The dog is described as a “terrier/lab mutt”; not a shepherd. Terriers are by nature somewhat snippy dogs; retrievers typically have “soft mouths”. Neither are herders. The child is described is described as behaving inappropiately with any animal, e.g. presenting her face in proximity to an animal without caution, which is inappropriate with any breed or species. A mature dog should not respond in this fashion, but a dog that is still a puppy with what may be indifferent training may respoind instintually to a presented threat. Children (and frankly, many adults) need to learn what is and is not appropriate presentation to domestic animals they may come in contact with, and a few minor scratches hardly comprise some inexcusable threat.
I don’t know about OP but I do find some respondents’ posts that this isn’t a big deal pretty unconvincing. Just can’t see how anyone would keep a dog which already bit their little kid. Doesn’t matter if it’s the kid’s ‘fault’ (a highly questionable concept for 4 yr olds in general), and nothing is an animal’s ‘fault’. I just don’t see the justification for taking further risk.
But, OP can take this risk and it might work out OK, even probably. But I wouldn’t take the risk.
Like I said, maybe a precursor issue is ‘resolved, it’s a good idea to have little* kids and dogs (especially puppies) in a house’. I’d say ‘no’, subject to exceptions of exceptionally docile adult dogs or especially non-mischievous kids. But our adult dog is super serene with kids in every interaction I’ve even seen and I still wouldn’t be 100% comfortable having one of our little grandniece/nephews or future grandkids actually living with her.
Also don’t go along with breed characterization of dog behavior though. That only goes so far. Dogs which have bitten people are far the most likely dogs to bite people.
Life is full of potential danger. I’m sure the OP also owns kitchen knives, heavy furniture, hot lamps and a number of other things a 4 year old needs to learn to navigate carefully. The dog protected her from making the same mistake with a less well tempered dog.
Let’s see what the dog trainer says, okay people? (It’s too bad Bootis’s family doesn’t have a cat. I found that cats are great at teaching dogs to know their place)
Perhaps but if a child picked up the cat by the hind leg and tried to walk off with it that way the consequences may be more severe than a scratched cheek.
And when the child has a sibling, and the younger sibling keeps messing with the child and the child eventually wacks the younger sibling, We realize how painful it will be…
But the child should be re-homed in a family without younger siblings.
And that is exactly how ridiculous this nonsense thought is.
Remove rather than teach is never a winning strategy
I bet the OP could make the lesson stick. Just tell the kiddo that if she ever gets into the dog’s face again, they’ll give him away. And then, when she does it, secretly send the puppy to spend a day or three with grandma and grandpa. Explain it was her fault he had to go away. When she cries and begs for another chance, relent and retrieve him from grandma’s house. She’d never do it again.
Or, you know, find a less traumatic way to address the behavior, like standing her in the corner for half an hour every time she acts up against the poor dog. My little brother was severely ADHD, and even he typically didn’t repeat a bad behavior at age 4 after spending 30 minutes facing a wall.
Which a responsible parent minimizes as much as possible within the house. You can’t not have furniture, though a piece which is heavy and possible for a little kid to knock over on themselves? Should be sold or put in storage. And you don’t have to have an immature dog with a little kid. There’s plenty of time for dogs (especially puppies) once a kid is old enough to actually reason with, as opposed to (IMHO) bizarre notion of reasoning with a 4 yr old to facilitate having a dog which doesn’t have to be there.
I read the Shelter notes on adoptable dogs every single day. A frequent bio includes variations on not good with small children or childfree home preferred or adults with respectful older children. Frequently, the dog is 1-2 yrs old. Now, what might make such a young dog need a child free home? Perhaps a small child that didn’t respect the dog’s space? The dog in question could be in the early stages of associating small child with annoyance and the need to protect himself. Any child; anywhere.
Anecdotal but still: My niece, total animal person, rescued a dog and spent a small fortune on various trainers until one finally stated the obvious: this dog cannot be trusted around [her] children. My friends’ adopted dog bit them both, snarling and growling, because they grabbed his collar. Quite normal thing to do, but no one had told them the dog had abused as a puppy. Puppy memories of experiences can last a long time
We had a dog when I was around 3-4 years old. I loved to play with him, but in my 4-year-old mind, “playing” with the dog consisted of following him around and trying to ride on his back, bothering him while he was eating, poking spoons at him through his crate, trying to tie his basset-hound ears into a bow on top of his head- you get the idea. My parents would try to explain how to be gentle with him, but I was a toddler- not really capable of absorbing the explanation.
He definitely did get sick of my playing with him and snapped at me, grabbing my arm and shaking me all over the place, leaving bite marks all the way up my arm. Honestly, I deserved it.
My parents didn’t get rid of him. But I was mildly afraid of him after that, and much more deferential around him, after which he was fine with me. He never attacked me again.
I disagree with a lot of this. I don’t minimize danger as much as possible; I minimize it to what I consider a reasonable extent. Thus I used outlet covers when my toddler was a wee one, but not now that she’s four, because she can be reasoned with and can understand danger. My kid wears a helmet when she rides a bike, but she rides a bike, even though I know the inevitable scrapes will happen. We let our kids play barefoot in the yard, even though there are honeybees among the violets and clover.
Injury is a part of life and a part of childhood. I’ve seen research that suggests that “safe injuries”–injuries that don’t need more attention than what your average first-aid kit can provide, and that can be bandaged up quickly–help kids develop appropriate risk-evaluation skills. An attempt to minimize all risks can actually lead to long-term harm, as the kid doesn’t learn how to recognize risky situations.
So, no, I’m not going to try to get a dog to bite my kid’s face, and yes, I’m going to continue teaching my kid to ask strangers if she can pet their dogs (and to take “no” for an answer) before approaching them, and yes, I’ll hate it if a dog snaps at her and bites her. But if it happens, I won’t demand the dog be locked up, nor would I get rid of a pet who snapped once under these circumstances; instead, I’d look for ways to help my kid process the event and internalize the lesson.
I don’t understand why people are saying a four-year-old can’t understand how to behave with an animal. My cousin’s little boy is five now, but he’s been raised with dogs his entire life. He’s had “gentle, gentle” and “DON’T BOTHER THE DOG!” drilled into him the entire time and there’s never been an incident. If my cousin said either one of those phrases, he complied immediately like a little soldier.