This woman at work got bit in the face by her own dog.

[Shell Beau]

She's had this dog for years and this is about the 4th time the dog has bitten one of the members of the family. The vet even says they have to muzzle the dog. The dog was unprovoked. Some of the times he's bitten, she said he was agitated, but nothing IMO that would ever cause a dog to bite. It is weird. She has this huge black and blue mark on her face. It was almost in her eye too! What would you do if this were your dog?

[DS1]

1. 4 times?

It's shotgun week at DS1's house.

[Shell Beau]

4. This has been over a long period of time, but still, it sounds

like this dog has some behavior issues!

[Bassic]

33. A 308 is cleaner.

Just point and click.

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I have kids, so I would have to get rid of our dog if she bit.

Thankfully, she doesn't. I have too many kids here playing with mine to take the chance.

[Shell Beau]

5. Her kids are teenagers, but one of them was bitten one time

before.

[Corgigal]

3. I would also have to get rid of the dog

The dog is a ticking time bomb. I would try a trainer first, then a vet with the help of medications. If that didn't work I would have to get rid of him.

Do you know if it's a purebred dog? Is the dog neutered or fixed? I had a corgi dog that was getting too aggressive for our household but I got him neutered a few months ago. I've seen a big change in his behavior and he can now stay.

[Shell Beau]

6. The dog is neutered and his a mixed breed.

And I can't remember the breeds he's mixed with, but I remember thinking they were gentle breeds. :shrug:

[Corgigal]

8. wow

I read the most bites come from purebred male non neutered dogs. I think it was 90 percent actually.

Most mixed breeds have more sense then that. Maybe the dog needs medications. If your own dog will bite you, the person who feeds it, then everyone around you could be in trouble.

[bleedingheart]

7. put it down...

I wouldn't give it to someone else because in a new environment it might be just as hostile and there are people who go to shelters looking for dogs like that for fighting...which is just cruel.

So...I would just have the vet put it down.

[Corgigal]

9. actually I'm with you

after seeing if he needs medications. I would try everything medically first but if it didn't work I would put him down too. No one will adopt him and the pound would just put him down anyway.
An ad in the paper might bring around the dog fighter crowd.

Wish the owner luck. Terrible place to be in.

[Shell Beau]

13. She wasn't asking my advice, but I told her that it

was a bad situation. And it didn't look too good. And now they have a small chihuahua that would also be at risk I am assuming. But the biting apparently started before the chihuahua was brought into the picture.

[RockaFowler]

10. It's time for the Dog Whisperer

I kind of like his show on National Geographic

[Shell Beau]

14. I wish he'd come to my house for little one's incessant barking!

[RockaFowler]

16. Do you have a little dog??

Our dachshunds like to show off, so they bark. I think it's a scared bark. I learn a lot from his show. He doesn't want any dog to be put to sleep. I think he has rehabilitated even the worst dog out there.

[Shell Beau]

18. I have a miniature pinscher which have very similar personalities

as dachshunds. She is your typical yappy dog. She barks at one of the other dogs I have as if she is getting on to him. She barks when I come home. She barks when people come over. She barks barks barks barks!! I love her to death and she is my baby girl, but her barking drives me up the wall. Her bark is so shrill-ish anyway!!

I have seem some of his shows where he deals with the barking, but I really just need him to come on over. You think he is too busy? :P

[Bzzzz]

29. Awww...

we have 2 Min Pins. They are our babies and we love them to death!! But, you are right about the barking...those girls bark at everything. We bought a sticker that is on our front door that says "Min Pin Guard Dogs On Duty". They both have such different personalities. The little one (8 lbs.) thinks she rules the roost and she is afraid of NOTHING!!

[Kali]

11. I wonder if the thing is in some kind of pain

I would probably put it down, but then I have one that "mouths" your hand when yoou pet him - its just his way - its not aggression at all, but if you get him excited you better watch your face because he will do it to whatever part of you is close to his head!

[Shell Beau]

15. She said this was an aggressive bite. And the other times

he has done it, he was agitated, so he acted out. And when I say agitated, she was trying to push him to get down off of the couch. I do that to my dogs all of the time. I can't even imagine one of them biting me b/c of it.

[CottonBear]

17. The dog is Alpha dog and she challenged him and he did what dogs do:

He bit her.

