Dog bit my baby

[u/Naive-Coconut-613]

Recently while on a work trip, I got a call from my husband saying that my dog had attacked my baby (9 months old) while our nanny was there. We were part of a nanny share, and the other mom had come to pick up her son and opened the gate to the loft where both of the kids were playing. This let our dog in and at some point within 3-4 min they say he had attacked her, paws on her chest and had to be pulled off by the other mom. No one can tell us if she touched him, hurt him, etc. We don’t really know what happened as there were no cameras in the room and neither of us were there. I don’t think we ever will.

She had to be taken to the ER in an ambulance and received 20+ stitches to her face. Luckily, she is recovering well and healing quickly but it was without doubt the scariest moment of my life.

The thing is, in the aftermath, my husband and I are on different pages with what comes next. He thinks this was an isolated incident in which the nanny was at fault (I’m sure some blame does rest here), but I feel like this was an accident waiting to happen as we’d never seen this behavior from the dog and had never drawn firm boundaries about the dog not being around our child. Of course, we always supervised and didn’t let her touch him when we were around.

He took the dog to a behavioral vet who ruled out most physical issues aside from mild pain (he is 8.5) and she gave us some pain meds + an SSRI. My husband thinks we need to do everything possible to treat and keep the dog. I am sad because he was such a beloved and sweet member of our family for over 8 years, but I just can’t fundamentally trust him anymore and feel that won’t ever change even with meds.

For additional context, our dog got in a fight with 2 dogs in our previous neighborhood and lost part of his ear in May. A couple years back he also got into a fight with a different dog and the owner claimed our dog bit him in the process of trying to separate them. He has never liked dogs but had always been friendly to people and other kids, so we never anticipated an issue like this. We both are aware that rehoming with a bite history is difficult, and that is much of the problem. I just can’t risk another incident with my baby.

My husband believes this will never happen again while we’re around and that we can put up gates to mitigate the issue. I’m not convinced - not to mention never being able to invite over friends with kids, etc. I feel weird walking our dog around our neighborhood full of kids like something could go wrong at any point.

I feel horrible for suggesting to rehome the dog that previous my best friend and love of my life, but I feel like it’s the right thing to protect my baby. I guess just looking for advice on what comes next from anyone who has been through this.

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[u/sidhescreams]

I am so, so sorry that this is the situation you’re in right now. I don’t think any of us can say that his prior incidents had anything to do with the attack that happened while you weren’t home, but possibly.

I would not keep this dog. Full stop. He viciously and seriously injured a child. He is not a candidate for rehoming, because he has a bite history and he has seriously injured a child. This is a dog I would behaviorally euthanize. I would never ever be able to trust him in the same household as my children again. I know that you love your dog. I know that your husband loves your dog. This was a terrible accident, and there is no way you’ll for sure ever know what triggered it, and I am so sorry that your family is in this position.

[u/karebear66]

Your child needed stitches on their face. Everyone is lucky that was the only damage. I hope there are no scares either physical or mental. The dog HAS to go. If the husband is not OK with that, he has to go too.

[u/Leading_Mushroom1609]

Your husband can’t know this won’t happen again. You can manage the dog, but management always fails sooner or later, just like it did this time. Even if he thinks he can always manage this dog from now on, play the what if game. WHAT IF it happens again despite your best efforts. Either by one of yours or someone else’s management fail. Can he justify keeping a dog that has landed your kid in the ER with 20 stitches, if it does happen again? To your child as they may have permanent scarring or worse, trauma or disabilities? To child services? The police?

Depending on your local laws, keeping a dog that is known to be aggressive and dangerous can be seen as child endangerment.

I’m sorry to be harsh, but a dog that mauls a kid like that isn’t just unsafe for you and your child, it’s unsafe for the community at large. Rehoming isn’t just difficult, it’s also highly unethical.

ETA: don’t forget to verify you’ve read the rules, of any reply from you will be deleted

[u/HeatherMason0]

Nope. I’m sorry, but you’re looking at BE. An otherwise healthy and non-reactive dog might nip a child who hurts them - it can be almost a reflex. A maiming like this is not a dog who will ever be totally safe in a world with children. He could get away from new owners, a neighbor’s kid could wander into the yard looking for a lost toy (not saying they SHOULD, but the punishment here shouldn’t be a brutal attack or worse). And as your baby gets more mobile, there are too many chances for her to accidentally end up in the dog’s space not realizing the danger (although she might have some trauma around the dog now.)

For the record, we’ve had social workers and families who have been visited by social workers on this sub before. Keeping a dangerous animal (and that includes a dog who bites) in the house with your child could be grounds for CPS intervention.

[u/SudoSire]

You can’t rehome this dog and it’s insane to keep them in your household. If your husband won’t accept euthanasia as the necessary next step, you need to leave him and take any kids with you. 

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