We have a 100lb. German Shepard(that we have had for 2 1/2 yrs.) bit our son while he was horsing around with him. I am hearing conflicting things on what should be done with the dog. Our breeder suggests getting him neutered and more intensive training classes - while others are suggesting getting him out of our lives. This is a dog that has never, never showed any aggression what-so-ever (to people or other dogs). He is touched and wrestled with on a daily basis- we have taken him everywhere with us. Has anyone else had this happen and what have you done? Of course we are going out of our minds about this - as a mother my initial thought is to put him down and then after you have taken a breath you see all the wonderful things this pet has brought to the family.

How old is your son?
How severe is the bite? Break the skin, pouring blood or just a nip?

how bad was the bite? Did it break the skin? I say if the dog was just horsing around...it was an accident and the dog didn't mean to do it. We have a dalmation that would never ever hurt another human being but when she is being teased and "tortured" she nips us (dh and I) and it doesn't hurt or break skin but she knows not to go any further. She does play rough with our 2 year old but only outside on the grass and he is rotten to her so I kind of let her go a little farther than she has been trained to but draw the line if she trys to bite him (she has never bit him but has grabbed his arm with her mouth in play...make sense?). She knows there is a worse fate than hearing my son cry. She knows when to stop because we did train her to be good.

__________________

I am sorry your DS got hurt! How old is he?
I have dogs and sometimes they play rough. On occation during that kind of play one of them has bitten us (broke the skin but no blood). Every time that happened they stopped with the "oh, sh!t, I didn't mean to do that" look. Did your dog mean to bite? Did he show other agressive traits? Dogs have very strong jaw muscles and that can lead to accidents.

Even the best trained dogs will do this. While working at the local police dept. One of the K9 officers "bit" another officer. The other officer had come in and was horsing around with the handler and apparently the K9 didn't like it. The bite did break the skin, but it was more of a scratch--just to let the officer know he meant business.

It's hard to make a judgment on whether your dog actually did anything wrong! HOw old is the child? What kind of bite (break the skin, just a nip, "mouthing", etc)? Anything else going on in the household at the time? Did the child, while rough housing accidentally hurt the dog? How old is the dog? Lots to consider. I think you should talk to your vet and get their opinion.

__________________
Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

My son is 12 - it did break the skin in one place. Doctor said yes he could have gone w/o stitches but put 2 in for better healing. When our dog bit him it did not bleed and he did look around like "OH boy am I in trouble now". It is just so hard to realize that this fun loving dog whom never has showed aggression before could do this. I just don't want to think now I haave to watch every step this dog makes. Is it true that once a biter always a biter?

If your son and your dog were 'horsing' around and have always done this, it's bound to eventually happen. Our little poodle bites when he's played with rough. The kids knew to expect a bite if they roughhoused with him. Dog bites happen. I don't think there's a need to really do anything with your dog except to tell your son not to play rough with him and if he does play rough, then expect consequences. But to talk about getting rid of your beloved pet is really going too far, IMO. Now it would be a different story if your dog just snapped and jumped on your son growling and biting him. That's an entirely different situation.

I don't think that's true. Our dog bit our son several years ago (DS was teasing her, taking her rawhide away, ignoring her many warnings) and it hasn't happened since!

I'm not sure it was true aggression. Most likely just rough play and the dog didn't mean to hurt. It happens even with the best of dogs.
And, no, it's not true that once a biter always a biter.
Accidentally biting during playing is one thing, biting out of anger or aggression is quite another issue.

My son had a large mixed breed dog. The dog was sweet with him and everyone else 99 percent of the time, but a couple of times showed agression and once broke skin on my nieces face. There were extenuating circumstances, however we made the VERY difficult decision to have the dog put down. It was horrible and my son was 17 at the time. I can hardly stand to think about it most of the time. BUT.........any animal will bite and I've personally seen the damage a perfectly sweet, affectionate, docile dog can do. (not ours) And it can happen in a flash. I don't envy your position, but please think long and hard. We want to defend our pets because we love them, but ultimately, our responsibility lies with people.

Geesh. This is something that I will never understand.

