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Yeah, I gotta agree with the wrung neck, 9mm option. I would be a lunatic ofr about an hour or two and that thing would not have survived. I don't think it's a good idea to have large or aggressive breeds in the house in the first place and NEVER around defenseless kids.
Many parts of the story seems to be missing or this is just totally bizarre, either or -here goes.
My response - I love animals hugely, have a few of them, however. . when it comes to weighing the love and priority, my son wins hands down, no contest. My dog, although my so-called "child" - is still an animal and not in fact "my child." Respectfully, I can "maternally distinguish." If it were my dog [as much as I truly do love him] - if he did that to my son. . well, let's put this into perspective here and imagine just for a *moment* how beyond enraged/irate/reactive you would be starting a couple seconds after the incident occurred. You would not be sending Fido into the corner after Fido ripped your child's face apart. You would FLIP OUT. I would. I would be on the phone in a flash, advising 911 while on the line with them for ambulatory services to also put a rush on it to come and get my dog before the desire to strangle him set in. And that would be that.
I agree.
My in-laws were babysitting my our two daughters years ago, before our son was born. My older daughter was maybe five and crouched down next to their sleeping springer spaniel to get her shoe. The dog awoke, was startled, and bit her in the face. Our daughter needed several stitches.
My in-laws refused to put their dog down because they were still mourning the dog they put to sleep a few months before: another springer spaniel who bit my mother-in-law. They insisted that this dog really was a good dog and it wouldn't happen again. I was livid, but there was nothing we could do without causing a major family fight, so they never watched our children again. That dog went on to bite several other people more than once, including my young nephew a few times. The dog is old now, and I'll be glad when he is dead. Part of me is glad that I was not there when he bit my daughter, because I can see myself killing the dog.
The other part of your post I will comment about is how some people (usually women) refer to dogs as their children. I know sometimes it's just in fun, and there's nothing wrong with being a doting pet owner, but some people just get creepy about it. My boss is the only man I know who refers to his dog as his child. And he HAS children. That's the weirdest part! His dog recently died, and he has told me twice now, "This has been like losing a child for us." That's just ... offensive.
I remember having a dog as a child who bit my brother (very young at that point) a few times. These occassions were provoked, and the dog never did this unless my bro was harming him. It was also one bite, not a mauling. My parents gave the dog a smackdown, but he got a pass.
I love pets and all, but....tearing off faces? That's kinda extreme. Especially if unprovoked. How could you ever trust the dog again once you know it is both able and willing to cause this much damage to a child?
If a dog is provoked and nips or bites without going that extra step to inflict major injury, well....I would probably keep the dog and take steps to make sure the event didn't happen again. But seven surguries cause by unprovoked aggression would be a dealbreaker for me. Dog's gotta go.
this is a true story which i thought was really bizarre. I am curious what your response is to the family's decision to keep the dog:
when my kids were small, we spent time with another mom and her two small children, our husbands worked together. They had a dog. The lady made a comment one day at her house about not leaving the kids unattended with the dog, who was behind a gate. She then went on to explain why...
They had the dog for many years before they had kids. Then their first child was born. When the baby was an infant, the dog attacked the little girl and ripped off much of her face. She nearly died. The little girl (when I met the family) was 5 years old and had already had 7 operations for plastic surgery, and was expected to have at least 3 more plastic surgery operations.
The family made the decision to keep the dog. I asked her "how could you keep the dog after your kid nearly died?" and "Aren't you afraid the dog could attack the kids again?" They had another baby, another little girl 2 years later. The mom said people ask them that often but she said the dog was a member of their family before the kids were born, and they could not get rid of a member of their family.
the whole thing gave me the creeps. we later had a falling out and I was relieved to see the association end.
what is your response to someone like the lady I met? how would you have handled this if it was your dog?
Well, I am of the opinion that your pet *is* a member of the family and you do not get rid of it. So I would most likely have made about the same decision. Of course, being blissfully childfree I would not have had to worry about it in the first place.
Anyway, I totally applaud the family for NOT getting rid of the dog. Apparently (since they have never had any other problems), the kid must have been really tormenting the dog in the first place to have it bitten her.
Well, I am of the opinion that your pet *is* a member of the family and you do not get rid of it. So I would most likely have made about the same decision. Of course, being blissfully childfree I would not have had to worry about it in the first place.
Anyway, I totally applaud the family for NOT getting rid of the dog. Apparently (since they have never had any other problems), the kid must have been really tormenting the dog in the first place to have it bitten her.
20yrsinBranson
who knows you won't agree. LOL
For me it would completely depend on what kind of bite it was, if the dog intentionally and aggressively went after the child or if it was accidental.
It's important for parents to work with the dog when they bring a child into the home. They have to make sure the child knows how to act around a dog but also to make sure the dog is properly socialized to be around kids.
It's a good idea to "tease" the dog with food to make sure the dog knows proper food behavior. Dogs that aren't used to kids for example, often aren't used to anyone bothering them about food or getting close to their food bowl. A child likely will bother a dog trying to eat and it's a dog's instinct to protect it's food.
If you'll have kids around a dog, you should give the dog his food, and then take the food away, if he growls or reacts, you scold him and even swat him until he learns that humans have the right to remove the food. You should teach the dog that even if the food is in his mouth, you can take the food away.
You also have to watch a dog's reaction carefully when a child is trying to sit on him, or provoke him. Make sure the dog learns that at least he is to get up and move to another location if he doesn't like what small kids will do to him.
My daughter was 2 when our dog bit her in the face. It was horrible because I didn't know what to do. My daughter had dropped a snack on the floor and she bent down to pick it up the same time the dog did and the battle took place. I grabbed my daughter and threw the dog outside and rushed my daughter to the hospital. Her injuries were not bad once all the blood was cleaned up and she has no scars from the incident. It took me four days to decide what to do with the dog and I decided to keep her, but I promised myself that if the dog ever looked as if she were going to attack again or if she ever did, that would be it and the dog would be gone. I spent years training the dog not to ever attack over food again and I can say that it has been 8 years without another incident. You have to make the decision for yourself. Had my daughter had to have 7 surgeries to fix an attack like your friend's child, the dog would have been put down by me. Seriously, I think I would have killed our dog had she done that much damage to my daughter. Just being honest.
I'm not surprised. Only the Petstapo can resort to such antics. It's more like the dog's the eldest child and it can pretty much chew the younger siblings to bits. Frankly, some people can't see the difference between humans and animals.
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