Yorkie bit my young daughter. what now?

paulrossiter

I live with my partner and my 3.5yr old daughter. We have a small Yorkshire Terrier (about 6 months old). We have had him for about 4 months. The dog is kept indoors most of the time. We are at work until about 3.30 every day. He usually gets one walk a day. He's not fully toilet trained.
So here's the problem. Yesterday the dog bit my daughter on the face. It looks like a long scratch on her face so i don't think there will be a scar but I am terrified that next time might be worse. If she ended up with even a small scar on her face i'd never forgive myself. He has always been a bit snappy- ("mouthing" my partner calls it). I am ready to get rid of the dog but i know this would kill the girls so I'm asking you if there is anything I can do.

toadfly

Have you brought the puppy to training or socialising classes? Do you leave the dog and child unsupervised together?

What do you mean "get rid" of?

Might be able to advise better with more information.

kylith

What was happening when the dog bit her? The terrier I had growing up bit me in exactly the same way as you describe once. I had been holding onto her and wouldn't let her go and a nip on my cheek was my reward for not paying her squirms heed.

Often terriers can be quick to nip, and children need to be taught the correct way to interact with them.

padz

... yorkie its not for girls, sorry i hope ur daughter is ok, i personally would get rid of the dog, children and animals it can be a bad mix

http://www.elvisyorkshireterrier.com/yorkie/FvsM-yorkies.htm have a read of this its all about terriers temperment, some dogs just arent the best with kids, how about a labrador? get a purebred if u can xo

andreac

Are you sure it was a bite as opposed to a puppy nip? Puppies teeth can be very sharp and i doubt a 6 month old pup would "bite" aggressively as puppies arent aggressive.

Can i ask what your daughter was doing with the dog at that time? Children need to be highly supervised around dogs at all times as children can be very rough with dogs and pull them around, pull their tails and hurt them unintentionally, so whats to say your little girl didnt hurt the puppy and it was just lashing out in pain?

Ive seen what kids can do to dogs and i wouldnt blame a pup for lashing out so dont be so quick to "get rid" of the dog.

A one off incident with a puppy like that is not a reason to give away your puppy.
Puppies need a lot of training and socialisation and being around young children isnt always very easy to put all this training in place as young kids dont always know how to handle and treat a puppy so you need to make sure your daughter knows what to do and not to do around the puppy.
All puppies nip, bite, its part of normal puppy behaviour.

I suggest you bring this pup to training classes, and maybe bring your little girl too so she learns how to treat the puppy and get the puppy to behave for her in a controlled environment.

paulrossiter

TillyGirl wrote: »

Have you brought the puppy to training or socialising classes? Do you leave the dog and child unsupervised together?

What do you mean "get rid" of?

No the dog hasn't been to any classes. Unsupervised?- when we are in the house my daughter and the dog are free to wander between the living room and kitchen so we could be in the other room.

"get rid" of - just meant sell or give him away.

elius

Im not so shore a dog at 6 month can be viscous i reckon he was mere playing due to teething etc and he caught her face in a play full(to him) way

andreac

padz wrote: »

... yorkie its not for girls, sorry i hope ur daughter is ok, i personally would get rid of the dog, children and animals it can be a bad mix

Are you serious?:mad:
Do you know anything about animals at all? obv not.
So if i was you i would not be suggesting the OP get rid of the dog as children and animals can live perfectly fine together if they are trained and socialised properly.

kippy

You should be extremely vigilent with Children/kids around dogs/pups.

If this happened at home in "my time" the dog would get the bullet literally.
However most of the dogs would have been collies and looking back frankly on it, ususally the kids were totally at fault for "winding" the dog up - giving it very little option.
With that in mind I blame the parents as the kids really shouldnt be given that kind of a chance.

What would I do in your instance? Keep an eye on your child and dogs interactions a lot more, possibly remove access for a few more years till your daughter understands how to handle the dog.
Its that or get rid of the dog (either sell or a more permanent solution).

I would prefer to go with the first option and hope that the dog doesnt display any further agressive characteristics.

T-Square

Give it away to the cats'n'dogs home, and give them some money towards the maintenance of the animal.
At 6 months old, it may be quite easy to rehome.

andreac

paulrossiter wrote: »

TillyGirl wrote: »

Have you brought the puppy to training or socialising classes? Do you leave the dog and child unsupervised together?

What do you mean "get rid" of?

