Schmooey did not have a good afteroon.

[3lilreds in NC]

We spent some time with a friend today, who was watching her son's dog. I asked the kids to get in the car while I gathered our things. While I was in the house getting our stuff, Schmooey decided he didn't want to be buckled into his car seat, so he ran away from the car. The dog decided Schmooey wanted to play, I guess, and ran over to him. I don't know if he fell or if the dog knocked him over; I heard him screaming and ran out to pull the dog off him. I finally had to hold the dog and have my friend put him in the car.

 

I know she was not being vicious. I *think* she was trying to play with him like she would have another dog. She is young, energetic, very strong - and respectful of adults, but would try to jump on the kids and got (overly) excited any time Schmooey would try to run.

 

He has 2 puncture wounds in his cheek, one in his ear and his earlobe has a cut, and there will be a lot of bruising on his sweet little face. If she'd been trying to savage him, the story would have ended quite differently. It was scary enough for me though. We did go to the ER - all they did was clean with some peroxide, but they did give us a prescription for antibiotics.

 

I keep thinking "I KNOW better than to leave my children unsupervised with a dog!" Except, they weren't unsupervised - my friend was there - and the dog was on a tie-out cable, not even loose!

 

Phew. Mostly I just came to talk because I know you all understand how it feels when something bad happens to your child and to ask for a few hugs because it was a rough day for the mama, too.

[Lolly]

:grouphug::grouphug:For you and Schmooey. That must have been terrifying for everyone there! :grouphug::grouphug:

[Tree House Academy]

Oh my gosh! Had the dog had all of its shots? I am sure it was trying to play, but geez...what did your friend do? Freeze? I would have bolted to the child and thrown myself between them if I had to. Did it just happen *that* fast? I bet she feels awful!

 

I am sorry for your rough day and your poor little fella's rough day. Bless his heart. :(

[3lilreds in NC]

Oh my gosh! Had the dog had all of its shots? I am sure it was trying to play, but geez...what did your friend do? Freeze? I would have bolted to the child and thrown myself between them if I had to. Did it just happen *that* fast? I bet she feels awful!

 

I am sorry for your rough day and your poor little fella's rough day. Bless his heart. :(

 

Thankfully she is up to date on her shots, but the law here states that she has to be quarantined for 10 days anyway.

 

It really did happen *that* fast. I didn't see how it all got started but I don't think she initially knew there was a problem. Neither of us thought she would ever hurt him. By the time I got out there, dd10 and my friend were both trying to get the dog away. I am so, so thankful she was NOT trying to savage him because we all would have been bitten.

 

I did learn that next time (which there had better not be, with any other dog), I need to GET THE DOG OFF before anything else. I pushed her away and tried to grab my boy but she got back in there. I don't honestly know what my friend was doing (I was a little single minded) but I don't know if she had the strength to get ahold of the dog.

[JudoMom]

Thankfully she is up to date on her shots, but the law here states that she has to be quarantined for 10 days anyway.

 

It really did happen *that* fast. I didn't see how it all got started but I don't think she initially knew there was a problem. Neither of us thought she would ever hurt him. By the time I got out there, dd10 and my friend were both trying to get the dog away. I am so, so thankful she was NOT trying to savage him because we all would have been bitten.

 

I did learn that next time (which there had better not be, with any other dog), I need to GET THE DOG OFF before anything else. I pushed her away and tried to grab my boy but she got back in there. I don't honestly know what my friend was doing (I was a little single minded) but I don't know if she had the strength to get ahold of the dog.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[Jean in Newcastle]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[HeidiKC]

I'm so sorry this happened to you guys! But that dog sounds like a problem. I don't mean it is necessarily "vicious", but even if it is young it should listen when adults are both trying to physically restrain him and (I assume) yelling "NO!", "OFF!" or some such thing. And the child screaming (I assume). This seems like a dog with at least a dominance issue, or maybe an aggressive streak.

 

I would have been furious at my dog, and very worried, if it had behaved that way and not stopped when commanded. I hope your friend explained to the owner about what happened. It is possible that perhaps you and your friend are not familiar with handling dogs, but then I would hope the owner would never, ever allow your friend to watch her dog. Surely the owner must be aware that the dog does not obey well, is either very wild or aggressive or plays too hard or whatever. But whatever the problem is, it is a bad combo with then not obeying commands to stop.

 

Hope you are all ok after that traumatic afternoon!

