Help!! Dog snapped at my son

[cristian1980]

Tonight, my dog (3yo rescue pit mix) snapped at my 8mo son. My son was reaching for something near the dog and the dog just barked and snapped. This is the second time he has overreacted to a kid in his space. Normally the dog is very good with the baby, they’ve both been able to lay around next to each other and been perfectly fine, but something weird happened this time. My wife and I came up with these options:

1. Get rid of dog by giving away to someone w/o kids
2. Find a good trainer (that we don’t have the money for)
3. Find a way to train him ourselves
4. Put him down.

What other options do we have? What even are ways to train dogs that struggle with being over reactive? We feel bad because we don’t want to give up on the dog, but we would be failing as parents if he hurts our son. Please help us.

 

[maeve]

@cristian1980 I’d rehome asap before there’s an actual bite history, not worth taking risks with children involved imo.

 

[staystrongmama]

@maeve I agree. Especially since there is going to be more sudden movements that potentially trigger the dog as the kid gets older. Just make sure to be honest when looking for a new home.

 

[hobster777]

@cristian1980 Rehome the dog.

 

[monae]

@cristian1980 Re-home the dog immediately and keep them completely separated (crate and closed door between them at all times) until you do. Your son is just now entering toddler life, where he will get even more mobile and start opening doors on his own.

I have raised dogs with babies, toddlers and kids. None of my dogs- even ones that were reactive to other dogs or animals- ever snapped at, growled at, or bit my kids.
"Snapping," at a baby or toddler is not normal for a dog that can live with kids.
Some dogs do not like kids. Those dogs must not live with kids because management will eventually fail.

 

[kodybricen]

@cristian1980 I'd re-home the dog, it's hurtful to think of, yes, but your son's security should go first.

 

[benjaminb]

@kodybricen

 

[shilohmark]

@cristian1980 Your baby is 8 months old. Your dog cannot be trusted around the baby. For the sake of your baby, re-homing with honest disclosure or b.e.

Lifetime management of a reactive dog is tough without any children.

 

[ezol]

@cristian1980 Your dog snapped at your baby. He can't stay. He needs to be out of the house ASAP.

It's going to be very difficult to rehome the dog. The shelters are already crammed with similar dogs that need unicorn homes: no kids under 16, no other pets, etc. Responsible people who might want a dog like this most likely already have one.

You can't afford a professional trainer.

It's one thing to study some books and videos to train a dog to sit, not pull on the leash, etc. Biting, or trying to bite a child is another matter entirely. The stakes are too high. This is a Zero Mistakes dog.

That leaves BE, but you could try consulting a Veterinary Behaviorist first. TBH, they'll probably recommend behavioral euthanasia. It's sad, but the alternative is much worse.

 

[faithfound]

@cristian1980 You should rehome this dog; you're unable to make clear decisions when it comes to pup and baby. You had them in an unsafe situation and were careless, and that could result in a huge problem.

There's no reason not to keep pup and baby separated (preferably by at least two barriers) unless you are actively supervising.

If this was the second snap, I can only imagine all the stress signals that came before that were missed.

 

[dr650adv]

@cristian1980 This is more of a management issue than training. You must always have an adult physically between a dog and a baby/child. You're calling it an "overreaction", but the dog was likely legitimately scared. Kids are right at face level, they make weird noises. They move erratically and look unstable on their feet. They grab at things. They're scary to dogs. The dog needs to feel protected from that in order for the child to be safe. And that's the job of the adult who is supervising them both.

 

[stephenmosesdioscorus]

@cristian1980 Keep the dog and the kid separated until you can either find him a good home or get the training you need.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@cristian1980 8 months old baby? This is not a question that’s even up for debate. I have choice words but I will refrain. Either put the dog down or give it away. That’s a child’s potential disfigured future

 

[amacias21]

@cristian1980 Yeah, you need to rehome your dog. I know it’s a tough choice, but you would be foolish to risk it.

I was raised in a city where literally everyone has a pit or pit mix and while I have no issue with them, I’m well aware of the damage they can cause. A family in my hometown lost their two kids after their pitbull attacked them—and they’d had that dog longer than their kids were alive and swore up and down that she had never shown any signs of aggression. She severely injured the mom and killed their two kids under 5 years old I think while the dad was away.

I’m not here to fear monger but that story haunts me. Don’t put your family at risk, it’s not worth it.

 

[mgrehab]

@cristian1980 OP. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I’m a pit/gsd mix owner (she’s not reactive, our chihuahua one is ) and a mom. And we did mad prep before bringing baby home. The truth is that no dog is ever absolutely safe to be around a baby without a barrier or supervision. Especially now. As other people have mentioned, rehome the dog. No brainer.
Either getting a trainer or training the dog yourself requires a lot of effort. You cannot make mistakes. Your dog already snapped once. Another slip could result in your baby get severely hurt. Please, do not do this to yourself. Do not give yourself more stress. Getting a dog to de escalate (look for the ladder of aggression) is extremely hard. It can take months and months of training. You and your baby do not have that room for error.
Until you find someone or a rescue that can take her, please keep them separated, look at dogmeetsbaby and get familiarized with dog body language.

Best of luck!

 

[bbgg]

@cristian1980 1, but give him to a rescue who can vet people and find the right place for him.

 

[vyvanseonline]

@cristian1980 Euthanize the dog.

 

[xdxaxvxex]

@cristian1980 Rehome for what? So he can bite someone else? Put him down. Be a responsible human being.

 

[laidyjenn]

@cristian1980 I’ve seen way too many stories of pit mixes mauling babies, you should absolutely not have that dog anywhere near your baby. It’s incredibly irresponsible of you to do that in the first place, please rehome the dog, no need to kill it because you had a baby.

 

[wingsoffaith]

@laidyjenn I agree with you 100%...their actions are incredibly irresponsible and to even consider putting the dog down just because they had a baby instead of giving the dog the opportunity to be in the right home...it is appalling.
What is wrong with humanity these days?