The Dog Bit the Baby's Face - almost 20 Stitches!

This is going to be pretty harsh but... ...I would have killed the dog myself if I had gotten a hold of it for biting my kid, my dog or not. Then I would have fired that nanny. Dogs are not animals that do things on "purpose" they are instinctual, although the situation is not the dogs fault I would be questioning what the heck did the nanny do to make the dog snap like that? First, dogs perceive eye to eye contact as aggressive, a swipe of a foot at the dog may very well have set it off. You've already said that the dog seems to dislike the nanny, a sense of her fear of it? This is an opportunistic pack animal...it senses fear, it takes that opportunity to secure it's place in the pack with the new comer and that means above the position of the new comer to the pack. Perhaps the dog felt threatened by the fact (and this I see in my half wolf dog\half husky) that the new comer had the "cub" in hands and mama did not have the "cub" in arms. Didn't like it maybe? Felt threatened of his position in the pack? Being replaced by the nanny? Despite all this above, I would have put the dog down due to the fact that my children come first before a dog would any day and any which way. It's a question of being a responsible pet owner and a responsible parent at the same time - which would come first is obvious, being a responsible parent by being a responsible pet owner (in this situation).

While it would be so easy to assign blame, and wonder why the Nanny didn't have the good sense to lock the dog away from both her and the baby, it boils down to one thing. The dog could no longer be trusted around the baby, family, friends and strangers. It could be that the dog had a brain tumor or was simply jealous. It was the most humane and responsible thing that your friend could do. If she simply turned it in to the animal regulation in your area and it bit again, she could be liable since she knew that the dog had bitten previously. The humane societies keep good records on where the dogs came from and also check the animals for aggressiveness before they are adopted out to new families. So, considering that factor, the dog would have been put down anyway. It reinforces what I went through just before Christmas with my Rottweiller and my granddaughter. My daughter, husband, his uncle and the two grand daughters came to live with me for nine months. I told the girls that they were "NOT TO PLAY WITH THE DOGS WITHOUT PERMISSION". The oldest went ahead and let the dogs onto the patio without my knowledge and was "playing" with them. It was a day that Hannibal didn't even like himself, and he would have preferred to be left alone. The next thing I knew my oldest granddaughter (she was 12) came in in tears stating that Hannibal bit her. Well all hell broke loose and my daughter demanded that I destroy both dogs (I had a rottie/basset mix too). I tried to get her to let me keep them through the holidays. The bite happened on December 21st. Anyhow there was no way she would relent, so Hannibal ended up destroyed. The mix went to another home, but I am still angry and hurt at loosing my friend. I am not sure he actually bit my grand daughter or what happened-the grand daughter wouldn't tell the truth about the incident if her life depended on it...but reading your post has confirmed that what I did was right, no matter how hard it was to put Hannibal down. I have a very good friend that was bitten in the face by a Dobie. She needed over 100 stitches to close the wound. The dog had been friendly towards her and suddenly attacked. The owners put the dog down immediately as they were expecting a baby in a very short period of time and after a dog bites like that you simply cannot trust them. As much as I hate the waste of a life, in this case as in the others it was simply good judgment on the part of the owners. My daughter's mother in law has a dog that is a constant biter. It has bitten the owner, my grand daughters (when they were babies), my daughter, her husband, his uncle, me, and neighbors. One of the neighbors reported the dog to the humane society and she was quarantined. The dog has serious mental problems and really needs to be put out of its misery before it seriously harms someone. It's a Maltese and is totally out of control. If this woman was responsible she would realize that the dog is a menace and really needs to be humanely put down.

I wouldn't have a dog if I had young children in the house anyway but in that situation yes I would have had the dog put down, or at the very least I would give it to someone who doesn't have kids. I would never be able to trust the dog again. It doesn't really matter who the dog was going for initially because it bit the baby twice.

Gee, I don't know who to feel sorry for, the baby, the parents, the babysitter, or the dog! I know Dobermans are not supposed to be easy, but then again a little baby is too tempting, I suppose and also they were in the middle of a move, which is always unsettling for all those concerned. With that small baby around though, I dont think the parents had another choice but to put that dog down.

