Jenny bit my daughter :(

[pyr4me]

Hi everyone, I know that I haven't posted in a while, been crazy busy. But I need some advice...last night Jenny bit my daughter, Reese, when she accidently tripped and fell on Jenny. Jenny did break the skin, but it obvsiously could have been a lot worse. It was really scary for all of us.  My husband and I were right there, it happened in an instant.

I think that Jenny was looking in a different direction and didn't see it coming, was surprised and reacted like a dog...to another dog.  Obviously, I don't want her to ever think that biting one of my girls is ok. So what I did this morning was to have my girls feed the dogs and had Reese feed Jenny, so that she will know that my daughters are "higher in the pack" than she is. What are some other things that I can do to help with this?? 

[yellow_dog_mom]

I don't have any advice. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry.. I know how scary it must have been. 

Our BPO experts will come forward with some great advice.

  Hang in there

[Kermit]

I'm so sorry this happened!

I don't really have any advice but what I can say is that this has happened to me before when I accidentally tripped over one of my dogs. Luckily I was aware that it was an accident but it did also kinda hurt my feelings. The main point is that it didn't change my relationship with the dog, and I think she was embarrassed after she realized that she nipped at me (and not one of the other dogs.)

I hope that's somewhat comforting!

[Tonda]

Have you worked on Jenny's bit inhibition? That's really the only thing I know of that can be done to mitigate (not eliminate) these kinds of accidents. If the dog has a very soft “bite” (so that it never does more than mouth a person, if that), it will usually not break the skin if there’s some kind of accident such as your daughter just had because it’s been trained not to use its mouth.

Growing up with Newfs, I had my share of spills over them and only once got bit (by a dog that wasn’t ours). I did get reprimanded by them plenty of times though.

[TINKSMOM]

Sounds more like an accident to me, a "reflex" really. If they behave fine with each other (before and after) I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think it is important for your daughter to have as much interaction with Jenny now more than ever so she is not afraid of her. Dogs can sense that too. I am sure it will all be fine.

[CadillacQueen]

Shanty bit Scarlet yesterday.
The fault was all Scarlet's, I noticed too late that the mini golf club she was swinging would make direct contact with Shanty's head...and it struck her full-on in the eye.
She yelped and struck out and Scarlet got a nip to the arm.

no skin broken, no blood, nothing.

But I kindof over-reacted and banished Shanty outside with a slap on the rump so I'm not feeling too good about doing that
But it was just a reaction for my fear over my child being hurt,and half an hour later, Shanty was back lying at my feet watching Bridgit Jones' Diary.

She's just lucky that Meaty was out on a walk and didn't see her do it. One dead Dane, for sure.

[People Whisperer]

She's just lucky that Meaty was out on a walk and didn't see her do it. One dead Dane, for sure.

Are you saying that if she DID break a skin, after being hit in the eye with a golf club, that she would be PTS?

[People Whisperer]

I think what she's saying is Meaty would have killed Shanty for reacting to her daughter after getting hit in the eye by a toy.

Yeah, but didn't she say before that her daughter drags Shanty around the house by the collar? 

[bigdogs@5501]

A reaction is not the same thing as an attack. Dogs and children both need to be taught respect. What happened with Jenny was an un-avoidable accident followed by a reaction and most likely Jenny was remorseful.
The child hitting the dog with a mini golf club is completely avoidable, children that are old enough to swing a mini club at a dog and hit the dog, are old enough to learn respect for the dog and the fact that hitting the dog with any object is unacceptable.
Most bites to children can be avoided if the parent is supervising both the dog and the child.There are examples of simple accidents like with Reese and Jenny. It happens and thankfully Reese is going to be ok- thats the best part of the whole situation.
 Usually though when the dog reacts, the dog is punished.

Also, not sure who Meaty is, but sounds like maybe he needs to be taught some respect for the dog or the dog needs to be rehomed to a safer place.

I have a dog here at the house now- I kept him from being put to sleep when the child would not stay out of his face- finally the dog snapped at the child and made contact- the reaction from one of the parents was to abuse the dog- the citys reaction was death. How utterly ridiculous of a situation, all of it could have been avoided.

Please reconsider rehoming Shanty- she doesnt deserve to be at the mercy of a child who either doesnt respect the dog or is too young to understand and then for there to always have the possibility of retaliation by Meaty is sad.

