I guess tapatalk ignores html tags on preview, even fake ones, so I was intrigued by the movie “the Grey Stranger.”
This is my opinion, having both young kids and a big dog.
I think this is normal and OK. Not an unusual dog.
Daughter had it coming but the dog still needs to go. Also maybe start to introduce consequences instead of warning countless times.
I was raised with the “every dog gets one bite” philosophy, but that doesn’t cover all the possible situations. Some dogs are just not wraped all that tight. I’ve owned two such, and they can still be wonderful companions, but you MUST* take responsiblity for their less controlled natures.
The problem with a bite is that “bite inhibition” has been overcome. Overcome once, so much easier to overcome it twice. It MAY be a one-off, but frankly, I’ve seen dogs take real pain and respond in the most mild of ways, so I’m immediately thoughtful when a bite happens. Lots of reasons why a bite may have happened, and figuring that out becomes crucial. It’s also your responsiblity to make sure it never has a chance to happen again.
*I currently have a 110# biter re-homed to me for care and re-scripting - NOT his fault, IMO, but I know he has a history, and both legal liability and human decency require that I NEVER let him get into another situation where a human could be traumatized, even unintentionally. Should that happen, not only will my insurance take a major hit, but he’ll lose his life. It’s up to me to make sure that never happens.
If your lesson isn’t sticking, make it stick, is my opinion. She knows now not to do it. If she disobeys dog safety rules, the dog gets crated for the rest of the night–no warnings for her!–and she loses a privilege, like screen time or treat. The consequence for engaging in unsafe behavior needs to be something that shocks her system immediately, not just gentle reminders.
Training a puppy takes more than a once a week class. It takes every day training until the puppy/dog has reached the level of training needed to be a good canine family member.
Crate training is essential. And using the crate as a refuge should be a lifetime privilege for the dog.
Try to find out from the shelter every little bit of history they have on the puppy. When it was weaned, when separated from its littermates, was there any early training?
If pooch had been safe in his crate, or in a puppy pen (I don’t know how one survives puppyhood without either), this story would have had a much different ending.
I’m not one to casually say give up the dog, as it didn’t show aggression imho, but y’all really seem clueless about puppy development and behavior. So either devote yourselves to becoming educated dog parents, determined to raise a well-behaved dog and child, or rehome the dog to the family he deserves. You’re stuck with the kid.:rolleyes:
Oh, and find the idiot who crossed two incompatible breeds, cover him with liver bits, and literally throw him to the dogs.
Hey, Bootis, you know you forgot one very important piece of information: pictures.
Bootis said they had an older dog, so I’m sure they’ve been down this road before.
I’m sure Bootis reinforces the lessons learned at obedience class with the dog daily at home. After all, you can’t take the dog to class every day. You do have to reinforce the training at home away from class, too. I’m sure Bootis realizes that. It’s not their first dog or their only one.
My bolding.
This. 110% this.
It’s absolutely impossible to make four-year-olds into perfect little adults. They simply don’t have the mental and emotional capacity for that.
So you have to decide what are priorities, and IMHO, not getting into the face of a puppy has got to be a really high priority.
If the lesson truly can’t stick, then the kid and the puppy can’t be together. If it just hasn’t been a high enough priority then that needs to change.
It was actually Wizard of Oz. The kid ran out of the room during the flying monkeys then ran back in jumped up and hugged the dogs face
Culprit is on the right
Oh what a cutie! (They both are)
IIRC I would bite anyone who sneaked up on me a few seconds after those scenes too. They were full of flying monkeys, dramatic spooky music and lots of screaming. The dog can totally pick up on any fear, excitement or agitation in her or you while that was going on.
Clearly a stone cold killer. Just from your description of the events and that photo, I think you can trust him with a child under normal circumstances without any hesitation. In a high energy situation like flying monkeys and a little girl shrieking and running around the house in excitement, you might need to remind her not to startle him with a sneak-attack hug.
But like I said the nip probably taught her more than a thousand lectures about dog safety could. That lesson will probably stick with her.
Your dog is not safe with a child. Very cute, very sweet, I’m sure an absolute love-bug. I totally get how painful this is. But the dog should be re-homed in a family without small children.
You already know this. You are grasping at straws in the hopes that someone will support your state of denial. Get. That. Dog. Out. Of. The. House.
Any dog with a herding instinct will nip repeatedly. This dog does not have the right temperament to be in a home with an impetuous little girl. It’s just a bad fit. He’s not evil, she’s not a delinquent, they just aren’t right for each other.
That’s all complete nonsense. The dog wasn’t following a herding instinct or a prey instinct (the actual danger a dog might pose to a child in most cases), he was just giving a warning nip to an energetic little girl who surprised him with a sneak hug attack.
Besides I seriously doubt the option of removing the dog over this minor incident was ever on the table when the OP asked if this was normal or a cause for concern.
The answers are yes it is normal and yes it is a cause for concern. Not concern about the dog being a danger to anyone but concern that the girl understands how to behave around animals in general. Even though this dog wouldn’t harm her, she might meet one who will. She needs to understand that and by all probability she does now, thanks to the dog. He’s not the problem he’s the solution.
Once again, this is a puppy, not an older dog. Nobody is “grasping at straws”. This was a one off thing. I would ask at the training classes to be sure, but OH MY GOD, GET RID OF THE DOG!!! is just knee-jerking at this point. Jesus Christ.
And who said anything about a “herding instinct”? WTF?
With that wording, I wasn’t sure if we were going to get a pic of the dog, or your daughter 
She got consequences.