Storm bit Son's face!

[Aimee Santa Monica]

Storm, our 8 mo old mini labradoodle, (5 mo w/us) , had aggressive puppy play his first few months with us- like biting our socks when entering the house- but that went away.  The past few month he is very calm and most loved by all of my 3 boys.  My youngest son Aero, (just turned 6) loves to hug Storm, every chance he gets.   And Storm is usually calm & loves it!

Yesterday afternoon, the 2 dogs were laying in the livingroom, just relaxing, when my son Aero  started to hug him-  well, it seemed like he was warning Aero- because Storm started growling, w/c he never does this to Aero.  I took back Aero & told him to keep away , i am thinking that Storm just wanted to rest.  Storm was laying down- staring at Aero .  But Aero came close to his face & Storm bit his lip!  I was so shocked & mad !  I immediately put Storm in his crate in his room.  A good look at it later, after the bleeding stopped, showed a tiny puncture.   Aero is eating & fine.  But i am in dismay- because i feared that the moment that happened- that we have to give him away??   I love Storm so much, he is our first dog in this house- and he's very affectionate, more than Ayla.   But i don't want my children in danger.  I am saddened by this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree, there are plenty of adults who don't know how to behave appropriately around dogs. I am constantly on edge from strangers who approach JD with their arm stretched out in front of them and their hand reaching for the top of his head.

The funny thing is that any strange kid in the world can do that, and Jackdoodle will wag his tail and try to kiss the child. It happened about an hour ago in the waiting room at the vet's office. Jack isn't afraid of kids, he loves them, and he wouldn't dream of biting one. But the mother of this three-year-old who was approaching a strange 80 lb dog with her hand aimed at his face didn't know that.

[Aimee Santa Monica]

Thanks everyone for posting about the incident. It really helps me understand what happened from another perspective, and how to effectively prevent this from happening again.

[Rosemarie Panzitta]

I totally agree with Karen. I just want to add one more thing if Storm really wanted to hurt your son he would have and could have done a lot more damage. So I think it was a third warning first growl, than stare, than bite. That is basically what Storm's mom would have done to him probably without the stare.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I just want to empathize with you because I know how you feel.  We had several incidents where our shepherd mix, Dixie, nipped/bit someone.  Whereas NONE of these incidents were acceptable, all of the incidents were understandable.  I believe that a dog should know that biting is never acceptable behavior, of course a human should know that a dog is a dog and will respond as a dog responds.

The first and only incident when Dixie nipped a family member occurred when she nipped my 3 yr old daughter.  I witnessed the whole thing and Dixie was reprimanding my daughter with a nip just like a mother dog would reprimand her pup.  I scolded Dixie but wasn't worried.  Dixie was an excellent friend and guardian for my kids until the day she died.

Dixie bit/nipped a friends' little girl on the 7 yr old girl's face.  TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE, however, the girl was blowing in Dixie's face, leaning toward her as Dixie was backing up down the hall. 

Dixie nipped a little boy who was running through our yard.  This boy was a neighborhood "hoodlum" and he wasn't invited on our property but he just ran around like he owned the place.  Dixie followed him around and then when he started to go into our backyard, Dixie nipped his lower leg.  It was hard to scold her for this, we didn't want the boy running around our property, either.  The nip was like a herding dog correcting a sheep who was going the wrong direction.

Dixie also nipped a little boy who was playing on my son's bed and fell off the bed and landed on Dixie.  I wasn't there for that one, but I can't say I blame Dixie.

Throughout Dixie's life I was afraid that she would really bite someone and that we would have to put her to sleep.  I didn't want anyone in danger and I didn't want to lose Dixie.  I do know how you feel and I am sorry. 

It really sounds like Storm was treating Aero like he would treat a doggie sibling only a dog would have picked up on the warnings.  I think that Storm needs to see your son as a "pack leader" as opposed to a buddy.  We have had that issue with our 8 yr old son - he wants to wrestle and play with our dogs.  The dogs love him but don't respect him.  They think that he is just "one of the gang", NOT someone to be respected.  I think you've had some great advice already.  My only additional suggestions would be to have your son do things which place him in a position of authority.  Teach Aero to train Storm by practicing basic commands.  Don't allow any "peer" playing (wrestling, etc) and make sure your son "wins" any games they play.  If you share and support Aero's authority, I think you'll find that Storm gives him the respect that he needs.