[Binky]

The child hitting the dog with a mini golf club is completely avoidable, children that are old enough to swing a mini club at a dog and hit the dog, are old enough to learn respect for the dog and the fact that hitting the dog with any object is unacceptable.

I agree that what happened with Jenny was just a reaction and really not avoidable- accidents happen. 
However, the statement that if a child is old enough to swing a toy, he's old enough to know not to hit is just unfair.  Leo is 15 months old and he is in a phase of throwing things and swininging things around.  He has no idea that his actions can cause injury to others, nor does he understand "hurting" someone or something.  Children really don't have those concepts until a lot later.
Of course I don't let him hit the dogs, but an occasional toy does fall from the highchair onto the dogs' heads.  I am teaching Leo about respecting animals and how to approach other dogs, etc, but there have to be realistic expectations for children- it is not their fault if they get bitten.  I just feel that sometimes people on this board go overboard on behalf of the dogs- yes there are obnoxious kids and parents who are not dog savvy but there are bad dogs out there as well.

[Ursa]

I'm so sorry to hear that Reese and Jenny are going through this! 

When I used to do more rescue work, one of the things we always suggested was to have the kids be responsible (with supervision of course)for feeding the dog and giving treats.  This works well to form a bond between child and dog. 

I'm sure that Reese will be over her fear in no time - she is a BPO kiddo after all!

[Amy (guffer)]

I also agree that it's a great idea to have Reese interact with Jenny in an "alpha" way, by feeding her or practicing obedience skills and what not.

I have my older boys, 12, 11 and 8, walk the dogs with me.  That way they can learn proper handling with me by their side.  Zeus tends to try to see what he can get away with from my 8 year old.  Zeus outweighs him by a good 30 lbs!    Zach's a tough kid though, and is learning quickly how to maintain control.  (We watch a lot of Dog Whisperer together, too! ) They've also been practicing sit and stays with them in preperation for the TDI test, which has been a big help when I'm working nights and trying to get sleep during the daytime. 

We even involve my 3 year old with training by letting him give treats for sitting.  I have to pick him up and hold him higher than the dogs so they'll notice him, but he just loves yelling "sit" at them and they love the treats, so everyone's happy! 

I don't think any of this would prevent a completely accidental reaction bite, which seems to be what happened with Jenny, but it does help them build a good relationship and mutual respect. 

[pyr4me]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support. Reese and Jenny are doing great. There is still some residual fear--when the dogs bark, both of my girls (they are 5 yr old twins) get scared now and run up on the couch. I think it will take some time to rebuild the trust, but I also think that we are on our way. Thanks again. 

PS--Amy, I love the Dog Whisperer, too! Just started watching the TV show and LOVE it!

[Scootergirl]

I know just how Reese feels. When I was about 12, our dog Pepper, a "schnoodle" had got ahold of an Astropop (a rocket shaped lollipop thing). I tried to take it from him and he snapped at me and bit me. Pepper was the sweetest dog and had NEVER done anything like that before, but he obviously really wanted that Astropop.

I was crushed. Pepper and I were best buds and for him to snap and bite me, I was mortified. I was apprehensive of him immediately afterwards, but my parents explained why he did what he did.

I think it's important that you explain to Reese that dogs live in the moment and Jenny doesn't even remember now that she bit her and that it only happened because she doesn't have hands to push her away when she is getting stepped on. She is old enough to understand that Jenny can pick up on Reese's fear and uncertainty and may be confused by that when all she got from Reese before is love.

This is an excellent opportunity to teach Reese how to forgive and forget. I think you've done an excellent job with the situation so far. You're a great dog and kid mom!!

[gaagaa4goldens]

Hello!
I was cruising the board and saw your post.  May I ask how Reese landed on Jenny?  Maybe Jenny is sore and overly sensitve in a particular area.  One of my prys had a luxating patella that didn't show up until he was 15 months old.  He did some things that were out of character for him before he was diagnosed.  Later when he was dianosed his behaviors made sense.  He was in pain and, like most big dogs, had a high tolerance. His tolerance would slip when I would do something with him that caused him pain.  At the time I didn't know he was in pain, but he was.  Maybe you should take Jenny to the vet and have the area that Reese landed on checked out.  Just a thought.