So what if the story were the same but cml's dog was a 70 pound bully breed? References have already been made to breeds that get more irritable with age.
Take out the girl and her family to protect your dog. If you really love your dog, you know it has to be done.
We have had the dog 6 years from a puppy and he has never bitten anyone. I have ZERO concern he would bite anyone in the family. This has been a terrible ordeal and I will not take the chance of it happening again. Not to mention, some parents may not let their kids come over knowing what happened if our dog is running free around the house. He will be in the pen when ANYONE comes over from now on. I just can't take the chance.
Thanks for the replies everyone. This gives me some ammunition to counter my wife. She loves the dog too, however she NEVER wants this to happen again. I will tell her it won't happen if we do net let it. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be honest, this whole thing is mindboggling. You want a dog killed because of one bite? The girl's not even seriously injured. Are all dog owners this paranoid....or is this more of a southern state thing?
OP, if you decide to not put the dog down, you are on NOTICE about the dog's potential for harm. Next time around, if it should happen, you will be on the hook for damages, especially for a lawsuit happy victim (via parents).
Well there are no easy answers here, but okay I'll be the one to say it. Because that little girl is going to carry these physical & emotional scars with her for the rest of her life, your wife is right. As hard as this is going to be, your dog needs to be put down, & the girl who was bit needs to be the one to pull the trigger. While YOUR kids watch, with their shovels.
Helllll no, don't put ur dog to sleep for that! It was a natural defense response. Not aggressive behavior. Remember this? <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/W6SDOTzmbSs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Exactly right. This was not aggression, this was defense. The girl got in the dog's face. I don't care WHAT animal you do that to, you always run the risk of that being interpreted as an agressive act. When confronted with an aggressor, the dog will defend itself with it's first weapon: it's teeth. This was (I'm sorry to say) a careless human act rather than a dangerous dog. Also, I'm betting the dog gave a few warning signs (backing away, tucked tail, etc.) before reacting this way, and they just went unnoticed. Dogs rarely just jump right into defense mode. They almost aways say "back off", either with body language or growling.
My grandfather had a Collie, about 12 years old, that was an amazing dog. Grandpa had a small ranch in East Texas, and that Collie saved him from several snake bites. Just a great dog and hell on wheels when he saw a snake. So we're visiting and I'm about 4 years old, munching on a piece of bacon I grabbed from the breakfast table on the way out. Ginger comes over to check things out, and I wave the bacon around. Big mistake. Dog goes for bacon, bites my face right next to my eye. Very traumatic. Grandpa's dog wasn't put down. He never considered it, and the Collie lived to be 21 years old (yeah, it was pretty amazing). I never trusted him again, not like before, but I never went on a walk in the woods and pastures without him. Keep the dog.
At the risk of being redundant, don't put the dog down over one incident. Just be more in tune with the dog's feelings and be vigilant when he's feeling jumpy.
Thanks for the responses guys. My wife finally sees reality. We will keep the dog (thankfully) however we will keep him away from children (compromise). BTW the girl who was bitten was 15 years old and says she still loves the dog. I think my wife was just terrified of this happening again. I spent a lot of time explaining that the dog did not "attack" the girl, rather she made a sudden move bending down to tie her shoe when the dog was already nervous due to the fact we were packing and loading the car. Thanks again!!!!!!
