"Oh My God He Just Bit Her!"

[Opie CHL]

So that's what I hear my wife scream out the other day while i'm in another room. My heart sinks, my blood pressure rises, I start to panic! My immediate reaction is Hershey bit one of the kids she babysits for..which turns out not to be the case at all thank God. One 2 yr old boy bit another 2 yr old girl. Broke her skin and everything. Let me backtrack on how this all started..Chumley is so mellow. Little kids play with him all the time. I always stop them when I see them playing too rough or doing things they shouldn't. They'll walk over to him and go right up to his face.. nose to nose and kiss him..or ride him like a horse, hug him and squeeze him and he has absolutely no reaction. I've told my wife they shouldn't be doing that because one day they'll approach the wrong dog and there will be a problem. Then we get Hershey 4 months ago and he has a great disposition around kids...but he's a nervous dog and scares easily. If he hears a noise in the night he's up barking. If you walk by him fast he gets scared. A plastic bag frightens him. About a month ago Hershey is asleep on the sofa and a little girl goes up to him grabs his head. His immediate startled reaction as he woke up was to jerk his head away and as he did his lower tooth caught the side of the girls eye. She got a small bruise and we're not even sure it was from his tooth or paw. My wife becomes a basket case and is blaming Hershey and Im defending him but we all know who gets the blame if a dog injures a child..people don't want to hear the circumstances that the kid may have caused it. The child's parents handled it very well as they have dogs and they know Hershey and Chumley are very calm and great with kids...but since that incident I am on high alert and I know Hershey is on thin ice. I don't want him anywhere near the kids because I know what one more incident would mean. I watch him like a hawk but I know he would never hurt a kid...so when my wife screams 'He just bit her!" my whole heart and stomach sank. I was so relieved it was skin kid biting skin kid! Now my question is...if that were Hershey people would be screaming for me to get rid of him. How come the kid gets a break? Shouldn't the kid be labeled a biter? Put up for adoption with a disclaimer "Needs a home with no kids"? No the little vampire is right back at my house the following day! I want to crate him! At least Hershey's was an accident..the kid intentionally bit. Sorry for the rant..I just don't want to see Hershey labeled..and honestly, Id like to bite some of these little brats myself!

 

[Manydogs]

[MENTION=7260]Chumley[/MENTION] You GO Jim!!! Dogs vs. Kids---Dogs rule! Kids that bite should be muzzled-a little Hannibal Lector in the making! Parents of unruly kids when I worked at the grade school, were the ones who would complain to the principle that their kids could do not wrong!! One couple even threatened to beat up the principal!
I am so happy that the dogs were not involved-but I can certainly understand your apprehension. Chain that kid outside. Ha!ha!

 

[schimpfy]

So unfair for Hershey want to hug him and bite the boy however sure he would learn nothing from it - frustrating dilemma

 

[brutus77]

So this is my opinion....Hershey sounds like he is harmless but skittish. The children should be told not to bother him. It's not really Hersheys fault if they don't leave him alone. Any dog that is startled from sleep is going to be upset. Does your wife have a helper for the kids? You should ask your wife if the biter is banned from daycare! I'm sure though that that kind of comment won't bode well for you

 

[2BullyMama]

Agreed... the 'biter' should not be allowed back at daycare!

As for the pups and kids... when any dog is sleeping, regardless of temperment, they should not be bothered upclose.. always call their name before touching. Now, teaching toddlers this is difficult, so it may be best if the dogs are sleeping they should learn 'do not touch' .

 

[dolphin]

I think dogs have a 6th sense when it comes to kids, and if they do then it's reversed for kids and dogs. Kids love to mess with dogs. I know Hershey would never hurt a kid even after being awoken so suddenly but I understand why your wife would freak like that. I don't know how you do it with all of those kids around all of the time, you are a serious shining star to fathers everywhere that love their bullys.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Aww poor Hershey, but I'm of the opinion that with dogs and kids it's a two way street. We have 6 kids that are aged 7 and under in my family, including my grandson, they are all cousins, so when I got my two guys almost 3 years ago, my grandson was only 4 years old, and I made sure that I socialized them to kids, people and other dogs. I put the heel of my hand in their mouths, handled their ears, paws, gave them toys and took them away, and gave them food and treats, and removed them , so they would be used to this in case one of the kids were around. Both dogs and kids can be unpredictable, and both have to be socialized to each other, having said that its just not the dogs who need to learn to be gentle with the kids, the kids also have to be taught that animals are not toys, ride on toys, or something to tease. They have to be taught to respect a living thing, and to respect their space, and their toys, and learn that when they are eating, or sleeping, they need to let them be. I taught my grandson to always ask someone if its okay before petting their dog, to put out your hand in a fist, and let the dog sniff you first, and when giving them food or a treat, to place the treat on your palm, and give it to the dog with an open hand, so they don't accidentally bite their little fingers while taking the treat.
I also taught him that animals have feelings too, and you can't grab at them, or pull their hair, or their ears, or tails, I told him its the same as someone pulling his hair, or his ear, that it hurts them too, and he has to be gentle to them. I also taught him that when they are sleeping or playing with their toys, he can't bother them, he has to let them sleep, cause its their rest time, and when they are playing, he can give them a ball or a toy, and if he plays fetch with them, he's to wait until they drop the ball or toy, and not try to take it away from them or out of their mouth. At the same time animals and children should always be supervised with each other, especially when it's not a child that is a member of the household, as both animals and young children can be unpredictable.