No the dog hasn't been to any classes. Unsupervised?- when we are in the house my daughter and the dog are free to wander between the living room and kitchen so we could be in the other room.

"get rid" of - just meant sell or give him away.

Well theres your problem for a start. Your daughter should not be left alone for even a second with the dog, this is where problems start as your daughter could have done anything to the dog to get a reaction from him, so whats to say she didnt hit him, pull his tail/ear, stand on him by mistake etc etc.
Dont be so quick to blame the dog here, never leave them unsupervised and get the dog to classes sooner rather than later.

It amazes me how quick people are to "get rid" of a puppy from one little incident that more than likely isnt even the dogs fault. Please be more repsonsible for the sake of your dog and daughter.

toadfly

Dogs and children should not be left alone together ever. Kids (esp at that young age) dont always know how to handle the dog and that they can't drag out of the dog, pull its hair etc.

Bring the dog to classes, teach your daughter how to treat animals and dont leave them alone AT ALL.

A 6 month old Yorkie wouldnt bite a child aggressively, it was more than likely a nip, all pups do it.

AvaKinder

You should never leave a child that young with ANY dog.

My Yorkie was terrible for nipping/mouthing until he was about a year old and for that reason alone I didn't allow my young cousins to play with him at all. Even now that he's 3 years old and has completely stopped play biting, I would never leave the 4 year old alone with him as they don't realise how they should interact with dogs, and they may think they are just 'petting' when in fact they are hitting the dog. Kids can be so rough and dogs can feel very threatened.


If you want to keep the dog then you've been given some very good advice re training and socialising and I would suggest you don't leave the children and the dog together without an adult in the room with them at all times until the child is at least 5 or 6 or until you feel they are aware enough of how to treat it. My 7 year old cousin has only been left alone with the dog the the last 6 months or so, and that is, like yours in the next room or in the garden with the window open and someone watching.


If you feel you have to get rid of the dog, try to sell it, hell I'll even take it in but please do not take a 'more permanent' solution. I've heard dogs being put down for incidents like this and its awful, its too young to have it's life destroyed over a minor incident like this.

toadfly

kippy wrote: »

If this happened at home in "my time" the dog would get the bullet literally.

Its that or get rid of the dog (either sell or a more permanent solution).

I would prefer to go with the first option and hope that the dog doesnt display any further agressive characteristics.

Are you for real? God help any animal that has to live with you.

DBCyc

I think that the circumstances surrounding a bite are very important and people should not rush to consider "getting rid" of a dog. However, obviously the safety of the child is the most important.

When I was very young, I was bitten in the face by my Grandad's border collie. He was a lovely dog. Now the reason that I got bitten was because the dog was asleep and I was annoying it by trying to open its mouth and stick my head in! Needless to say, I was asking for it The dog did not get put down / given away or anything back then, but I wonder would it be different now.

Luckily no real damage was done and as a stupid little child I learnt an important lesson. Not just that you shouldn't try and stick your head in the mouth of a dog, but that you should respect a dogs boundaries and not provoke it.

I think that you should be grateful that no harm was done and at the same time your child has learnt a valuable lesson. Obviously you should pay very careful attention to your dog at all times around your child, just to make sure that nothing like that could happen again. Good luck.

andreac

T-Square wrote: »

Give it away to the cats'n'dogs home, and give them some money towards the maintenance of the animal.
At 6 months old, it may be quite easy to rehome.

Jesus, what is it with people who just "give away" their dogs at the drop of a hat??:mad:
This is a puppy, who is displaying normal puppy behaviour and the paernt of the child is being irresponsible so the poor dog is not to blame, but of course its usually the poor dogs that end up being given away or rehomed because people cant be bothered to put in the time to train and socialise their new puppies, makes me so mad:mad:

paulrossiter

didn't mean to imply it was all the dogs fault. I wasn't there when it happened but i'm sure it probably wasn't an agressive bite- still the damage is the same. We've tried to teach our daughter how to respect the dog but i think she's still too young- she will do the right things most of the time and then do something stupid like pull him by the leg or tail for no reason even when we're right there. It's not something i can guarantee i'll be able to stop- it's the age she's at. And keeping the two of them apart would be difficult but might be worth a try

Tranceypoo

T-Square wrote: »

Give it away to the cats'n'dogs home, and give them some money towards the maintenance of the animal.
At 6 months old, it may be quite easy to rehome.

