My dog bit my child on the face

[Stig]

I like what Kash wrote.

Humble opinion. This is more of a management of the dog and kids. A dog will always be a dog. It's fairly common knowledge that dogs can bite, smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer, and eating a poor diet along with a lazy lifestyle can cause obesity! All have a simple answer, don't smoke and avoid smoke filled places with your children, eat healthy, get lots of exercise and if you own Rottweiler's, don't tempt them to discipline your children like any dog will.

Protect yourself and your children (reason I don't have the latter, they annoy me and Id bite them as well!), avoid dangerous situations! PTS, sorry but thats just wrong the dog did what you should have done. Discipline the kids and protect the dog; both kids got what they deserved, just the wrong disciplinarian.

[Marn]

After reading several different posts I really don't have much more to add except, your training and socialization didn't work. It could be that you never followed thru with the training and you didn't socialize the dog enough.
Someone had also posted a remark that Rottweilers weren't good kid dogs, and I'm in TOTAL disagreement of that statement. I'm on my second rottie 2.5 years old, and my first lived 10.5 years, and they NEVER hurt anyone. They are awesome family members when trained, and socialized properly which can be said of all breeds.

[winniecnm]

I wouldn't say the kids got what they deserved, that is a bit harsh. The 2nd child was nicely petting the dog, got a compliment from mom showed the dog affection and recieved a bite which was only preceeded by a brief warning.

Having been a childless couple with 3 dogs then a mother of 3 with 3 (now 2) rottweilers I can say with all honesty that such a dog would not be in my home if he felt it appropriate to cause my child stitches for behavior that was both loving and non antagonistic. The possibility for severe injury to my children down the road would be just too much to ignore.

It is hard enough keeping 2 dogs in line, then 3 kids..or 4 like the OP. then to deal with behavioral issues with the dogs on top of it would be too much for me to handle on a daily basis. Basic safety measures? Fine, we do that daily. But dealing with a dog willing to issue a bite without being harmed himself and without due warning to that child to cease and desist? No way. That is a big consideration for the OP.

[Stig]

Originally Posted by winniecnm

I wouldn't say the kids got what they deserved, that is a bit harsh. The 2nd child was nicely petting the dog, got a compliment from mom showed the dog affection and recieved a bite which was only preceeded by a brief warning.

Having been a childless couple with 3 dogs then a mother of 3 with 3 (now 2) rottweilers I can say with all honesty that such a dog would not be in my home if he felt it appropriate to cause my child stitches for behavior that was both loving and non antagonistic. The possibility for severe injury to my children down the road would be just too much to ignore.

It is hard enough keeping 2 dogs in line, then 3 kids..or 4 like the OP. then to deal with behavioral issues with the dogs on top of it would be too much for me to handle on a daily basis. Basic safety measures? Fine, we do that daily. But dealing with a dog willing to issue a bite without being harmed himself and without due warning to that child to cease and desist? No way. That is a big consideration for the OP.

Dogs are harsh and they are animals. Kids when adults are busy should be kept separated from dogs. Especially big dogs. Kids should also be taught dogs are not stuffed animals. Most dogs don't really see child behavior as loving, never mind non antagonistic. I'm in the Rottweiler, is not a good breed choice with most young kid or inexperienced owners.

Then again, I do not have children nor want them at all. So have a bias towards dogs in most cases. Good thing my commitment issues have their own issue's!

[Williams123]

I haven't posted on the boards in a while due to being so busy, but this one honestly takes the cake. You clearly said the dog had bitten before, so yes he has been aggressive in the past. You cannot overlook something like that and simply chalk it up to not bothering him while he sleeps. Now the injuries were much worse this time and once again this negligence will look bad for Rottweilers in general. The fact that it is human error will not matter to those who hate our breed. Furthermore never put a dog before your child's safety. Absolutely never.

[stale]

Originally Posted by winniecnm

I wouldn't say the kids got what they deserved, that is a bit harsh. The 2nd child was nicely petting the dog, got a compliment from mom showed the dog affection and recieved a bite which was only preceeded by a brief warning.