__________________
email is moserlara@yahoo.com

What don't you understand?

I would recommend no rough play with the dog & see how the dog is acting towards your son.Is he greeting him still?

In my opnion most dogs will defend theirselfs if they feel like they need too. Was the dog trying to get away from your son.? Was your son playing too rough with him? If you look at how dogs play with each other...one will walk away when they are done playing and if the dog continues on playing the dog will nip the other dog to get it to stop playing.

You got a big dog..German Sherpards came be extremely dangerous if not properly train. There is a reason why they make good police dogs they are smart, easy to train, and can take down a person quick ..

I would do like marilynk suggested the dog needs to evaluted by a vet.

__________________
Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

My sister has great danes. When she got the first one - a male - she had planned to show & breed him. My daughter was a toddler and the dog showed aggression to her when we were at their house for the weekend. Scared us all. He did not bite her or get near her, but growled and rushed her. My sister locked him up or had him on a leash inside the rest of the weekend and he was neutered the following Tuesday. He never did really like my daughter and we were always very cautious after that. I would suggest neutering him to give him a chance before you put him down. I would think you'd owe him that if he's that great of a dog.

Just my 2 cents. (Oh, and I don't have a dog, but do love them)

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

To feel comfortable offering you advice I would have to know more about what was going on when the bite occured. Where your son and dog rough housing? Did the dog give warning by growling or barking? I think that if it was a case of over playing or over stimulation on the dogs part then I would not put them down or get rid of them. I would simply remember to watch them more around company and tell family members to avoid rough play. I would also consider getting the dog into a training course.

It reallys sounds like you have a good dog who forgot how sharp his teeth can be and was not acting out of aggression.

__________________
Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

They do have happy pills for animals like prozac. my chocolate lab is on it. talk to your vet about it. I also would neuter him it slows them down plus its good for health reasons. I love animals.

__________________

When you don`t know what to do-Walk fast and look worried.

I mentioned happy pills for my Sheltie because she goes ballistic over noises such as mower, line trimmer, etc. The vet looked at me like I had rocks for brains. Nice to know now that she's almost 10 and could have been taking them for several years.

oh they do have the same pills for dogs that they have for people, for many things!

even a long time ago when i had a dog when i was in high school she was on (very low like 1 or 2 mg i think ) valium and something else, i can't remember, but a name brand muscle relaxer type thing, like flexeril or something like that

she had rheumatoid arthritis and had a hard time walking, sort of a stiff walk like people w/arthritis have -

I guess the thing to remember is that animals are animals, no matter how well they get along with people. I was taught that if an animal hurt me, or was angry with me, it was always my fault, because it meant I hadn't picked up on a signal it had given. Harsh, but there's something to it.

Get your dog fixed, consider training, and let your kid know that roughhousing with a big carnivore is basically an invitation to be hurt. It's not the dog's fault that he's as powerful an animal as he is, and sometimes, instincts overtake logic. He's not a bad dog, but the potential to do harm is inborn, and needs to be respected. I'd use toys for more aggressive play, but I wouldn't worry too much about supervised cuddles, and gentle play, at least until you feel more comfortable.

I don't agree with what someone said about german shepards " that they are a big dog and extremely dangerous if not properly trained,this is the reason that they are good police dogs."

I have had a german shepard for 13 years and was only trained by me and he is the best dog , he has had kids try to ride him , pull his tail and ears and anything kids will do, you can take his food away when he is eating and he does not care, and he has never even nipped at anyone ever ,even when rough housing.

please don't bad mouth the breed, because any breed of dog can bite

I'm not dissing the breed.. My sister had a German Sherpard it was a very friendly dog but I have also known some very aggressive German Sherpards .Rather its from a bad blood line or lack of training who knows..I still stand by my statement these dogs are quick and can take someone down in a matter of seconds. They need to be well trained!

Just like Westie's a large number of them end up in shelters or hit by cars because their owners have lack of knowledge about their breed. My Westie is extrermely well train knows 30 tricks & counting in sign langauge and 3 different lanaguges(English,Spanish,& French) .....This type of breed should Never be trained for off leash because of its natural hunting instincts ..My westie well never be trained for off leash,,,, even the most well train westies can and well ingnore it's owners commands during a chase of small prey...These animals are quick and can out run their owners in a heartbeat.