Seriously, the 'cats'n'dogs home' as you call it, isn't a hotel where you pay for their board, every single one in the country is bursting at the seams, giving them a bit of money 'towards the maintenance of the animal' wouldn't really help them. The owner following the sensible advice on here given by Andrea & Tilly is the right path to take.
As for 'kippy' giving it the bullet, jesus christ I despair.
Luckily the original poster sounds more sensible than to take that sort of advice.

toadfly

paulrossiter wrote: »

didn't mean to imply it was all the dogs fault. I wasn't there when it happened but i'm sure it probably wasn't an agressive bite- still the damage is the same. We've tried to teach our daughter how to respect the dog but i think she's still too young- she will do the right things most of the time and then do something stupid like pull him by the leg or tail for no reason even when we're right there. It's not something i can guarantee i'll be able to stop- it's the age she's at. And keeping the two of them apart would be difficult but might be worth a try

All you can do it keep them seperate or when together supervised. Its not the dog or the childs fault, they dont know any different but you need to teach the child. The dog will improve with classes etc but remember it is still a young pup.

kippy

TillyGirl wrote: »

Are you for real? God help any animal that has to live with you.

Yep, for real, although i never put any animals down, I was too young at the time, however I remember that any dog that bit a child was put down, no questions asked. I didnt say that that was still my attitude - quiet the opposite in fact......
As I said, looking back now it was very unfair on the animal but ultimately the human is more important than the dog and next time it may not be a little bite. My next door neigbour got an awful mauling from a collie when he was ten - lost a lot of blook multiple bites etc, the same dog had nipped his younger brother a few weeks earlier but the younger brother told no one until after the event with his older brother.

Personally, I'm not a fan of dogs in urban environments, but in the right location and with the right treatment they are a great asset to have, however ALL dogs and children interactions need to be closely monitored.

andreac

paulrossiter wrote: »

didn't mean to imply it was all the dogs fault. I wasn't there when it happened but i'm sure it probably wasn't an agressive bite- still the damage is the same. We've tried to teach our daughter how to respect the dog but i think she's still too young- she will do the right things most of the time and then do something stupid like pull him by the leg or tail for no reason even when we're right there. It's not something i can guarantee i'll be able to stop- it's the age she's at. And keeping the two of them apart would be difficult but might be worth a try

Sorry but its your repsonsibility of a parent and dog owner to make sure both your dog and child are kept safe and if you cant do this then you should never have gotten a dog in the first place.

So you have stated you dont actually know how the incident happened so as i said, dont be so quick to blame the dog as you said yourself she pulls his leg etc.
Just be very strict with your daughter and with supervision of both of them together and dont leave them alone for a second. Get a crate that you can put the pup away in safely if you have to do anything or put it somewhere where your daughter cant get to it. Im sure you have a garden or spare room where the pup can have its space on its own.

andreac

kippy wrote: »

Yep, for real, although i never put any animals down, I was too young at the time, however I remember that any dog that bit a child was put down, no questions asked. I didnt say that that was still my attitude - quiet the opposite in fact......
As I said, looking back now it was very unfair on the animal but ultimately the human is more important than the dog and next time it may not be a little bite. My next door neigbour got an awful mauling from a collie when he was ten - lost a lot of blook multiple bites etc, the same dog had nipped his younger brother a few weeks earlier but the younger brother told no one until after the event with his older brother.

Personally, I'm not a fan of dogs in urban environments, but in the right location and with the right treatment they are a great asset to have, however ALL dogs and children interactions need to be closely monitored.

Theres a huge difference between a dog attacking/biting a child and a puppy nipping which more than likely happened here so theres absol no need to suggest getting this "puppy" put to sleep for behaving as normal puppies do.

kippy

andreac wrote: »

Theres a huge difference between a dog attacking/biting a child and a puppy nipping which more than likely happened here so theres absol no need to suggest getting this "puppy" put to sleep for behaving as normal puppies do.

I am aware of the differences.
I didn't suggest that the OP put the puppy to sleep. I put it out there as an option as the OP themselves seemed to hint that they were considering that anyway.
You or I really dont know what happened here - all we have is what the OP told us.

paulrossiter

andreac wrote: »

Sorry but its your repsonsibility of a parent and dog owner to make sure both your dog and child are kept safe and if you cant do this then you should never have gotten a dog in the first place.