Having been a childless couple with 3 dogs then a mother of 3 with 3 (now 2) rottweilers I can say with all honesty that such a dog would not be in my home if he felt it appropriate to cause my child stitches for behavior that was both loving and non antagonistic. The possibility for severe injury to my children down the road would be just too much to ignore.

It is hard enough keeping 2 dogs in line, then 3 kids..or 4 like the OP. then to deal with behavioral issues with the dogs on top of it would be too much for me to handle on a daily basis. Basic safety measures? Fine, we do that daily. But dealing with a dog willing to issue a bite without being harmed himself and without due warning to that child to cease and desist? No way. That is a big consideration for the OP.

quite obviously, the dog found this behaviour neither loving, nor non-antagonistic. i have said before that people ought to train their dogs to accept mauling from children, for exactly this reason.

this was not the dog's fault.

it rarely is.

guess who suffers the most from this kind of failure?

[winniecnm]

While I certainly understand that some dogs do not like to be hugged, I also suggest that a family dog needs to have a bit of restraint - and that is certainly something Rottweilers are capable of. I would expect a dog to show enough of a warning to at least allow the offending child to back away and stop the behavior. I've had my small children trip over a dog and land smack down on a dog's back or hip before. They don't dream to bare teeth or raise a lip even though they are getting up there in age. They know I will come right over and help out. And they also know the kids drop food, give treats and often will sit there and scratch even the hardest to reach spots. Maybe they figure that's the tradeoff for an occasional bump or startle.

I'm not so sure our household would function too well with a dog who did not have a bit of a wait and see attitude. It does take 5 seconds to get across the kitchen afterall.

If we decide to go with a puppy after our girls pass I expect the breeder to help us match the dog to our home and our expectations.

[Kash]

While some dogs will tolerate hugs and kisses and things of that nature, that is part of human behavior and is see as quite rude to a dog, some dogs will not and the signs that they give may be loud and clear for another dog to interprit, those same signs will be very lowkey and subtle to humans so they can be missed and all we see are the warning snaps and full blown bites before they decide that they have to take matters into their own hands (or paws) because no one stopped it before. It's not the dogs fault. Some people use up all their energy on casting blame instead of trying to come up with a solution and learning from where things went wrong and how to prevent it in the future.

Dogs that do tolerate it are wonderful to have when you have children. Dogs that will not tolerate it needs to be more strictly supervised in the same household with children, and the children need to be managed in either situation but I believe they should go by the same rules for safety sake. I do not allow my 4 yr old to walk close to a dog laying down, whether asleep or not. She may lose her footing and fall on the dog, and anything can happen. The dogs nail could catch on her arm or leg or she could fall off the dog and hit her head on a piece of furniture. So I do not allow it at all. I do not have a problem most of the time with the dogs being in the path of anyone as they have their crates or a nice quiet corner over by the ac vents to rest or in my bedroom so they are 90% of the time in those places.

Also another thing that has to be taken into account with all of this is did the dog have any respect at all for the kids? If the dog has no respect, then there will be even less tolerance. Did the kids help take care of the dog like feeding him and grooming? Helped with his obedience (with mom and dad making sure they enforced it)? This can make all the difference in the world on establishing respect between dog and child. That is why it is so important to include the children when setting up classes with a qualified trainer.

[winniecnm]

Kash, in 2 posts the OP alludes to the wife and anxiety about being able to manage the situation. Having 1 kid and a dog is not too bad. Having 2 and a dog - even a well mannered rottweiler- is a little step up. I have 3 with 2 rottweilers which are with the family in shifts due to their history of same sex aggression and it is a challenge which keeps me on my toes!

Having 4 kids and a dog with 2 bites under his belt? I would be wrought with anxiety. Matter of fact, if my husband tried to make me keep the offending dog it would cause a lot of problems.

It may sound harsh, but waking up to a child with a disfigured face or body for life is a lot harder than sending a dog to the bridge. You have to be realistic about what you can and can't handle as a mother and as a human being. I know many people would have packed it up with 2 SSA females like Nikki and Jasmine and who could blame them?? At one point they were an enormous liability and required lock and key 24/7.
I wouldn't criticize for trying to save this particular dog with attempts to manage the issues at hand, but I also can't say that PTS is a such a bad decision either.