New dog = daughter bit....:(

[thrashingcows]

Well about 10 days ago we picked up a nice Rotty/black lab mix....maybe more in there who knows? He was about 2.5 years old and seemed like the perfect dog for our family. Everything was going well, a few hiccups that you'll get with a seasoned dog in a new family, but nothing to tip us off to what was to come.



Well last night we had to have him put down.

He turned on my 13 year old daughter and grab her face and shook her by the face. I was getting ready for bed and all of a sudden head screaming, then more screaming and my wife joined in on the screaming....came dashing out to find my daughter on the floor with blood pouring out of her face. Thank goodness for my industrial and first aid training in the past...stay calm and asses the situation.

Wife was hysterical...told her in a calm and forceful voice to put the dog away (he was very concerned about what happened...he had no idea), then get me paper towels and call 911. Daughter was asking if she was going to die...checked her out quickly...some major facial lacerations, one major one right below her eye..."just" missed the eye! few other punctures and lacerations....she'll be OK!!!

Got pressure on the major wounds to help stop the bleeding, got some clothes on, grabbed the dog and tossed him in the crate and locked it. Ambulance showed up and we took a ride to the hospital.

They Had to call in a plastic surgeon to stitch her up, but she was one tough cookie, very proud of her. Don't think she shed a tear all evening, but when I told her the dog would be gone when we got home, she cried.

Wife called the shelter and explained what happened, and they told her to bring the dog down. They put it to sleep right away. We did not tell my daughters this though....enough trauma for now.

Here she is after all fixed up at the hospital....



Wife said the Dog just turned on her for no reason, no growling, no warning other then a slight twitch in his jowls just a second before he grabbed my daughters face. Thankfully she blacked out for the attack...all she remembers is one second she was sitting beside the dog, next she was on her knees looking at the blood pouring from her face!

She's doing well today, in good spirits...should be being doped up on morphine all day. ;) Should make a good recovery.

 

[cm23uoc]

Hope she recovers quickly, too.
Got a lab mix ourselves that was a street dog in Greece, the shelter claimed to be lab/shepherd mix, but to me and the vet there's something like American Stafford in there. In this case all went very well since we got her four weeks ago. Fine with our old lab and she is already well integrated and calm and relaxed. She must have had some experience with violence as she's frightened by quick movements towards here, but that has also nearly disappeared.

 

[cantflip]

Very glad your daughter is alright.

 

[CHARLES374]

Same here

 

[traintech55]

Sorry to hear this and glad your daughter will be ok. Sounds to me like the dog had not been raised with children, I have seen this in the past. I would get a puppy as soon as I could to help your daughter not be afraid of dogs in the future. Good luck.

 

[Big_John]

Glad your daughter is doing OK after that ordeal.

You made the right decision having the dog put down immediately .... That's coming from a guy that's owned and loved Rotties.

Unfortunately, the issue with "rescued" dogs is you never know the history. The folks in the shelter or rescue are well meaning, but they tend to sugarcoat any problems the dog may have had. I once was set to get a dog from a shelter... I looked at this dog twice myself and didn't see anything wrong. I've done a lot of dog training and I felt that while he needed some work, he would have been OK.

By shear coincidence and timing, a chance meeting with my vet revealed that he had personal knowledge of the dog and there had been a decision to have this dog euthanized by him because of a behavior problem. The shelter had gotten involved and was trying to "save" this dog. They even tried to "guilt" me into changing my decision not to take the dog. At the time, I had one grandchild and a couple more on the way. If I had taken the dog, I have no idea what would have happened.

Dogs can be wonderful companions to children. My kids grew up with Rotties and there was never even the slightest problem. The Rots knew where they stood because I took the time with them. Both had been through dog training since they were pups... Something very, very important with strong, intelligent and stubborn dogs like the Rotties. The problem is that there are people that don't take the time to work with their dog... and that is why there are shelters full of dogs that end up at the wrong end of the needle or worse yet, do some damage to someone else.

I presently have two dogs in the house... One is my Great Dane. He was a rescue. We got him from a rescue that my wife's friend was running. The other is a Chihuahua that is also a rescue. That one is my wife's dog. Both are great with kids.

I wish you daughter the best and hope her recovery goes well.

 

[1978 NYB]

Jeez......I hope your daughter can get past this!

I believe getting her a puppy will help with her recovery.

 

[jake]

Hope all is well with her.

 

[Stormer]

Poor thing. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

 

[detmatt]

That's tough to hear but I'm glad it wasn't more serious. I hope she heals fast!

 

[azblackhemi]

Very sorry to hear this Brian. Hoping for a quick recovery for your daughter and I hope it doesn't hurt her love for dogs in the future.

 

[live4theking]

Brian,
I'll be praying for your daughter for a speedy recovery.
John

 

[70bigblockdodge]

We got a rescue dog and he is a piece of work. Has a fear of all men, scared of every noise, only thing that saves him is he has not one aggressive bone in him and he loves my wife and son. He is still improving. Hoping for her speedy recovery.

 

[300rag]

Brian, I hope that she, as well as the rest of the family can put it behind them soon. Speedy recovery to her.

 

[67Monaco]

Prayers sent. Hope she recovers fast.

 

[Fury440]

Brian, my very best to your family, especially your daughters. Unfortunately they will never forget this experience, however a puppy will go long way to help them heal. I am a dog nut and have continuously owned a dog since I was 5 years old. Most of those years were with pure bred Black Labs, however the last one was a rescue dog that was a cross between a Lab and I suspect a horse. He was a great dog but too much for my girls to control. I would suggest a pure bred Black Lab and would stay away from all the smaller breeds which tend to be yappy and nippy. The most viscous dog I ever owned was a Cocker Spaniel, great dog, just never around kids.

 

[azblackhemi]

All us dog lovers have their favorite breeds. For me it's a Shepard mix. I've had two of them and both have been great family dogs. Misty the one I have now just absolutely loves people especially kids. With a mixed breed you also avoid a lot of the inbred problems of pure breeds.

 

[stubs300]

Wow, that sucks! I look at that picture of the dog, and it doesn't have a happy look in it's eye. Almost looks like it's going into kill mode.

 

[72Fury]

Here is hope for a speedy recovery. My experience with Boxers has been fantastic. Great dogs if your considering another.

 

[thrashingcows]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, and best wishes. Will pass them on to my daughter.

She's already talking about another dog....but actually being near another big dog might be different. Don't think we will do another rescue dog though, a puppy that we can be certain of it's breeding and blood lines, and can train from an early age.

My brother has two big dogs, and they are know to be "safe". So once she's healed up we will be bring her by to see his dogs.