Conflict with mom after her dog bit my daughter [long read -- sorry!]

[~Seraphim ~]

In my case I walked by the dog who was on a leash next to his owner (boyfriend's mother) -about three feet away - barely saw the dog as I walked by to put my stuff down - he lept out and bit me on the leg breaking through my pant leg and skin. Unprovoked. Several other times a dog off leash has bounded over to me and my son or leapt into my path if on a really long leash when we were just minding our own business. Unprovoked. No warnings. If I sense a dog is about to do something we react by asking the owner to leash him and/or getting away if at all possible.

Most are provoked however. Most people don’t realize it because dogs have boundaries too. Take for instance , my husband about almost 12 years ago now when he was at his aunt’s house stuck his face down to pet his cousin’s dog . Sticking your face in a dog’s face is very aggressive in dog language . So naturally this dog grabbed him by the face . My husband did not know or have any clue that this was aggressive nature to a dog . This is not how you greet a dog . So she sunk her top canines into his skull and her bottom canines through his chin . Then when he pulled away she wracked her canines down his face . All completely and utterly his fault because he miscommunicated with her . However ,many people would see this as “unprovoked “as he was “just being friendly “to the dog . Well, no. He was aggressive.

[abitbroken]

Not all dogs are socialized with small children - its very important to do.
NO small child should be left unattended with any dog.
The problem is people scold dogs when they growl, instead of allowing growl to be a warning, and then the dog goes from zero to bite because they are no longer allowed to growl --
the growl gives the opportunity for the dog to warn someone that they are uncomfortable. My dogs go in their crate when little ones are crawling around and they are super well socialized, friendly, etc.

I would not visit your parents in their home with your child.
If mom keeps the dog and otherwise has a quiet home appropriate for the dog and the dog doesn't bite adults - then mom has the right to keep the dog.
just don't let her watch your child because she doesn't pay attention

[Wiseman2]

You two as parents must stand for your daughter without assumptions and collect monies she deserves for future decisions regarding injuries from this attack. Will you and your wife also face jail time for child endangerment/child neglect if you report this dog and the while incident to the police? Keep in mind you as parents did not keep your child safe from danger.

So you are ok with your daughter walking around disfigured because "it's not so bad and will heal by the time she's a teenager" and are instead obsessed with the animal control blah blah issue? Please get your priorities in order. Your child and her safety, well being and health come first and foremost. By law and just plain common sense. After this you are still letting her near dogs with the criteria "if they have kids"? No. You need to supervise your child closely at all times.

my daughter has actually healed very well. Because she was so little at the time, all but the deepest wound healed with only minimal discoloration and should fade almost completely in time; the deepest wound left about a 3/8" long scar, but our pediatrician thinks it will be barely noticeable by the time our daughter is a teenager. Today, we always carry pepper spray and don't allow our daughter to interact with any dog unless the dog lives with kids -- and even still, hold the dog's head and only allow my daughter to pet its back.

[SherrySher]

What kind of grandma has their grandchild seriously injured by their own dog and not only looks the other way but justifies it?!?
I would be horrified that my dog hurt my grandchild like that and would be more than ready to put the dog down.

This grandma just looks the other way and tries to make out like it's no big deal? How does she sleep at night? I would be having nightmares over that poor babies face!!

I agree with what someone else said, I'd tell grandma the dog goes and for her to do the responsible thing so no one else gets hurt or she can darn well stay out of our lives.
I'm sorry, but your own child should come first, even before parents.

[Batya33]

Most are provoked however. Most people don’t realize it because dogs have boundaries too. Take for instance , my husband about almost 12 years ago now when he was at his aunt’s house stuck his face down to pet his cousin’s dog . Sticking your face in a dog’s face is very aggressive in dog language . So naturally this dog grabbed him by the face . My husband did not know or have any clue that this was aggressive nature to a dog . This is not how you greet a dog . So she sunk her top canines into his skull and her bottom canines through his chin . Then when he pulled away she wracked her canines down his face . All completely and utterly his fault because he miscommunicated with her . However ,many people would see this as “unprovoked “as he was “just being friendly “to the dog . Well, no. He was aggressive.

Yes. Not in my case, ever and I have been bitten and almost attacked several times. Obviously your statistics are probably right and I am one of the exceptions. My child did play too roughly with my friend's dog and he barked (unusually) so we taught him not to do that again. 99.9% of the time my child knows how to approach dogs, is very gentle and no issues -we don't have a dog and he knows to ask me and the owner before approaching a dog. In my experience the issues were mostly unrelated to the dog -it was the irresponsible dog owner who let her dog run off leash in a leash law area or on too long a leash - such as letting the dog run around a corner of our hallway while I am walking down that hallway so that the dog confronts me in a barking/aggressive way and the owner is not in control as she's around the corner. I find that scary and upsetting. I typically would not blame the dog, but the owner. I blame the owner here. Of course dogs have boundaries. That's a no brainer and although I am not a dog lover I treat dogs like people in that sense -they are not puppets -you approach them properly and ask the owner if you're not sure.

[SherrySher]

Sticking your face in a dog’s face is very aggressive in dog language

I'm sorry, Seraphim but I absolutely disagree. I have had loads of dogs in my lifetime and not one of them were a danger or aggressive like that. We had mixed breeds and even mutts and none of them would have grabbed someone's face if someone knelt down by them.

If your dog is doing that, it's bad dog and a dangerous dog!! If it has been domesticated and raised properly, it won't do those kinds of things.

Yes, at the end of the day a dog is an animal but it can be taught and it does know better.

[Batya33]

I'm sorry, Seraphim but I absolutely disagree. I have had loads of dogs in my lifetime and not one of them were a danger or aggressive like that. We had mixed breeds and even mutts and none of them would have grabbed someone's face if someone knelt down by them.

If your dog is doing that, it's bad dog and a dangerous dog!! If it has been domesticated and raised properly, it won't do those kinds of things.

Yes, at the end of the day a dog is an animal but it can be taught and it does know better.

That's interesting - I did not know that. I would do that only if it was a dog I knew well I suppose and knew that that was ok with the dog but it wouldn't occur to me to do that to a dog -not really out of fear just....why do that. I certainly have knelt down in front of a dog -so has my son -no issues.

[SherrySher]

I truly do believe it has to do with the dog and how well the owners trained it.

Our family had all sorts of dogs and none would ever be aggressive like that. But we did train our dogs as puppies and took great care of them.

[~Seraphim ~]

The dog is not at fault but grandma and the parents. You never leave a child unattended with a dog . A good dog or a dog with issues.

In my husband’s case the dog was part Shepard and part wolf. And she had been abused as a pup. However, I still stand sticking your face in an animal’s face is a really bad move. Can you imagine greeting someone by sticking your face right into theirs? Agressive right? I would probably smack the person. It is threatening.

[Batya33]

I truly do believe it has to do with the dog and how well the owners trained it.

Our family had all sorts of dogs and none would ever be aggressive like that. But we did train our dogs as puppies and took great care of them.

I blame the owners for not training the dog and allowing it to be a dangerous weapon. I'm not sure about the dog's "fault" in that context but i'm not a dog owner.