In my opinion any breed who makes the top 10 list needs to be well train

Top 10 Most Dangerous Dogs List

While national statistics show at least 30 breeds have attacked humans, 10 dog breeds are on the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention's most dangerous list, meaning they tend to bite the most
frequently. They are:

Pit bulls
Rottweilers
German Shepherds
Huskies
Alaskan Malamutes
Doberman Pinschers
Chow Chows
Great Danes
St. Bernards
Akitas

The breeds considered most likely to kill are pit bulls and rottweilers.

__________________
Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

As far as which breeds bite or attack the most -- DH and I used to breed and raise Great Danes. (Great Danes was on the list of most dangerous dogs posted by a previous post). And I highly disagree with that list. ALL of our Great Danes were the most gentle giants we have ever had for dogs. Never had a single problem out of any of them.

On the other hand, my sister has a little pek-i-poo (part poodle and part pekinese) and that dog cannot be trusted at all. It will bite when you least expect it. You don't have to be playing with it at all -- you can just be walking and it will bite your ankles. She has not raised the dog to be a dangerous animal. It's just its nature.

I have a job that requires me to go into people homes. I go to different peoples homes all day long and most have dogs. I have found that the ones who are most likely to try to bit me is the little mouthy ones. the little taco bell bogs and the little screw tailed bull dogs are the ones that I have had the most problems with. The larger dogs so far, have not been a problem. I have been doing this job for 14 + yrs and so far have been bit where it broke the skin one time by a big dog but it wasnt the dogs fault. his owner ran over his foot with a hoverround and I was the closest thing to bite. the other times I have been snapped and have had my scrub pants legs torn was all little dogs that want to sneak up behind you and bite your ankle.

__________________
·´`·.(*·.¸(`·.¸ ¸.·´)¸.·*).·´`·
«·´¨*·.¸¸. Jo ¸¸.·*¨`·»
«·´`·.(¸.·´(¸.·* *·.¸)`·.¸).·´`·»


Please leave feedback for me here.
http://www.mycoupons.com/boards/g-l/...-littlejo.html



gretchengirl@gmail.com

http://lifewithlittlejo.blogspot.com/

Well thank-you for taking the time to respond. After stepping back for awhile I(we) have had the dog neutered and will continue training with him. My son was rough housing with him and I believe he was holding him back from being able to walk away (a issue we have also addressed). I am hoping this is an isolated incident since it was not a aggressive attack. We knew buying a German Shepard would reguire us to do alot of training (since they are such a smart breed) and we have done this and will continue to do it. This is a situation I never, ever want to be in again. You hear so many different things about this and I really hate feeling like I am on edge about his behavior. This was not my dog running up to someone and attacking for no apparant reason - which helped my decision to not put him to sleep.

Glad to know everything is working out for you and your dog.

On a side note my ex neighbors dog bite a friend of hers. The friend sued her they just settled the law suit Friday. The lady got 200,000.

Doesn't sound like much of a friendship. That must have been a heck of a bite!

I'm glad you decided not to put him down. That doesn't seem fair to kill a dog for one small bite that might have been an accident. I've never understood that. (I'm differentiating from a dog that has attacked a person on purpose.) Seems much more humane to find a new owner than kill him/her, imo.

__________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

I have to admit that pit bulls and rottweilers scare the hell out of me

We had a substitute mailman this week. He told us it was because our regular mailwoman had been bit pretty bad by a pit bull who actually jumped over a second floor porch to get to her

Yeah the dog got her on her lip. Yeah you find out who your true friends are but than again even if they are your friends 200,000 sounded better

Glad to hear the update on you dog. I think you did the right thing. Sounds like the dog was tired and wanted to get away

They scare me too but I will admit I have known 1 nice pit bull .....the dog was in shows & the owner trained him very well & socialized him when he was a puppy....Did I trust him No...I never petted the dog out pure fear.

