I have a 3 year old lab, who pretty much grew up with my 2 1/2 old son. my lab has always been real close to my son. he could hit her take her food lay on her even lay in the labs bed but, on the other hand she has growled at my nephews a few times if they pull her tail or lay on her. I just recently had a baby girl 2 months ago and we havent allowed the dog in the house as much nor have we spent as much time with her.
Today my one year old nephew was playing outside, and some how got hurt. my sister in law claims our dog bite him. She took him to the hospital then to the dentist, I immediatly make arrangements to put my dog down. When my nephew returns to the house he has one puncture to his face just under his nose, and his front tooth completely pulled out from the root. Before jumping to conclusions, my nephew plays outside unattended, he is one and loves to climb. and when looking outside for any evedence of where he was injuried it was right by a table with one of the chairs tipped over.
My thought... If my dog really bite him why does he not have other teeth marks, and no doubt she will be gone tonight. But on the other hand is it possible he mite have climb onto the table and fell off hitting his friont tooth on the cement therefore forcing the tooth upward and puncturing his face. Our dog is loved by & children in the home and we need help making the best decision possible. Do we believe our dog really bite my nephew knowing he was unsupervised.
Thank you all for your comments. I failed to explain the living situation, my sil lives in the back house, I was unaware my nephews were outside playing. After discussing this issue with my husband we feel that our dog more n likely didnt bite the baby. We are gonna keep the same routine our dog is accustom too prior to our newborn. Indoors at night and cold rainy days and outside during the day. And a close and watchful eye on our dog with our children. And if my sil feels its ok for her son to play outside after she believes the dog bit her son, I know her story is nothing more but a story. I just hope that she didnt try to tell the doctors this same story cause next I could probably expect cps. We all agree that our dog is part of our family and she is here to stay. Your comments were very helpful!!
Don't put the dog down.
Child should not have been unattended in back yard.
work on better communication skills with SIL,
re children's safety and other topics.
1 year old outside by himself? WHY?
I think the child fell.. I was bitten by a dog when I was 4,. It grabbed my arm when I reached through the fence to pet it and had to be hit by the owner to make it let go and it was lots of teeth marks.. It was one bite..
Do not put the dog down..
What parent in their right mind leaves a one year old child outside unsupervised!!!
Honestly, since you are not 100% positive that your dog did bite your nephew, I would not have the dog put down. Your nephew obviously can't tell you what happened since he is only one. I think if your dog did bite him, he would have more marks than just one puncture.
I'm trying to figure out how the dog was able to knock your nephew's tooth out by the root. Very curious . . .
#1: The nephew should have been watched at all times, especially when he is playing near a dog -- any dog. #2: A dog that had been an indoor family dog and then ends up relocated to the back yard and not given the same amount of TLC after a baby comes is going to be a really unhappy camper and more prone to biting.
We had a kid fall out of a tree in our back yard and knocked her tooth out by the root. I can't see a dog bite knocking a tooth out, and a fall can cause a puncture too. The child fell. If the dog bit, it was not the dogs fault, just never let your SIL leave her son unattended with your dog again, he obviously is not the kind of kid who should be around animals and needs a great deal more supervision.
M.
Dont hurt your children by killing their loved pet just because she obviously wont take responsibility for her not taking care of and protecting her child!
The tooth coming out had to be a fall. I do not know if the dog bite or not, did someone see the dog bite? I would not rush to have it put down, it sounds like a fall could have been very likely. My son put his tooth through his lip, causing it to come out the other side and look like a puncture once when he fell. No matter what happened, the fault lies with your sil for not supervising her young child.
Your SIL is an idiot and should not be in charge of any child - including her own. Anyone that would leave a one year old outside alone has a screw loose and should not have the right to be a parent. This boy could have been killed!
I'm confused...if he was outside unattended and your SIL thinks your dog bit him, then they were at YOUR house, right? Why did you allow him to be outside alone? I understand your not his parent, but you should have said something. I don't care if it's my kid or not, if I see someone allowing a one year old to play alone outside, I'm going to speak up. Your SIL needs to get off her lazy but and WATCH her child. Sorry, but this whole situation makes me angry. Talk about lazy parenting!
Don't put that poor dog down. He sounds like he's much smarter than your SIL and he deserves to live.
Oh, and another thing...don't let the kids rough house with the dog. You are asking for trouble.
I jumped from a climber as a child and my tooth punctured a deep hole in my knee. The description you give sounds more like a fall than a bite from a dog. Don't put the dog down until you are sure --even then it is not the dog's fault the child was unattended.
The child is way too young to be outside, unsupervised with a dog in the first place, especially since there are things out there he can climb on and fall off of. One years old... seriously lack of good judgment on the child's mother.... wow, I am just shocked.
The place of the puncture wound and the tooth having to be pulled does not sound like a dog bite to me.
In any case, the dog should not be put down due to speculations. Also, keeping your dog outside will only harm the likelihood of socializing it with your family. If you want to keep the dog, let it back in and train your kids to be gentle and train your dog too. Keeping the dog outside and not socializing with it regularly with the children is a disaster waiting to happen.
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Just read your update, if cps is called, turn it around on your sil since she was the one who left the child back there without you knowing. Also, if she told the Dr. the child was bitten by a dog, the Dr. would have given the child a shot. Do you know if the little boy got a shot?
i don't see how "if" the dog bit the tooth would be pulled out from the root? if he bit him that much , that would be like he was attacking the kid! and yes that is bad parenting to allow a 1 year old to play outside unsupervised. ESPECIALLY when a dog is outside. DUH!!! To me, no one saw the dog bite him and the injury doesn't really add up if you ask me. I wouldn't put the dog down.
