so i spent the night in the emergency room with e.

[angelaa73]

oh no! I'm so sorry sara

[muffin0]

I'm sorry.

Hope E is feeling okay today!

[calledout]

That sucks:( 2 years ago, my then 1-yr old. was toddling along and grabbed my Lab on the hips (I often wonder if there wasn't a touch of sodomy involved, too...). The dog lurched around, grabbed my son by the neck and pinned him the the floor. When this happened, we were all sitting together in the living room together. I was absolutley stunned - and terrified. My H and I had to kick my dog like 3 or 4 times to get him off my son. Kid ended up needing stiches and a skull x-ray:(( Before this, my lab never showed any signs of serious agression, except for one recent incident where he growled when my son grabbed his Kong.

I realize this situation is very different from yours, but what is relevant, I think, is the talk we had with the vet, and later animal behaviorist. They said that dogs are very in tune with what their mouth / teeth can do. In other words, there are no "accidents" when it comes to dog bites. In my case, they suggested that my dog was not intending to "attack" my son, but rather was warning him. The fact that the dog's "warning" resulted in stitches was the issue. They also said that it is very, very difficult to re-establish the "line" that a dog is not to cross. In the case of babies / children, they said it's almost impossible because the baby / child cannot establish the dominance / leader of the pack role necessary for a dog to learn that it is never to "warn" in that manner again. So, in a nutshell, in my situation, they said it was likely a matter of time before my dog would take another shot. That was all I needed to hear. We found the dog a new (childless) home the following week.

In your case, I wonder if the same "root" issue might be the problem. That your dog was only "playing," but that his manner of "play" is unacceptable. If so, it might be a question of whether you are able (or even interested) in having E do all of the training / excercises with the dog? I would talk to your vet to see if they can reccommend a behaviorist to consult with. Maybe it's not an issue. For me, I frankly wouldn't be willing to put in the time to "train" the dog all over again and I don't know that I would ever be completely at ease when my dog / kid were together.

[flex]

I'd be a nervous wreck after an episode like that. You do what is the absolute best for your kids, sara!!!

[EmilieMadison]

I'm so sorry this happened. The scariest part is that it WASNT a malicious bite. It was (or seems to have been) playful. I dont think that, as a parent, I could give "one more chance". Because then you'll always be waiting for the worst to happen, and the potential consequences for allowing another chance could be catastrophic. I hope that no one gives you grief for whatever decision you choose with your pup.

[saraandmichael]

the kid is an absolute champion. seriously. i cannot imagine being as put together and brave as he is. he didn't cry or make a fuss at all last night and even started to fall asleep while the pa was stitching him.

i think the wound is probably bleeding as much as someone without a bleeding disorder would, so i am feeling good about that for him. though i need to put a call in to his hematologist to see how often i should be infusing him. i am thinking daily, but i don't know.

and about the dog, he is still very much a puppy. a six-and-a-half month old puppy. he has shown aggression once before, but it was while he was chewing on a rawhide and thought that we were going to take it. he has not shown any aggression for the hell of it. and what happened last night wasn't aggression...he just wanted to play with michael and evan. and michael said that he was at fault for not putting him in the fenced in part of our yard because he knew that snapes would want to play with them (which, he's right, but i'm not going to play the blame game here).

i am not sure what the right answer is here. evan is heartbroken over the idea of getting rid of the dog (i made a rookie parenting mistake and said that the dog has to go in front of him and he is just beside himself with sadness) but i am not sure that it is responsible of us to keep him. and i know that right now thats a lot of emotion talking, so i am going to take some time to process our options and talk to my husband and our vet and the trainers we worked with when we first got him and then go from there.

[partiallysunny]

How scary! I'm glad E's okay and is handling everything well.

[pittsmcgee]

I'm so sorry, Sara. I am relieved E is ok, but I am so sorry you've been put in this position. I know how much you love your pups.

[daisybuchannan]

Is there anyone that can take the dog for a few days while you figure it out?

Just sending hugs, this is a horrible situation to be in. I decided pretty much right away what needed to be done, and spent about three weeks hysterically crying over it. My situation is different- my dog showed aggression towards kids before.

[thebamker]

Don't worry Sara, any decision you make will be the wrong one and you'll get to hear all the fuck about it for all time. Lol

I'm glad E is ok. How scary!

[jennysmitten]

I am so sorry to hear this, and whatever you decided to do will be fine. If you do decided to keep the dog, the good news is that he is puppy and is trainable. Hopefully E heals quickly.

[Deleted]

sara, i've never had a dog so i don't have any advice or anything. but i know you'll make the right decision.

[Deleted]

I also wonder if a temporary time away while you guys figure it out would be good, but that is dependent on having family/friends who could take him.

Since he's so young I could see doing aggressive behavior training, etc., and seeing how that goes. I don't know. I can see your conflict more clearly now

I'm also really glad E is okay!!!

[sugarbear]

I'm sorry
That's a really hard decision to make.
I'm not sure i could keep him, though, and add another dose of constant worry to my plate.

[isabel]

Ugh, what an awful situation! I'm glad E is ok.

