Re: My JR bit my son.

In Reply to: My JR bit my son.
Category:   Aggression
Posted by:  Sean
Posted on:  July 29, 2002 at 00:15:59

: I have a 7 mo. old nuetered male that bit my son tonight. The dog was napping and my son sat down next him to pet and cuddle with the dog and my son put his face next to the dog's, and the dog bit my son's nose and upper lip. Both bled pretty good. The dog has growled and bared his teeth in the past under the same circumstances with this child but never bitten. Including this incident, the dog was scolded firmly and put in time out. (The dog is walking around with his tail between his legs right now as if he knows he's done something horribly wrong.) I thought I was dealing with this aggression appropriately because the dog has never had this reaction to anyone else in the home, including my younger son. Infact, a two year old little girl was climbing on him and pulling on him earlier today and there was not one sign of aggression towards the little girl.

: Do I need to get rid of this dog? Why is he aggresive to this child that dearly loves him and treats him so well? The only explanation I can think of is that this dog beleives our family is his pack and that my son is lower on the pecking oder then him. How do I correct this before something far worse happens to my son or another child in my home?

: Thank you for your response.

Response:

Hi Sean,
First of all, most likey your son startled this dog, and you have heard the old saying let sleeping dogs lie. You should also teach your child not to put his face in the dogs face. This is something that everyone is told not to do, and especially when a dog is sleeping.There are other ways to teach your child to be loving toward the dog but cuddling a dog and having a child put his face in a sleeping dogs face isn't something that anyone recommends doing. Any breeder of any breed will tell you that this is a sign of aggression toward the dog, and it isn't something that anyone recommends doing.

I can see why your dog did this, because of probably being started and also using, unknowly a sign of aggression toward the dog. I don't want to give you a lecture but you as a parent need to teach your children what to do and what not to do in proper handling of a dog. One way is to take your dog to obedience classes and have your children go also so they can learn to properly relate to having pets.

Obedience classes are highly recommeded for this breed and ask your Vet for classes in your area. Find one that uses positive reinforcement in the training and also one that will allow your children to interact with the dog.

I don't think that there is any reason to get rid of the dog, I also don't think that you would get rid of a child, that did something wrong because he didn't know better or was reacting to mishandling.
As parents it is up to us to teach our children what is proper and what isn't proper and your childs actions had a lot to do with this dogs reactions.

Find a class ASAP and get started on teaching your children how to properly handle and love a dog and this dog will make you a wonderful pet for many years to come.

Regards
Linda