.

[NEPTUNE]

I think any dog would maybe be a little agressive when it comes to Real Bone i once had a Dachshund that i had for 5 years who found a chicken Bone and when i tryed to take it from him WOW i thought he would take my fingers off! he was pretty wicked...

Neptune......

[David Gerdes]

Thanks to all who have replied.

I completely agree with those who have pointed out that any dog has the potential to bite in those circumstances. That bone was probably the best piece of food she had gotten hold of in months. As I tried to make clear in my original post, Sadee is the least to blame for what happened. I am at fault for doing what I never wanted to do--put the dog in a position where she could fail.

While this behavior is probably correctable through a combination of avoidance (better training of the humans) and further obedience training (better training of the dog), the key word here is probably. Biting a child is not in the same category as jumping up on visitors, pulling on the leash, turning over the garbage can, or other undesirable behaviors that we can eliminate through patience and hard work. There is no further margin for error here--someone could get really hurt next time.

I am about 95% sure that we will try to take her back to the rescue. Sadee is a good dog, and has the potential to be a great dog, but I don't think she belongs in a home with small kids. ANY dog exposes the family to a certain amount of risk, but the rewards are also high and one has to make a personal decision about whether the risks are worth the rewards. Until this incident I felt the risks were acceptable; now I don't. I know everyone who posts in this forum and loves this breed can understand what a painful decision this is to confront--and how it is painful even in the face of full blown, double-barrel "I-told-you-so's" from grandparents etc. who don't understand what all the hand-wringing is about.

I will let you all know how this finally turns out.

[Nancy Estes]

Responsibility - unless you are willing to take responsibility for training the dog and the children, you should not have a dog. Obviously you had very good intentions in adopting this dog; however, it appears that you did not think through all the possible consequences and how you would handle them when they arose. In the short run it's probably a whole lot easier for you to return the dog. Or "get rid of" it, as some people phrase it. Which is probably how she ended up in rescue to begin with.

Nancy

------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[JonandMichelle]

Nancy--You go girl!! This situation is a sad shame!! Responsibility, this word goes a long, long way! Owners need to step up to the plate and take some!!

[FairlyNewRottyOwner]

When I say I may "get rid of" Santana, I mean I may give him back to my sister. I may now be a little scared of what he may do, but I still love him and care about what happens to him. I would make sure he found a good home.

[ElaineandMike]

That's too bad what happened. Are you considering getting another breed of dog, or have you decided to stick with a dog free home? I ask because as everyone pointed out, any dog will bite, especially in this incidence (with a bone present). It sounds to me like you are a little afraid of her because she is a Rott??? Last statistics I saw, Labradors (nervous biters) had the highest bite rate in the country, followed closely by Dalmations (due to the deafness they're prone to and children sneaking up on them from behind) and Poodles (nasty in some cases). It's just that if your child was bitten by a Poodle, you'd be less likely to report it than if it were a Pit Bull or Rottweiler. After all, although they may bite less often, they are certainly prone to do much more damage. If you were to rescue again, just please keep in mind, Rotties are no different than any other rescue in that they will also need to be supervised around the children until the kids learn how to behave around the dog.

[David Gerdes]

If we do wind up returning Sadee to the rescue for this reason, we will wait until the kids are older before trying again with a dog. Paul's wounds will heal in a week or so; the emotional ones will take a lot longer.

[SarasMom]

David,
You are right, it is YOUR fault that this happened. I can't believe you left Sadee, a dog you don't know very well yet, alone with your 2 small kids. If you had been supervising dog and kids, this NEVER would have happened.
Many dogs will guard a bone like Sadee did, never mind the breed. And, you've only had her for a month. How can she be expected to be the perfect family pet for a family she doesn't even know yet.
If you are willing to SUPERVISE and TRAIN Sadee properly, (this will take months), she will probably make a great pet. You need to ask yourself if you are willing to make the committment it will take to care for a dog. That means NEVER leaving her unsupervised with your kids while they are still small.
I know the easier choice is just to give her back to rescue, but I wonder what will happen to her if you do. With a history of biting a child, her future isn't bright.

[Nancy Estes]

FairlyNewRottieOwner - I wasn't referring to you when I said "get rid of" . That's just a general term that is often used in the same sense as "get rid of the trash", etc., which is why I mentioned it.

Nancy

------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net

[Happy To Meet You]

Hello,
I just have to jump in here. I would think that anyone willing to rescue in the first place would have though through the fact that the dog they rescue will most likely have a few issues. While I can totally understand your fears about the children, I feel that by taking this dog from the rescue organization and leaving her in a position to do what she did, you did this poor animal a great injustice. You took her from the rescue, a place where she was safe. Now this same safe place may have no options for her when she is "returned" with a bite history. I would never want to see anyone put any child in danger, it just saddens me that perhaps the decision to rescue was not thought out well enough in advance. I plan to rescue in the future, I hope that I will be prepared to carry it through, and stubborn enough to stick it out. Yeah, I'll be fine in the stubborn dept. Please let us know how it turns out, I do feel for you, and I understand why you feel as you do, I just feel so bad for this girl, she really sounds like she could be a wonderful companion, I hope that this lapse in judgement doesn't take the opportunity away from her. Best of luck to you.....all.