I probably wouldn't choose to rehome at this point, but the really great news about it is that he's super young and you should be able to find someone to take him and give him a great life. I do think some corrective measures with regard to potential triggers might solve all the issues (I.e. putting the dog in a fenced area of the yard before allowing the kids to play, not letting the kids near the dogs while they're eating, etc.). In the end though, that's a lot to keep an eye on and could be frustrating to deal with. If you decide to rehome, just know that you'll be able to find your pup a great home without kids and with people who will love on him like crazy.

[Marle]

Oh no Sara! I'm sorry. I missed where the bite was? Are you still able to come to the walk? Is there anything we need to step up for if you are unable to come? Can I help in any way?

I have no advice about the dog. I'm sorry.

[runforrest]

I'm so sorry, but I'm glad E is okay.

I have no advice because I honestly don't know what I would do if I were in your situation. Hell, we found our pup a new home after 6 months of trying to keep him from killing the cat (and working with two trainers, a cat behaviorist, and intense training), so if the safety of my kids was involved...

I just want to offer hugs, but I do think you need to take some time to think about the decision before you do anything.

[LLL]

Ugh, I'm so sorry

[Captain Serious]

I'm so sorry, Sara. What a tough situation. You are completely right no matter how you choose to handle this, and no one can make a better decision than you for your family.

[annyong]

Oh man, I'm so glad e is okay. And what a trooper! I'm sorry about the dog situation; what a difficult decision to make. hugs to you.

[cc]

I am so sorry this happened and I am glad that E is OK.

My parents have a schnauzer that has shown some aggression. She nipped my son's hand when he tried to pet her and, just the other day, bit their neighbor's hand when he came into my mom's yard while they were outside with her. She was on a leash and everything, but still managed to get to the neighbor. He has a bleeding disorder so he had to go to the ER to get it to stop and the hospital had to take down my parents' information, even though the neighbor didn't want to report it. Animal control came, inspected the dog, put her on quarantine and is coming back next week to do a follow up visit. She also had her "mug shot" taken and now has a record.

All of that to say that she gets put into her crate or in the spare bedroom whenever me and the kids go over there.

I know this is a tough decision and I don't have advice, but I will be thinking of you guys.

[Deleted]

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. No one will judge you for whatever you decide. My biggest concern would be how E reacts to losing his dog, and if it makes him feel like his condition has even cost him his puppy (on top of everything else). But, of course, if the dog trainers and the vet say the dog has to go, then then it has to go. I would try to rehome him with family and tell E that the doggy police did it, there was nothing you could do and it is the law whenever a dog bites someone.

[papie]

OMG I am so sorry sara.  (((hugs)))

[sonrisa]

You will do the right thing. I'm sorry if my initial response sounded otherwise. You know so much more about what E needs and what poses a risk for him than we do. I have no idea what one needs to do to make the world safe for a kid who could die from a bruise.

[saraandmichael]

May 17, 2013 10:33:04 GMT -5 elle said:

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. No one will judge you for whatever you decide. My biggest concern would be how E reacts to losing his dog, and if it makes him feel like his condition has even cost him his puppy (on top of everything else). But, of course, if the dog trainers and the vet say the dog has to go, then then it has to go. I would try to rehome him with family and tell E that the doggy police did it, there was nothing you could do and it is the law whenever a dog bites someone.

you know, i hadn't even considered the effect that it would have on him re: how he would see it as a result of his hemophilia. and i think that is also something to take into consideration, and not lightly.  as he gets older, he is starting to understand that there are things that he is just not allowed to do because of his body and its tough for him sometimes. and i certainly would hate to exacerbate that for him. 

thank you for this perspective.

and sonrisa, your initial response didn't sound anything but concerned for E. i am sorry that i overlooked responding to it. i'm not sure that there is any extra precautions for him because of his condition, though i am waiting on a call back from the hemo doc to see if i should be factoring him daily instead of every other day.

the biggest concern here (obviously aside from continuous bleeding) is infection. and, unfortunately, if the wound were to become infected he has the perfect vessel for bacteria to spread very, very quickly. and the potential for sepsis scares the everloving fuck out of me.

[joshlyman]

I would recommend working with a certified canine behaviorist - they are a step up from just a trainer and can be absolutely amazing in these situations.

[stephlove]

I'm so sorry that this happened and that you have to go through this. I'm glad the E is doing okay, and it's good that he's in such good spirits about it.

Whichever route you decide to take regarding the puppy will definitely be a hard one. How old is E? Is he old enough to 'train' the puppy?

When I was younger, my parents got my sister and I a puppy for Christmas. Things started out great, but when summer came around and my sister and I spent our time running in the yard, it 'worked up' our dog. He would get anxious with us running and playing, and would try to play and nip at us. One time it went too far, and the dog bit my sister's leg, drew blood, and scared the crap out of my parents. After talking to the vet, we decided that we would try having my sister and I be the dog's 'trainers', as opposed to my dad being the 'pack leader'. We would spend time every day doing commands with the dog, so that it let him know we were in charge. The more we worked with him, the easier he was when we played. He wouldn't try to nip anymore. He would only join us in the yard if we called for him. We never saw the aggression again. I mention this because my sister, like E, was broken hearted that my parents were considering getting rid of the dog. She didn't care that she was bit, she loved the dog. She was probably around 7 or 8 when it happened.

Obviously every situation is different, and what ever you choose to do will be the best choice for your family.