I wouldn't put the dog down, but, I would definitely get it out of a house with kids. I couldn't trust the dog with children anymore. I wouldn't risk it happening again.

That is really bad what the dog did. There is doubt in my mind I would have the dog put down immediately. I couldn't have a family dog or anyones dog doing this kind of thing to my child. That poor little kid and as for the nanny if the dog dosn't like her she must have provoked it somewhere along the lines and it decieded to jump at her and missed getting the child she was holding. I hope that little kids wounds heal properly and that he will be ok I will keep him in my prayers.

Hi friend, God love your baby. I have written before on this subject. You know that dog, or usually puppy that you first pick loves you just as much as you love him. He tries to be faithful and loving to you. They usually gravitate to one person imparticular. This is usually the one who spends the most time with them. So this puppy/dog has become a part of the family. This has been how it has been for years. In cases like this, I feel if a husband came home with another woman and showed her love and affection and care and so on.... how would you feel as the wife? This is how these animals feel I am sure. They have been the baby of the family for so many years and all of a sudden there is this little entity, they don't know what it is. They just know that this little person is getting love, attention and even not noticing, maybe been pushed aside when you're busy with the other entity. The dog feels put out and unhappy. We must remember they are always animals and always have the animal instinct. God knows I really feel for your baby, but in a way, I also feel for your dog. I am sure he did not mean to do it. But trust me, I know it is an animal and given the same situation, I would have put him down too. God Bless you and your family. You are certainly mourning a lot right now. All the best friend, Cheryl

Most definitely the dog would have been put down.Can you imagine how horrible that was for the poor baby.I can just imagine him screaming in pain.That is so sad.I dont approve of people that have inside dogs and cats that have kids because sometimes the animals will get jealous of the baby and attack it.My cat once went after my oldest son when he was an nfant and she got put outside to live that same day.

Poor thing, as a Mum I guess I would have been distraught and first instincts would be to take it out on the dog. Even if I did not want the dog to be destroyed then I can guarantee that my hubby would or he would have taken the dog out himself. This is one of the many reasons why I do not have a dog.

risris24 hi oy yes I would definitly put that dog down as it is dangerous and biting an infant, thats just too dangerous to have a dog like that in their house even if the nanny provoked the dog there is no assurance that another time the dog would jump up and bite the baby again or another person.why take the chance?

This is so sad! I have written about dogs that bite indiscriminately. Please read it at http://unleashenergy.com/dog-training/dog-bytes. As my article says, there are so many reasons why a dog would behave like this. In spite of your best care, training and efforts to prevent him from this dangerous practice, if the dog continues to bite, you have to consult the vet about muzzling him/putting him down. So many years back when I was a kid, my own dog started behaving like this. I remember, I was about to leave for school one day... she had just had a bath, I went close by to scratch behind her ears when she attacked me. When this was repeated a couple of times, once my neighbour, another time me again (!) my parents did exactly what the parents of this child did. Since I had played with her since she was a month old I could not accept the fact she was no more and must have cried for a week. But to this day it is a puzzle as to why she turned hostile, when my parents had prided themselves of looking after her to the best of their ability.

That sucks. I don't know why the dog had to be put down. This sounds like it was an accident. I understand that the dog may not have liked the nanny, but come on. And on top of that it's a mini Dobie. Those things weigh less than 15 pounds I think. They should have just given the dog up.

Yes I would have put the dog down. Actually in this state it is the law to put an animal down if it bites or attacks a person. It is a shame they made it get to that point though. I feel they should have found a new home for the dog when the baby was born, knowing it could be dangerous. At the very least, knowing it didn't get along with the nanny, they should have tied it up.

Sad but true, you don't let a dog have a second chance at the babys face. So it looks like the dog must go to me.

no question about it, i am a mother of 2 and they are my world if a dog or even my dog would hurt my children, I would not hesitate to put the dog to sleep, it has been shown in studies that once a dog shows aggression to anyone, it will be like that all of the time, and even if that wasn't the case why take the chance.