This happened to my friend Sherry. She had a large, mixed breed, neutered male dog. He tried to eat some of her food while he was lying on the bed with her. She pushed him away and he bit her in the face. She had stitches and, fortunately, no bad scars.

The dog was immediately put down.

That said, it is, many times, the owners fault for not understanding canine behavior and being "too nice" to the dog and rewarding agressive behavior.

The dog needs to be put down and the woman needs canine behavior training if she ever gets another dog.

[Shell Beau]

19. When she said even the vet puts a muzzle on him, I knew

it was a behavior problem. My vet has the policy where they will not muzzle any of the dogs. They say it is part of their jobs to know how to deal with aggressive dogs and just a risk of the job if they get bit. They think it tends to make the dog more aggressive and nervous. However, I am sure if it were a big huge really aggressive dog, they may rethink it!

[CottonBear]

21. That's an unsafe animal.

I was bitten in the face by a dog. It was my fault for leaning down into the face of a very large (half Shepherd-half Great Dane) dog at the home of a friend in Munich, Germnay. I'd just met the dog and just arrived a t the house. I startled it. I had plastic surgery in Munich.

[Common Sense Party]

12. Good night, Fido. n/t

[LostinVA]

20. *sigh* Probably put it down...

[skygazer]

22. Sounds like the dog is an alpha and feels he is in control

Bad situation. Dogs need to have a clear knowledge of the pecking order of their "pack" - the leader of the pack has got to be the owner, otherwise you're going to have trouble.

If it was my dog, the problem would not have arisen in the first place (if that is indeed the cause) - however, now that it has, probably the only way to deal with it is to put the dog down. Sad but true. It would be irresponsible to let it go to anyone other than a professional.

Another thing that people are sadly unaware of is the fact that dogs do not like it when you put your face right into theirs. They will tolerate it from someone they know, trust and love but from a stranger or in the case of a nervous dog, it's never a good idea. To them, it's a threatening posture and one large cause of facial bites is people looming in a strange dog's face doing the old, "Oooh, isn't he a cutesy-wootsy?" bit. (Actually, that would probably cause me to bite, too).

Too bad. Unfortunately, many animals are screwed up by people with the best of intentions - not really the animal's fault or the person's but the results can be really sad.

[Shell Beau]

24. I agree with you! I think she did get too close to his face,

but he should trust her by now (they have had him for about 6 years), but as you said, there is confusion as to who the "alpha" is. It is a sad situation. I don't think she will put him down, but she said when people come to the house, he must go outside.

[Horus45]

23. If it were me, there never would have been a second time...

I do not tolerate vicious dogs.

[XemaSab]

25. I'd have had it put down three bites ago

All this talk about medication and behavior modification... what happens if it doesn't work?

The "next time" could kill someone or put them in the hospital. And if it's a stranger the owner will be sued and will be liable.

[gardenista]

26. Put it down, no question.

Very hard to do. I know from experience.

[Bzzzz]

27. I had a friend...

who has a Weinreimer. She bent down to kiss him goodnight and he bit her on the face taking half of her upper lip off. Her husband found the portion of her lip and they took her to the hospital. It was reattached and she had plastic surgery, also. Hubby and I felt the dog should have been put down, because they have small grandchildren who spend the night frequently. I've never had good vibes where this dog was concerned. They just said they were going to put him up when the kids were over and my friend said she felt it was her fault...she thought she woke him and spooked him...maybe, but I would never take ANY chances where my grandbabies are concerned.

[Wcross]

28. This little guy bit me on the forehead a couple of months ago.

This is Moe. He was on one side of the bed and Larry was on the other. I was in the middle. Moe was growling at his brother to get off the bed. Just as I was sitting up to calm him down he went for a nip at Larry and caught me instead.

[Xithras]

30. Some dogs are just biters, and should be put down.

I've been bit, and my son has been bit a couple of times, so I have little sympathy for dogs that bite.

[auburngrad82]

31. What breed? nt

[Shell Beau]

32. Mixed and I can't remember what the mix is.

[auburngrad82]

34. I was just curious

The top breed for dog bites is cocker spaniel. Due to inbreeding they have a high occurance of "rage syndrome" where they just go crazy and start biting. I think dalmatians are susceptable to it as well.

[Shell Beau]

35. There is no cocker spaniel in him.

I knew that, though, about cocker spaniels. :shrug: