My dog is overprotective and bit a child, what do I do?

Question

I have a beagle/Britney spaniel mix, Banshee. We have raised her from a tiny pup and she is almost two y/o. I have small children. She showed aggression early on with my then 3 y/o son. She used to growl at him if he came close to her, and snapped twice - but never bit. I corrected the behavior by telling her "no!" and putting her on her back and allowing my son to rub her belly. She showed no more signs of aggression after that.

We added a purebred choc. lab puppy to our family, Bodach about a year ago. He was naturally calm and submissive. Banshee was the "top dog". He followed her everywhere. They got along well right away, and are best friends. You could twist his ear off, and he wouldn't snap. He is a big friendly layed-back dog, a real gentle giant. Banshee has always been a "spaz".

The dogs are tied in the yard during the day and brought in at night. Bodach is often untied because he stays in the yard. Banshee runs (always comes back), but runs and gets in people's trash. We live in the middle of a very small town in the country. We very recently installed an electric fence and so Banshee has been "free" to roam the yard.

Every morning the dogs are taken for a long walk thru the woods, and are allowed to run off the leash in woods and to a near-by creek. So they get a lot of excersize. They also get a lot of attention.

NOW, the problem is that in the last few months I have noticed Banshee barking viciously at children playing or walking thru our yard. She has always been tied up, though. My husband figured I was imagining it. But I can tell the difference between regular and mean barking. She also "striped".

Two days ago, we trained her and the electric fence worked perfect. She was happy with her new "freedom". But my daughter had a friend over (a 9y/o girl) and Banshee "mean-barked" at her and chased her and bit her in the behind. The girl wasn't hurt, just scared. But my daughter hollered at Banshee and she stopped. A neighbor walked into our yard to return a borrowed tool, and Banshee attacked him, but stopped when I hollered. Then yesterday, a 9 y/o neighborhood boy was walking up to our front door, and Banshee attacked him and drew blood on his leg with a bite. She was vicious. I ran outside and the kid was laying at the edge of the yard crying and holding his leg. Banshee was sitting calm, and proud, by the porch. Like, "I did my job, kept the kid out of my yard".

The bite was not bad enough to go to the dr., but I promised the mother that I would get rid of the dog, and that it wouldn't be allowed to be untied until I did.

I have a baby. I am worried that the dog could hurt her someday. I can't trust her. What can I do? My vet recommended putting her down.

My daughter is very upset. We all are. We don't want to kill her, but we can't have a dog that is not only a liability, but possibly a danger to my small children. We always have kids playing in our yard.

Do I have any other options? Training by a professional is not an option. Not only do I not have money for that, but I don't think I could ever trust Banshee again - even after a trainer said I could. Would you trust a dog like that with your small child? It only takes a second to scar a child for life.

I just don't know what else I can do.

Answer 1

as a veterinary nurse and a lover of animals i know you are finding this decision hard. however as a mother i also know that you must always put your kids first. when my 2nd son was born our jack russell got very jealous and would attack our cavavlier king charles when anyone knocked at the door. i couldn't take a chance that one of the kids would be in his way and he would bite them by accident, so we rehomed him. however your dog is biting people so i really don't think that rehoming is an option.

sadly i think you should have her put to sleep as you would never forgive yourself if she badly bit one of your kids, or anyone else for that matter.

good luck xx

Answer 2

EUTHANIZE THAT DOG, TODAY!

Dear God, she bit a child! What are you waiting for?!

Answer 3

The other answers were so far off it was funny, all you need to do is watch " The Dog Whisperer ". You'll find that it's not the dog, but the way you've raised it. Watch how to fix the problem, there are also books by C. Millian. This man works wonders with people and fixes dogs.

Also your not walking the dog enough, the reason it acts out is do to the pent up energy, then when it gets focused on someone a bite.

Best bet is get better in touch with the dog , don't leave an animal tied up. You'll find that the dog picks up on your energy and acts the way you project, and a bite is the result. Don't put the dog down, you do the learning and exercise the dog daily, at least for 45 minutes the teach the dog who is the pack leader.!

Answer 4

I'm sorry, but the dog should be put down. Are you going to wait until the dog does some real damage to someone? Or wait to sued by someone? You do realize that you can be prosecuted if your dog bites someone? The dog is dangerous.

Answer 5

Maybe give it away to somone on a farm?...

Answer 6

If this were one of my I dogs, it would be but down.  It has bitten 3 people.  It would have been but down after biting the first child.  

TD all you want but this dog is dangerous.  It is going to do real harm to somebody.

Answer 7

I would not keep this dog.  There is so much at risk here.  I know you're already feeling bad enough so I won't go into what went wrong here.  Find a no kill shelter or a rescue organization.  They have trainers who can work with the dog and his aggression issues.  The dog is a liability right now and you can't afford that.  I'm sorry but you have to let the dog go.

Answer 8

i get discouraged wen there is a big text like this couldnt you have made it shorter?...your vet might be right....but if you really dont want to see a dog behaviourist

Answer 9

I'm going to be dealing with this myself pretty soon. I have a two month old daughter and my dog Brianna is mean to kids. So far she's been nothing but sweet to my daughter Cadence but I'm scared that is soon to change. If you can't keep your kid and your dog separate and if you can't keep the dog find someone that can take her without kids. Unfortunately a lot of smaller dogs aren't good with kids. My friend had to get rid of her Boston terrier because he bit the kids. The Boston terrier is happier than it has ever been with it's new owner.

Answer 10

I hate to answer your question like this, as I own a fear biter who has recently proven himself unable to leave the house or the fenced (not electric fence, a real, you have to climb it fence) in yard.  I however don't have young children, and my dogs aren't left in my yard unattended, I know if someone is close to entering the fence,  the dogs are called in.  No exceptions, no chance of something happening.  In a situation like this (especially with the small children) your best option may be putting Banshee to sleep.  It's a hard decision to make, your boy's on his third strike honestly you're lucky no one has reported the other two bites, or you wouldn't have the choice of what to do... it would be made for you.  

Answer 11

Hello, you have a vicious dog that you continue to allow to do harm.  If the dog is not vicious with your own family, then stop leaving her outside uncontrolled.  Either bring her in side or fence off an area for her.  

ADD: Obviously this dog is a problem, but more annoying & dangerous to the public are owners who continue to allow this kind of behavior to continue & escalate.

Answer 12

Your dog was "protecting" her territory.  The problem was you did not protect the public. You need to get rid of the dog to someone with no children that can work on her issues.  I did not read anything that cannot be fixed.  However, you made a promise to your neighbor to get rid of the dog so you must keep your promise.  Also,  it may be easier for the dog to learn new rules in a new environment.  

Answer 13

Hello, I am so sorry to say this, hun, ur dog might be need to re-homed someone who could take good care of her the couples who don't have kids can keep her.. dog is dangerous to kids. I don't think trainner will solve this problem, ur dog bites kids before she will do it again..

I trust my dog around with my 2 kids alone my dog is really really friendly and very good with my kids never ever try to bite or bark at them, my dog loves to play games with my kids but when she was a puppy she used to nip my kids as thinking was just playing i trainned her early of age, and my dog turned into great dog..

I am sorry to hear about this, i do really feel for u, ur daughter and dog..

Answer 14

If you can not or will not go to a professional trainer, you are best to put her down.

Aggressive dogs take a lot of time, commitment, and training in order to be worked into a normal family life again. It's possible, I've done it with several foster dogs, but you have to realize that every moment is a learning experience for the dog.

Answer 15

It could be that the invisible fence is bothering her, or the new 'freedom' of not having to be tied up has gone to her head.

Is it possible that kids walking past your house during the day may have teased her while she was tied up?  That would explain her sudden dislike for kids (that happened with a poodle we had when I was growing up).

Has your vet offered to run any tests to see if there may be a medical reason for the personality change?

Don't assume you can't afford professional help.  Look into consulting someone, you might be surprised and find something affordable.

Your other options at this point are:

1) Go back to tying her instead of counting on the Invisible Fence.

2) muzzle her when people come over

3) put in a good-sized fenced in dog run so she can have space but not in a position to bite people

4) Surrender her to a shelter or rescue group who can evaluate her and see if she is suitable to at least be adopted into a child-less home, or if she can be worked with to curb the behavior, or putting her down (only as a very last resort).

Answer 16

It's not your dog, it's lack of training and someone (most likely the kids) are annoying the dog when you're not around and it's had enough. The dog also sounds like it isn't socilized to interact with other dogs and I'm guessing it rarely gets a walk on a leash because he has the "freedom" of a back yard. That back yard is his territory and he's going to decide who he allows back there. So your kids friends more than likely will be denied by the dog...

Now.. with that said.. You have an aggressive dog which is dangerous regardless of how big it is. So you have 2 choices...

If you can't afford training and you are truely worried about keeping the dog, please contact a local rescue group and ask them to find the dog a new home or post an ad on Craigslist.

If you want to do the right thing, spend an hour a day training the dog with your kids and at the same time train your kids to treat the dog with respect. And DO NOT let the dog roam free anymore. Everytime you take it outside, even if its your back yard, put it on a leash to control the dog.

Personally, I'd find the dog an owner who can control and train it properly.

Answer 17

If you don't want to risk putting her down, give her to a rescue shelter, with a COMPLETE history of her behavior. They should be able to place her in a situation without kids, and one that addresses her needs to be a loving dependable dog to someone. Rescue shelters do an amazing job placing difficult or risky dogs such as yours. I think that would be your best bet, the dog could find a good home, your anxiety about her well being and your own children would be addressed., and someone, somewhere will be extremely happy with a new pet.