My next door neighbor had a Rottweiler ( 6 months old )....I was scared to approach him..After convincing me to come pet him I realize he was a nice dog..He was a sweetheart. We actually took him for walks & watched him while the owners was out of town..

Doberman I will not even go near them..When I was child I had two jump a very high fence & tried to attack me...... lucky I was able to climb up a tree .I did nothing wrong just walking down the road minding my own business I gave no eye contact when they were barking at me the next thing I knew they were out & chasing me!!

I think the key to having non agressive animals is socialing them from early on. especially the breed that are known to make good guard dogs. My personal opinion on pit bulls is bad one. I think there is alot of pitbull owners who are neglectful when it comes to rasing them right...I think there are very few breeders who breeding them properly. I think alot of the fighting dogs are getting into to the blood line and ruining the breed. This past year there has been 6 Pitbull attacks in my local area

Speaking of bites A friend of mine rescue a dog from the human society. This dog was aggressive over his food and bit her child. I warn her you need to take the dog back.... the dog will end hurting someone She refuse she told her kids to leave the dog alone when he was eating & said it is natural they are invading his terrtitory
Well some years later she calls me all panicky She told me the dog rip her son friend lip off. He didn't do anything out of the normal ...it was unproke attack All she could say was the poor child is scared for life We will proably be sue & lose our house.. I thinking to myself ..You deserve to be sued.

__________________
Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

Good to hear your son is ok.

I deliver pizza and the dogs that scare the heck out of me are the little ankle bitters. I grew up with a St. Bernard and he wouldn't hurt a flea. I deliver to a house that has a pit bull and I'm the ONLY ONE they will let the dog out for. I personally believe it's how the owner raises the dog.

If you say that the dog and child were just horsing around why would you put the dog down?
German Shepherds are known for their strength and loyalty to their families....I actually have one of my own. I am sure if they were "playing: as you said that the dog was not trying to bite the child to hurt him.

Get the dog neutered and sending him through obedience classes will help. But training at home with your son will help too.
If you feel that keeping the dog in your home is not the option for you then seek out a German Shepherd rescue. If you send him to a dog shelter the chances are he will be put down.

I see this exact scenario all of the time.....the kids and the dog are playing and the dog playfully bites so the owner assumes the dog is a threat and they get rid of the dog.
Make sure your son understands that he can play with the dog but being rough with the dog is not OK. If the child is pulling his tail, smacking him, or whatever-----the dog not only wants to play back but will also protect himself if he feels threatened.

I had a Dachshund (he passed last February at 13 1/2) when he was 6 he bit me (which sent me to the ER). Everyone thought I was nuts for keeping him (because we have a child to-at that time our son was 8) and someone even offered to shoot him for me--WHATEVER. But what most people do not understand is that I did something to him to threaten him which he then attempted to protect himself from (I did not do it intentionally-it was an accident). Dachshunds are known for their grumpy little personalities but overall they are a great breed. I never gave a thought to "getting rid" of him. Instead I got him neutered and we went through a 6 wk obedience class together. It made a world of difference and while he was still a grump and sometimes unpredictable---he never bit anyone again.

Keep in mind that German Shepherds do not mature completely until they are at least 6 or 7. Our GS is very well behaved but when you wrestle with her or attempt to smack at her or try to be playful she will sometimes "playfully" bite back. A stern "NO" and she is set straight. If your son is playing with the dog unsupervised who knows what actions led up to the bite. I am not trying to say that your son provoked the dog but this is a dog we are talking about, a creature that does not think as we do. Animals can be and will be unpredictable if put into certain situations. Does the dog have a sore or a painful foot that maybe your son grabbed? If so then take the dog to the vet and have hi checked out....possibly he is in pain and something triggered that pain while he was playing with your son.

Do not put the dog down, if you choose not to keep him then find a rescue or someone without kids that will take him.

Dogs are needlessly put down everyday because people jump the guns about things. Proper training of dogs and humans aide in having a long happy life together.

__________________
~My Goal In Life~

To be as good of a person my dogs already think I am.

ITA....