So you have stated you dont actually know how the incident happened so as i said, dont be so quick to blame the dog as you said yourself she pulls his leg etc.
Just be very strict with your daughter and with supervision of both of them together and dont leave them alone for a second. Get a crate that you can put the pup away in safely if you have to do anything or put it somewhere where your daughter cant get to it. Im sure you have a garden or spare room where the pup can have its space on its own.

I live in a small house guys. two rooms on the ground floor. if its pissing rain do i have to put the dog out in it? if not then he'll be in a bloody crate the whole time we're downstairs. look. it wasn't my idea to get the dog. in fact i argued strongly against it but i love my girls and they love the dog so here i am trying to save the situation. as far as controlling my daughter- watch Supernanny- i have and its not an exact science believe me.

caseyann

paulrossiter wrote: »

I live with my partner and my 3.5yr old daughter. We have a small Yorkshire Terrier (about 6 months old). We have had him for about 4 months. The dog is kept indoors most of the time. We are at work until about 3.30 every day. He usually gets one walk a day. He's not fully toilet trained.
So here's the problem. Yesterday the dog bit my daughter on the face. It looks like a long scratch on her face so i don't think there will be a scar but I am terrified that next time might be worse. If she ended up with even a small scar on her face i'd never forgive myself. He has always been a bit snappy- ("mouthing" my partner calls it). I am ready to get rid of the dog but i know this would kill the girls so I'm asking you if there is anything I can do.

Ofc there is.
When the dog shows signs of hyper activity stop it in its tracks.And teach your girls also to control the dog.The dog is not at fault here,truth is the family is.Dont encourage the dog when its hyper.
Doesn't sound like the puppy!!!!!!! bit out of viscousness. Teach your girls to ignore the dog until quite and if jumps correct it with a touch and wait till it sits.
You dont have to get rid of the dog just need discipline like kids do.

Hope your little girl is ok

kippy

paulrossiter wrote: »

I live in a small house guys. two rooms on the ground floor. if its pissing rain do i have to put the dog out in it? if not then he'll be in a bloody crate the whole time we're downstairs. look. it wasn't my idea to get the dog. in fact i argued strongly against it but i love my girls and they love the dog so here i am trying to save the situation. as far as controlling my daughter- watch Supernanny- i have and its not an exact science believe me.

To be honest, it looks like you should have tried harder to not get the dog in the first place.
As I said above, I am for animals in adequate environments. It doesnt appear your house is adequate. Perhaps it was before the little ones came along.
You've a lot of work on your hands controlling and "training" kids, the additional tasks requred to do the same with the dog and in a small environment is exceptionally difficuly inho.
Best of luck with it.

Jet Set

I grow up with the belief that dogs see us as part of a pack and there for they need to find there place in the pecking order if you know what I am getting at. You dog may have just been playing or may have been finding his place in the pack, in either case your child needs to slap the dog when this happen or even growls at her. The dog will then know that his place is at the bottom of the pack. I have had this experience myself both when growing up and now with my own kids and dogs. this behavior in my opinion needs to be nipped in the bud!(pardon the pun)

paulrossiter

thanks everyone for your advice and comments. has really helped to get a neutral opinion. I think i'm going to try and keep my little girl separte from the dog for the near future as much as possible and put him in for some training classes.

caseyann

paulrossiter wrote: »

thanks everyone for your advice and comments. has really helped to get a neutral opinion. I think i'm going to try and keep my little girl separte from the dog for the near future as much as possible and put him in for some training classes.

I wouldnt do that,it is best if you correct her when she pulls tail or something.And correct the dog when it jumps or gets hyper on her,just dont leave her alone with the dog.

DataMining

Do you have chorus or sky? theres a show one of the discovery channels called THE DOG WHISPERER. If you havent im sure you can find episodes of it here online, maybe on sidereel.com

Anyway the host of it, Ceser Millan is a dog trainer and nearly every second episode is about puppy obedience that might interest you.

Chances are your dog is hyper from having no human contact during the day and is not getting enough exercise.

Phenix

hi op - lots of advise on here some really good and some down right random.
please dont tell you daughter or anyone else to slap the pup as a means of training.
basicallly as previously said your pup is just that....a pup they need training and guidelines. take her to classes and train yourself and the pup
obviously children should be supervised around any dog but if you know how to train the dog correctly as your children get older they will see this and follow your example