 

[Pati Robins]

You are right - even tho my dogs are mellow i wouldn't want this children thinking every dog will be like my girls
I think kids should know the rules of not touching sleeping ,scared ,skittish dogs and not push them to their limit
I might sound here a littke harsh but when i read stories about dog biting children i always wonder what this child was doing to the dog just before attack? Were they intimidating the animal , not leaving him/her alone when dog had enough of "play time"? I know this isnt always the case but when incidents like this are written in the news dog always gets the blame without writing much details on what actually happen

 

[harveyspecter]

Aww poor Hershey, but I'm of the opinion that with dogs and kids it's a two way street. We have 6 kids that are aged 7 and under in my family, including my grandson, they are all cousins, so when I got my two guys almost 3 years ago, my grandson was only 4 years old, and I made sure that I socialized them to kids, people and other dogs. I put the heel of my hand in their mouths, handled their ears, paws, gave them toys and took them away, and gave them food and treats, and removed them , so they would be used to this in case one of the kids were around. Both dogs and kids can be unpredictable, and both have to be socialized to each other, having said that its just not the dogs who need to learn to be gentle with the kids, the kids also have to be taught that animals are not toys, ride on toys, or something to tease. They have to be taught to respect a living thing, and to respect their space, and their toys, and learn that when they are eating, or sleeping, they need to let them be. I taught my grandson to always ask someone if its okay before petting their dog, to put out your hand in a fist, and let the dog sniff you first, and when giving them food or a treat, to place the treat on your palm, and give it to the dog with an open hand, so they don't accidentally bite their little fingers while taking the treat.
I also taught him that animals have feelings too, and you can't grab at them, or pull their hair, or their ears, or tails, I told him its the same as someone pulling his hair, or his ear, that it hurts them too, and he has to be gentle to them. I also taught him that when they are sleeping or playing with their toys, he can't bother them, he has to let them sleep, cause its their rest time, and when they are playing, he can give them a ball or a toy, and if he plays fetch with them, he's to wait until they drop the ball or toy, and not try to take it away from them or out of their mouth. At the same time animals and children should always be supervised with each other, especially when it's not a child that is a member of the household, as both animals and young children can be unpredictable.

AMEN

 

[Opie CHL]

[MENTION=8741]Manydogs[/MENTION] [MENTION=9370]brutus77[/MENTION] [MENTION=11086]schimpfy[/MENTION] [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] [MENTION=6717]dolphin[/MENTION] [MENTION=9105]Pati Robins[/MENTION] [MENTION=12554]harveyspecter[/MENTION]
The problem is these kids aren't even of daycare age..they're 2 and 3 so they're curious. In my opinion they'd be kicked out of daycare if they bit another child so they should not be allowed back here if they bite. The problem is my wife is very close with the mother of the biter. She's watched all three of her children when they were younger so she feels an obligation. But the mother of the biter said he does that at home too. He bites his brothers and the dr. said next time bite him back! She actually gave us permission to do that. My wife said she could never do that... but I most definitely can. Is something wrong with me that I'm looking forward to biting a 2 yr old tomorrow lol?
Another issue is my wife constantly yells that the dogs eat the kids food from their hands. I've watched and they never go over and take the food but when a kid walks by them and waves a muffin at mouth level what does she expect they're going to do? I mean they're still animals..They're great and well behaved but they're not that well trained where they won't take food that's placed directly under their noses!
My wife has no idea how lucky we are with these two bullies..she expects perfection out of them and they get no slack.
We struck gold with Chumley..he's great with the kids...he never has accidents in the house..he doesn't chew furniture or destroy things and I was really afraid to bring Hershey into the mix..how could I expect to bring him into this circus when he was used to a pretty quiet lifestyle at Ricks house? To my surprise he loves the activity and he's as well behaved as chum but like I said he's very skittish and frightens easily. [MENTION=6311]Vikinggirl[/MENTION] you are 100% right with how kids should be taught now to treat an animal. The problem were having is this one kid just won't get it...he's having trouble understand dong you don't bite other kids so training him how to treat animals is a battle too. I'm so afraid there's going to be an accident where Hershey is provoked or scared that I'm going to separate him from the kids when I'm not around..I guess I can't expect my wife to hover over the dogs when she has babies to watch...
well off to bed..I have a kid to bite tomorrow..should I give him a gentle one or a real lesson learner?

 

[dolphin]

[MENTION=7260]Chumley[/MENTION] give him a real hard bite and then when he bites back I'd cover him in peanut butter and let Hershey have his way with him!













j/k

 

[Opie CHL]

@Chumley give him a real hard bite and then when he bites back I'd cover him in peanut butter and let Hershey have his way with him







j/k

That would be an interesting alternative Phil lol
Maybe I'll give it a try!

 

[ddnene]

Oh boy… poor Hershey!!! First of all you are a saint to put up w/that MANY 2 to 3 year olds. Marcus about drives me nuts, and that's only 1 kid… Lol I'm seriously anal w/kids around my dogs, in fact when Marcus had his b-day party here I locked up my dogs… I don't trust the kids around them. I would make sure that when the dogs nap the kids aren't allowed to be near them, that will keep Hershey safe My son went thru a biting faze, and I nipped that in the bud quick… the next time he bit the neighbor girl I flicked him on the lip. He associated biting someone w/pain, and he didn't EVER pull that again.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Lol Jim, no you can't bite little kids, or cover them in peanut butter and feed them to the dog. I think there's laws against this. Lol. It would be hard for 2 and 3 year olds to totally grasp the idea of being nice to animals, they are just learning at this age, if they were 4 or 5 and older, they are easier to talk to and you can reason with them more. Are the dogs and the daycare kids in the same area during the day?, maybe if the kids are upstairs, the dogs could have free reign of the basement, or if the kids are in the basement playing, then the dogs could be upstairs until they go home?

 

[Libra926]

You should muzzle the kid when he's around other kids.