Oh, I also wanted to add............If you are just going to continue to keep your dog outside.... maybe it would be best to find a family for her?
This made me sad when I read it so I can only imagine how you must feel. What if the poor dog did nothing wrong. This needs to be investigated further. Is your SIL saying she was outside and saw it happen? If so she needs to give you a play by play of what happened. Please tell us how it all works out.
Please don't put the poor dog down.
When I was 6 we were dog sitting for some of my parents friends and their dog bit me on my thigh. It was pretty bad and I still have the scar from it. But when you see it there are 5 puncture points. I think it would be pretty hard for a dog to bite and just leave one little puncture. It is very possible that he was doing something that he could have hurt himself. Even though the dog growls doesnt mean that he bit your nephew. I agree with other posts that the doctor and the dentist would be able to tell without a doubt if it was a bite from the dog. When she took him to the doctors did they give him and tetnus shots?.. They would have if they thought that he had been bit.
Dont put your dog down! I think that you really need to know without a shred of doubt before you do that. Especially if he is loved by your family.
Please don't put your dog down for this..honestly i think that is so cruel..if there isn't a bite mark especially..you can give it to a rescue if anything..but do not ever leave children unsupervised with dogs..that is a no no..you can have a doctor examine your nephew and tell u if it is in fact a dog bite..
would be odd for a bite to have only one mark.
Tell your sister in law that no one has proof the dog bit her son..and that if she is going to come over with him that you don't want her leaving him unsupervised..that is poor parenting.
D.
your dog didnt bite him.. the kid fell. my dog has bit a child and in front of me. we still have our dog. he also lets my daughter do what she pleases to him. dont put your dog down.
Sorry, but I am not an expert here. It seems to me that the doctors involved would have known, without a doubt, if it was a dog bite or a falling injury. In fact, all doctors are expected to report dog bites to the authorities so the dog can be checked out by animal services. I would check into this further before I would put down the dog. Also, letting a young child play outside alone without supervision is bad parenting. Maybe the mother of this child wants to blame the dog so she does not have to blame herself.
MMM, this is real tough. Even if SIL saw your dog by him after he started crying it could have been because he got hurt and your dog was investigating. One way you can kinda TEST is when he comes over again, have him get close to your dog. If he starts crying and wanting to get away, it's very possible that he did bite him. However whether your dog did or didn't, SIL should have NEVER left him outside by himself.
1. Even if there isn't a dog, there is no telling what could happen to an unsupervised 1yr old running around outside, even if it is fenced in. What had a been a snake!!!!
2. Especially if there is any animal, I don't even let my 3 and 6 year old outside with our two 2year old lab dogs by themselves. Most dogs, especially mine, Don't know the bounderies when they are loving on kids and want attention.
How is SIL at home? Does she let him outside by himself there? She had better becareful that someone doesn't see that and call in neglect. We are having the same problem with a 3 year old who's parents let him run around outside by himself all the time. A different neighbor called CPS, and I'm teetering on calling again.
From now on, When she comes over with him, I would tell her that she needs to keep 2 EYES on him, that you will not be responsible if something does happen. If she sends him outside to play, if you want to be nice, move the conversation outside. If she is not the friendliest person, Ask her if she's going to go outside and not be neglectful with her extreemly young and vulnerable son!?!?!
Hello, I would not put the dog down. He probably did not bite your nephew. However, I would never leave a child alone with any animal. My little dog is very protective of our grandchildren and me, but I wouldn't trust her alone with my two year old granddaughter.
Also, that baby should have been supervised. Make it very clear that anytime they are at your house, that she needs to be with her child at all times. I can't believe that she would let him out of her sight inside the house, much less outside.
K. K.
I just wanted to say I am so glad you posted the update. I agree with so many here that you have done the right thing. I have worked as a dog groomer for many years and understand that animals have feelings too. You are doing so right by your dog by treating her the same as you did before the new baby came. As for the biting issue, I think the SIL was passing the blame to the dog for her own negligence. Heaven forbid she get cps called on her for leaving a one year old unattended outdoors...dog or no dog.
Since it is iffy if the dog bit or not I would not run to go have her put down. Thats kind of an odd sounding bite with the tooth coming out. Did anyone see the dog bite? I would however get a kennel put in the backyard and just put her up when other children are over at your house. I have one dog that is wonderful with my children but I would bet my house that she would bite another child if they did to her what my kids do to her because she growls. (lay on her, hug her) That does not mean she is a bad dog, we adore her, I just put her up. I also agree with a previous poster that putting an inside dog outside can turn her into a very unhappy dog. I don't spend as much time doing things with our dogs after I had kids but they are always around(although now my kids are 2 n 3 and they play with the dogs). I put a dog bed next to the couch and they seem pretty content just being around without really doing anything with them.
Wait a minute. You left a child unsupervised with a dog who "has growled at him a few times"? Your dog was trying to warn all that something about your nephew made him uncomfortable. Yes, it is likely that he snapped at him, and it's just as likely that he will do it again to another child. I'm saying this as a former dog trainer and animal lover. Perhaps you can contact lab rescue groups and look for a home with no kids. Good luck.
my son was bit in the face when he was 1 by a family friendly dog, i was right there, and my kid wasn't doing anything to the dog. BUT, it is a dog, they are unpredictable. the dog had shots. Only 1 puncture. It was fine.
the growling thing may be a precursor? I can only tell you that if were my dog, i would see about getting a child free home for him.
DO NOT put your down down especially when you do not even know what happened. First of all a one year old should be supervised when playing outside and especially around a dog. The dog did not cause a tooth to come out. Obviously something else hapened here....poor dog do not just assume the dog did it.