[OLG]

Tense and scary, I agree. So sorry - these moments are tough!:grouphug:

[Mommyfaithe]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[3lilreds in NC]

I'm so sorry this happened to you guys! But that dog sounds like a problem. I don't mean it is necessarily "vicious", but even if it is young it should listen when adults are both trying to physically restrain him and (I assume) yelling "NO!", "OFF!" or some such thing. And the child screaming (I assume). This seems like a dog with at least a dominance issue, or maybe an aggressive streak.

 

I would have been furious at my dog, and very worried, if it had behaved that way and not stopped when commanded. I hope your friend explained to the owner about what happened. It is possible that perhaps you and your friend are not familiar with handling dogs, but then I would hope the owner would never, ever allow your friend to watch her dog. Surely the owner must be aware that the dog does not obey well, is either very wild or aggressive or plays too hard or whatever. But whatever the problem is, it is a bad combo with then not obeying commands to stop.

 

Hope you are all ok after that traumatic afternoon!

 

I agree that the dog is a problem. She is *not* mean, but is not at all well controlled. She's an American bull dog, so she is a strong-willed, physically strong breed. My friend's son is the owner, and she watches the dog for him when she can, because he works tons of hours and otherwise the dog is left alone too much.

 

She did tell him, and they are both upset - not only because Schmooey was bitten but also because the police and animal control had to be involved. Also, they both tried to tell the police they thought the dog had scratched Isaac. I told her that while I don't think she meant to hurt him, she *did* bite him.

 

The thing is, that kind of dog needs a lot more than they are able to give her. She is not a breed of dog who will do well in the lifestyle he leads. She needs for more exercise than she can ever get, and constant, strict obedience training and discipline. I am *not* experienced in handling dogs and would never have a dog like that - they would run roughshod over me. My friend treats her as her "grand-dog" and is lenient as a typical grandma would be.

 

Now I just feel sick to my stomach, that post-stress letdown, you know, and am SO thankful it wasn't worse. He's asleep and while his face still looks ugly, it's better after a shower and a little more clean-up.

[LauraGB]

I agree that the dog is a problem. She is *not* mean, but is not at all well controlled. She's an American bull dog, so she is a strong-willed, physically strong breed. My friend's son is the owner, and she watches the dog for him when she can, because he works tons of hours and otherwise the dog is left alone too much.

 

She did tell him, and they are both upset - not only because Schmooey was bitten but also because the police and animal control had to be involved. Also, they both tried to tell the police they thought the dog had scratched Isaac. I told her that while I don't think she meant to hurt him, she *did* bite him.

 

The thing is, that kind of dog needs a lot more than they are able to give her. She is not a breed of dog who will do well in the lifestyle he leads. She needs for more exercise than she can ever get, and constant, strict obedience training and discipline. I am *not* experienced in handling dogs and would never have a dog like that - they would run roughshod over me. My friend treats her as her "grand-dog" and is lenient as a typical grandma would be.

 

Now I just feel sick to my stomach, that post-stress letdown, you know, and am SO thankful it wasn't worse. He's asleep and while his face still looks ugly, it's better after a shower and a little more clean-up.

 

Wow, you are the most understanding friend/mom I've ever encountered in a situation like this one. Good for you.

 

When my son was 3, he was bitten in the face by my friend's cocker spaniel. My friend, a nurse, treated the puncture wounds. I was absolutely livid. In this case, it was an attack because my son did something to provoke the dog (I'm not sure what, exactly, because I didn't witness that part). Looking back on my response, I'm kind of ashamed, to be honest.

 

My own dog, who is sweet and gentle and a darn good girl, is energetic and has no qualms about jumping on people - kids, especially if they've got ice cream or yummy food somewhere on them. It's not vicious - just horribly ill mannered; she'll knock them over and lick a hole in their pants if it tastes good enough :glare:.

 

It makes me think about how vastly different the reasons are and the ways that animals react with children.

 

I'm glad your boy is okay. What a terrifying experience for everyone. :grouphug:

Edited March 19, 2011 by LauraGB

[3lilreds in NC]

Wow, you are the most understanding friend/mom I've ever encountered in a situation like this one. Good for you.

 

When my son was 3, he was bitten in the face by my friend's cocker spaniel. My friend, a nurse, treated the puncture wounds. I was absolutely livid. In this case, it was an attack because my son did something to provoke the dog (I'm not sure what, exactly, because I didn't witness that part). Looking back on my response, I'm kind of ashamed, to be honest.

 

My own dog, who is sweet and gentle and a darn good girl, is energetic and has no qualms about jumping on people - kids, especially if they've got ice cream or yummy food somewhere on them. It's not vicious - just horribly ill mannered; she'll knock them over and lick a hole in their pants if it tastes good enough :glare:.

 

It makes me think about how animals react with children.

