My Dog Snapped At My Childs Face.

[laneka]

I think the OP has received some excellent advise here. Yes a mistake has happened, luckily it was not worse but I would be so happy with my dog because of the bite inhibition. Not many dogs would have reacted so well. A lesson well learnt by the OP and her lovely son.

[Guest lavendergirl]

You know why the dog snapped & what to do to stop it happening again.

Perfectly normal reaction from the dog given the circumstances. I wouldn't bother with a behaviourist. Its a few hundred $'s & you know what to do.

Stop your son being this way with the dog. He sounds a lovely kind,sensible & good little boy so this should be a one off incident.

I hate it when people expect a dog to put up with anything without any reaction at all.

Once saw a child pull a dogs ears until it squealed & the parent said the dogs so good it puts up with anything from the kids

It shouldn't have to. I would have done the mean mum thing called discipline.

Agree with this. There has been comment on other threads with posters stating their opinion that any dog should be PTS on showing any sort of inclination to bite even through pain provocation - I strongly disagree with that opinion. A search on this forum and many other internet sites will provide you with much information about dog behaviour and appropriate handling of dogs by children. I think a behaviourist is only necessary for ongoing problems you are unable to solve and I doubt if this is an ongoing problem as it sounds like a reaction to pain. Good luck.

[german_shep_fan]

I think the OP has received some excellent advise here. Yes a mistake has happened, luckily it was not worse but I would be so happy with my dog because of the bite inhibition. Not many dogs would have reacted so well. A lesson well learnt by the OP and her lovely son.

+1

[WeimMe]

I think that all things considered this incident may be a one off situation. As others have said, it's great that your dog has good bite inhibition and that your son now knows not to lie on the dog. I'd say that she most likely reacted the way she did due to pain and not aggression.

We had an incident some time ago where our much loved dog nipped my daughter when she was a toddler (incidentally, to make the child stop biting HER!). I was horrified, but the truth was that my daughter was really hurting her and she had no other way to make her stop. I was in the same room, but it happened so fast couldn't get there in time to intervene. The dog had never shown any aggression before then or since (and this was about 7 years ago now). I don't think that your dog's reaction to being hurt necessarily means that it will attack your child in the future.

[Greytmate]

The reason why people are recommending professionals is that human aggression needs to be taken seriously, and we can't see what is really happening. A trainer or behaviourist is there watching what happens, and there can be no misinterpretation because of words chosen. The Internet is great but it is limited when we can't actually see the behaviour and know how the dog is reacting to a range of things.

[Erny]

The reason why people are recommending professionals is that human aggression needs to be taken seriously, and we can't see what is really happening. A trainer or behaviourist is there watching what happens, and there can be no misinterpretation because of words chosen. The Internet is great but it is limited when we can't actually see the behaviour and know how the dog is reacting to a range of things.

+1

[mita]

Just wanted to say there's great advice & spot on knowledge about dog behaviour, in this thread. It's the kind of information that should be spread around the pet owning public.

[Elvemera]

Thank you for replies everyone.

Yes, I told my son strait away that he must stop lying on her and he agreed and told me "she did that because she got very hurt from it, and I wont do it again" I think I definitely missed her subtle hints of not liking it anymore. In the past when he has done it she seemed so happy, licked him then layed on top of him all happy while he laughs, but yes he is getting bigger and I should have said so before.

She really is one of the most tolerant dogs I have ever met but I also don't believe she should have to be tolerant to everything, I think I was just really shocked and scared. We always talk to our son about being gentle and how she's our family and to watch her body/ her telling us things and we supervise.

ETA: Haha, everyone types so fast there were more replies once I'd posted. I will call up our vet first thing tomorrow so they can check and also look at a professional dog behavior person. And thanks about mentioning the fact that yes she did show restraint, I saw she did but my panic got the best of me ( plus conflicting family/friends views)

Darlin the first reaction of a lot of parents is OMG but as you can see from the other posts your dog showed restraint and it was a warning that he hurt her. People need to teach their kids how to treat dogs not just expect dogs to put up with anything that is done to them. Too many people expect dogs to bombproof and not teach their kids that there are repercussions if you hurt an animal and just because the kid thinks its fun doesn't mean the dog is comfortable with the behaviour. I can tell you that after my hysterectomy my child ran to give me a cuddle a couple weeks after and caught me with their knee and I cried out in pain. Obviously I explained to my child what had happened and they just have to be more careful but accidents happen so he was fine but it hurt the hell out me.

[Sheridan]

Sounds like a pain reaction.

Your dog WARNED your son that his behaviour hurt her. Count your blessings.

She's not a pillow and he's getting bigger all the time. Stop this behaviour now.

And thank your dog for having both excellent bite inhibition and would appear, up to now, to be a high degree of tolerance.

There will not be a bite if you ensure that your son behaves more appropriately to your dog and that you supervise them or separate them when you can't be around.

+2

[hortfurball]

You know why the dog snapped & what to do to stop it happening again.

Perfectly normal reaction from the dog given the circumstances. I wouldn't bother with a behaviourist. Its a few hundred s & you know what to do.

Stop your son being this way with the dog. He sounds a lovely kind,sensible & good little boy so this should be a one off incident.

I agree. Poor girl, only three weeks after a major op. I cringed when I read it, imagining the pain it would have caused her. A combination of bad timing and a momentary lapse of judgment on your son's part. He's very sweet to realise it too and obviously loves his dog very much. Perhaps a good time to stop him lying on her now that he's getting bigger even though they seem to have both enjoyed it in the past.

Pockets, seriously! You'd have the dog PTS? You have major abdominal surgery and I'll come and jump on you. See if you snap? As someone else said - big difference between stepping on a tail and really hurting the dog. Ella has been stepped on, kicked, poked, elbowed etc etc (all accidentally of course), and her only reaction was to yelp and move away, but the one time I did accidentally really hurt her, she too snapped (no contact). This is the same dog who will give up her bone on command and let me get all sorts of stuff out from between her teeth and from across the roof of her mouth (she likes to chew sticks and gumnuts :rolleyes:) I have NO fear of putting my hands in her mouth.