When a dog bites a child

[Breanna]

My parent's neighbors have a little dog, I don't know what he is. He looks like some kind of chihuahua mix, only stockier than a chihuahua. Anyway, the neighbor asked if I can drive over there morning and evening from last Friday to this Wednesday to let him out of his kennel. Yes, he is spending five days alone in his kennel. She and my mom actually once had a falling out because of the way she "takes care" of her animals. Last night my mom took him over to the house because she felt sorry for him being alone for so long. He's been to our house before and our family has been over there before. My mom wasn't looking for a moment and heard my 4-year-old brother crying. When my sister looked, his face was bloody with a slice on his eyebrow. The dog had bit him in the face. Now, I know kids can be rough (and should be taught to be gentle) but in my opinion a dog should know to never bite a child. I know he's been cooped up and for that I feel bad for him, but I still think a dog should never bite a child. Any dog I've ever owned has been trained well that absolutely no aggression toward children is acceptable. Maybe I wouldn't feel so strongly if it wasn't my brother, I don't know. But now I need to call the neighbor and make sure his dog is all up-to-date on his vaccines. How would you feel about this situation?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am sorry to hear this and i hope your brother is OK. Maybe the neighbor had good reason to just ask your mother to only let the dog out of it's kennel. At any rate your mother should never let this dog near kids, you should not accept responsibility for it's care and let the neighbor know. If the neighbor has no other options maybe she will board the dog in the future. Dogs who bite can be euthanized and that would be sad since the circumstances here are not fully known. I can't imagine leaving my dogs alone for so long with so little human contact and twice daily releases from crates.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Unfortunate situation.  One question I would have is what your brother was doing with the dog.  A four year old is a wild card. Plus, all dog's have a limit and although I agree dog's should not bite a child, this one may not have had proper training or exposure to children.  Hope your brother is okay and does not suffer any long term effects.  

[Breanna]

She asked me to take him out of his kennel, I've been driving over there morning and evening. The dog has been to our house before and the neighbor was okay with that. My brother has played there before and she has kids. My mom said the dog was under the table and my brother reached to pet him. I think it all happened very fast. We are definitely not going to press to euthanize, we know things happen. I do want her to show me that he is up to date on his rabies, though. I think that's fair. I am also going to tell her that I don't think she should ever leave him alone that long again. She also left the air conditioning either off or high because the house is REALLY warm. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Reaching out at a dog, especially one who is "sheltering" under a table, is a mistake for anyone, let alone a small child. It's really important that your brother be taught never to reach his hand out to a dog. He has to have crawled under the table, i.e. invaded the dog's space, to have been bitten in the face. Sophia Yin has some good tips for teaching children to interact with dogs. http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/kids-and-dogs-how-kids-should-and...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's also pretty disturbing to me that you would even think about "pressing to euthanize" this poor dog. 

[Breanna]

I wouldn't think about it. Someone posted that a dog who bites can be euthanized. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sorry, I misunderstood what you meant. It actually would not be up to you, it would be in the hands of the legal system under the dangerous dog laws. 

[Breanna]

I certainly wouldn't want that. I know it wasn't his fault, it's the owner's fault. I suppose my frustration is mostly geared toward her. She used to have a labrador who was kept in a small fenced space of the backyard. He was out there all day every day. She eventually gave him away and a few days ago told me that she doesn't understand why he stood out there and barked all day. We've all always felt sorry for her animals and that is why my mom brought him home. She didn't want him to spend another night alone. She knows it was a mistake now to have him around the child. 

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Why does this person even have dogs if all she does is keep them fenced up or in a kennel. I guess that is not for me to ask, but the poor animals.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I wrote that but I also wrote that it would be sad since the circumstances were not known. Now that I read more about how it occurred it would be even worse.

[Breanna]

No, I understand that and you're right about that. There are definitely times when dogs are euthanized for being aggressive when it was the owner's fault for not socializing/training. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A dog should never bite, but this poor dog was left all alone in a kennel for five days. Clearly he has an uncaring idiot for an owner and I'm betting he's had little to no socialization or training. Under these circumstances, leaving him alone for even half a second with a small child was a recipe for disaster. He may have been to your house before, but maybe not at a time when his owner has abandoned him (he has no way of knowing she's coming back in five days) and he's very uncertain as to what to expect.

A dog cannot "know" never to bite a child; dogs only know what we teach them. And under the right circumstances, (i.e. stress, pain, fear) any dog can bite. I agree that aggression towards children is not acceptable, but it's up to the human adults involved to see that it doesn't happen. This kind of incident is the fault of the humans, not the dog.