 

I'm glad your boy is okay. What a terrifying experience for everyone. :grouphug:

 

I don't know that I would be so understanding if it happened with someone we love less. :) We had not been around the dog before, and she was too much for the kids, so I don't think we would have volunteered to be around her very much after today even if she hadn't bitten Isaac.

 

I know she is not vicious, I can't blame the dog, and really, what good is getting mad at my friend and her son? I do hope that this will show them that the dog needs more than she's getting right now. We won't be around her again, that's for sure. I do wonder about an aggressive/dominant streak and hope they take the time to deal with it.

 

When I pulled her off Schmooey, I could see that she was happy, thought she was playing with a buddy, and had no idea why we were all so upset. (I did say some things at the dog that I wish my children had not heard.) She should have ABSOLUTELY backed off when we were yelling at her but I have no idea if we were even coherent enough to say "OFF!" I just can't remember. We were yelling and excited and I'm sure that contributed to the situation. If we had been calmer and firmer with her maybe it would have gone better. It was so QUICK, though.

 

My dad tells me all the time that you simply cannot trust any dog implicitly with a child. They are animals, and have instincts that we don't understand, and you just don't know what sets them off sometimes. We met a man in the ER today whose lab went after his grandson, and he had to grab its tail to try to stop it. When he did that, the dog turned around and bit his arm badly. He had it put down. This was a dog who slept in bed with him every night.

[Frontier Mom]

I know it is probably not the time, but you might want to make sure he goes around some friendly, well-mannered dogs soon so he doesn't develop a phobia. A friend had two dds that were terrified of dogs after something like this happened. They would start screaming and freaking out over any dog. It was a bad situation and they would just start running from them while screaming. That is not a good thing in case they encounter a mean dog that would chase them for sure.

 

I would also teach him to be cautious but not project your fears on him. Just find a nice dog and let him play, supervised of course. It will do tons for him emotionally.

[3lilreds in NC]

I know it is probably not the time, but you might want to make sure he goes around some friendly, well-mannered dogs soon so he doesn't develop a phobia. A friend had two dds that were terrified of dogs after something like this happened. They would start screaming and freaking out over any dog. It was a bad situation and they would just start running from them while screaming. That is not a good thing in case they encounter a mean dog that would chase them for sure.

 

I would also teach him to be cautious but not project your fears on him. Just find a nice dog and let him play, supervised of course. It will do tons for him emotionally.

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Everyone in my family has a dog and it would be awful for him to be afraid.

 

I will call my neighbor with a lab and see what she thinks. Maybe he could go over and hang out with Leroy for a little while.

 

In some ways, wish we still had our sweet dog. We found him a new home before we moved because I just didn't have time to give him the attention he deserved. I still don't. He would have been the perfect dog to help heal this situation, though.

[Tammyla]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:Poor kiddo and mom, what an awful thing for him. I'm glad you little guy is okay, and my heart breaks for you and the little fellow. He's so young and innocent.:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I know of a number of dog owners who defend their dogs by insisting it was a scratch vs. a bite. Some as your friend have it happen before their eyes and just can't believe their baby bit someone. I do hope they will take this seriously, but it sounds like they aren't.

 

We've had two big dog attacks here recently, one a three year old was killed by her family's dogs and another needed so many stitches. (Tragedy) Pet owners should be accountable and many need a reality check. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but too many people, especially innocent children suffer because animal owners are irresponsible or can't control their animals.

 

I hope and pray your little guys heals.

[unsinkable]

I agree that the dog is a problem. She is *not* mean, but is not at all well controlled. She's an American bull dog, so she is a strong-willed, physically strong breed. My friend's son is the owner, and she watches the dog for him when she can, because he works tons of hours and otherwise the dog is left alone too much.

 

She did tell him, and they are both upset - not only because Schmooey was bitten but also because the police and animal control had to be involved. Also, they both tried to tell the police they thought the dog had scratched Isaac. I told her that while I don't think she meant to hurt him, she *did* bite him.

 

The thing is, that kind of dog needs a lot more than they are able to give her. She is not a breed of dog who will do well in the lifestyle he leads. She needs for more exercise than she can ever get, and constant, strict obedience training and discipline. I am *not* experienced in handling dogs and would never have a dog like that - they would run roughshod over me. My friend treats her as her "grand-dog" and is lenient as a typical grandma would be.

 

Now I just feel sick to my stomach, that post-stress letdown, you know, and am SO thankful it wasn't worse. He's asleep and while his face still looks ugly, it's better after a shower and a little more clean-up.

 

OMGosh. Your poor son.

 

I hope things are better today.

 

I am sickened by the attitude of the dog "owner" and "grandma."