Christine

__________________
TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

I just wanted to respond to the comment about PitBulls being on the list of the most dangerous dog breeds. Below is a link that gives you the opportunity to pick out a PitBull from several other breeds.
See if you know which one is a PitBull.
I would bet many will choose the wrong dog. Kudos to you if you do not but look closely and you will see that each of the dogs listed is pretty similar and the press sometimes just assumes that it is a pitbull that has hurt someone or another animal.
What happens on many occasions is that the press states that it is a pitbull when in reality it is not. Many "bully" breeds look alike.

Pet Pitbull - Find the Pit Bull

__________________
~My Goal In Life~

To be as good of a person my dogs already think I am.

my oldest has been bit twice, once he was spending the night with a friend and their dog bit him, they always played rough with the dog and I really couldnt blame it that's the way it thought it was suppose to play. the last time was a few months ago, it because some dorks moved and left their dog in the back yard alone, because the fence was rotten in places it could get out son was waiting for the bus to go to school when the dog charged him, by the time my son ran past one house the dog had shredded the legs on his jeans. the dog left marks all over his legs but no bad bites he's still got marks on his legs months later. The dog tried to attack the animal control girl they sent to investigate too, she was a tiny thing it worried me she went to investigate anything mean! Son is VERY cautious around any dog now except for ours she'd lick him to death but that's it if she gets annoyed with any of the kids she either goes to her bed under my pc desk or goes to my room kids know both those places are her quiet area and to leave her alone

__________________
Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com

My other favorites
www.paperbackswap.com
www.wheresgeorge.com
www.geocaching.com

I'm sure you have made certain your child is protected from Tetnus?
That's of utmost importance for any animal bite.

I took my kids to this link, to see if they could pick out the pit bull, and it took them each about 6 or 7 tries.....I got it on the first one, but I've been around a lot of pit bulls, all of which were extremely good dogs.

My middle DD got bit when she was 2 when we were visiting my In Laws.....The bite ended our visit real quick. DD was sitting on their couch watching tv and the dog just jumped up on the couch and started attacking her. She ended up with a really bad bite above her eye, going across the eyebrow. She had 6 stitches. The thing that made me the maddest was DH's dad came in the room and started petting the dog, telling her she was a good dog, and giving her a treat. Thankfully she was never scared of dogs.

__________________
"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

Please look for a German Shepherd Rescue before you consider putting your dog down, I have 2 GS and I can't even think about living without them.Their loyalty knows no bounds they can and will love you forever.

After talking to the breeder he said that many of the dog training classes are not ment for such a smart breed as GS (more for the little ankle bitters). I am doing a search for a better class then the one we have been going to. The breeder had offered classes when we got him but he is 2 hours (one way) away from us. Have you heard of any good courses in Minnesota around the twin cities area? He has passed 3 levels already after the puppy class - I am also thinking of getting him in some agility classes - doing the courses and jumping. I am looking for something to get him into his "working class" that we know this breed is for. I just want to stress my thoughts when this happened where coming from a mother (not a dog owner). It was hard to look at my sons face and then go around the dog that had done that. Then when I had calmed down and did a little research I was able to remember this loving pet that has been with us for almost 3 years. No matter what happens I am just the type of person to be a MOTHER first (even if it seems irrational at the time). Everything is fine though and he is being loved up just like always. A happy ending to a very, very startling day!

I know that this place trains police dogs/K9s. If they don't train for private individuals, maybe they could offer suggestions of a good program.

Midwest Canine Alternatives
edited to add: It's in Long Prairie MN

I understand,our son can roll around on the floor with our GS take their toys and be rough with them.The dogs have never done anything to scare us,my son was bit on the face by a Pekinise(sp?) we were dog sitting and my son had this dog on his lap and it turned and bit him! So I can relate to looking at your boy and seeing the damage. I don't have to say we don't dog sit for him anymore.

Our neighbors had a fire a few months ago. When the insurance company found out that they had a rottweiler, they had to get rid of the rottweiler or have their insurance cancelled.

Many insurance companies are now refusing to cover homes with "dangerous" dogs. Also, some towns/cities are now banning pit bulls and rottweilers.