Dog bite at the schutzhund club. - Page 13

The "mighty mississippi"?????  How stupid!  I can't f'ing believe I just said that.  I just came in from training and I think I must have sunstroke.

hey, to be fair, you kind of implied that your mother was not very well off, you made it seem like your poor crippled mother just out of surgery was savagely mauled by a dog with gashes in her neck.  YOU told us she was disabled, she was just out of surgery etc. 

I really do understand your points...She did just get out of surgery, she had a neurostimulator put in, which is about a $30,000+ piece of equipment (they connect wires to her spine, and give her a remote to control shock waves to her brain, to control her nerve pain) they don't do that for just anyone.  She has a collapsed disk, 2 or 3 buldging disks, scar tissue, nerve damage, rhematoid arthritis (sp?), and a neck fracture.  She is not very well off, but she can walk...and  you have to understand, my mother doesn't want to just sit home and mope about her pain (which she is in 24.7 even with pain meds) I learned my love of dogs thru her and all she wants to do is support me in this dream I have of pursuing this sport.

You're right it's all my fault, I should tell her to stay home because she's disabled and has no business being there.

She went back to the ER this morning (she doesn't have a regular doctor yet he just retired) it was oozing so she got worried...everything looks really good they said, they gave her some IB Profin for the inflammation.  The PA that saw her was astonished that Sharon WHO IS A NURSE AT THIS HOSPITAL told her she didn't need medical treatment.

I'm sorry.... did I make it clear that the owner/trainer/handler of the dog OWN the club?  Sorry, I am so overwhelmed I don't even know what I've said.

I never said it was all your fault, I happen to think everyone shares a little blame, the most falling on the handler.

Things that I think set people off were suggesting the dog be put down, when we only heard half a story on the interent.  ANd that did happen within the first couple posts. 

I know when I read your first description, I pictured an old lady hunched over in a wheel chair and I think that's what initiated some of the responses people gave.

It's good your mom wants to get out, by all means, get out and live.  I hope she recovers quickly

I agree.  It sounds like she has been through a lot with her back and spine.  She must have a lot of spunk to be getting out and about in spite of what she is dealing with physically.

zdog, this is perfect.  "being socialzed and having every tom dick and jane interact with your dog are two different things."

Silhouettes, I do hope your mom gets better soon.  

There are always two sides to every story, I would like to hear from someone else who witnessed this incident.  If someone would like to post an anonymous post through me, please email me GSDfan1@yahoo.com

A dog with a "free" spirit certainly does not mean the dog has a bad temperament.

Things also are not always what they seem:

I worked someone elses dog in OB, the dog was young and full of piss and vinegar but absolutely nothing wrong with his temperament...he had just been started in bitework without much OB.  Very high drive with an extremely "free" and happy demenor.  I put the ball against my left shoulder to attract his attention, he jumped up and tried to grab the ball but got my tricep.  He held on and tugged like he had a toy in his mouth, he put some nice holes and bruises on my arm.  The dog had absolutely NO malice or aggression in his bite, he was just young and not YET clear in the head as to what the "rules" of the game were.  I was not put off in the least and was eager to work him again.  To me it was nothing, If there was someone watching this and didn't know the dog or situation it could have been percieved totally differently.

With your particular incident, I was not there to see what actually happened or seen the injury, but I suspect the other side is not being heard (just what you percieved) and possibly being blown out of proportion.

Also...I have gotten my lip split open by my Am bred who does this weird licky nibble thing, again, not malicious or aggressive.

When I bring my 5 year old to training, the RULES are known to her and srictly enforced.

Rule 1....No petting the dogs, they are there to work.  She is allowed to pet two dogs, mine and my good friends'.

Rule 2....Don't ASK to pet the dogs.  They are there to work.

I guess I'm a bit late for tea, but I figured I might as well toss in since it seems like everybody else has by this point:

Working with dogs, bites happen. But a throat bite is an especially dangerous thing because it is indicative of serious behavior issues. Especially when unannounced by a warning growl or other sign.

Sometimes it's because these dogs have been corrected when they growl, thus training them not to growl, but not relieving the underlying tension that causes outburts. If this dog has had behavioral issues in the past (handler aggression, unsuitability to sch, etc) it might be a reasonable assumption that he has been corrected against -showing!- aggression towards humans, but has not been corrected or rehabilitated for -acting!- aggressively.

Insofar as the "Pet or not to Pet" issue I believe that the owner should know their dog well enough to make this judgement call. Most of the time the answer is always: "no," even with the most docile of dogs. They are there to work.... BUT! if the owner says "yes" then he/she assumes full liability for what happened IMO because they are ultimately the ones who decide that matter.

People will ask to pet dogs. It's just a fact of life. Better they ask than just reach out and grab.

Now if your mother had just touched the dog without permission, that would change things up a bit.

I've done some rehabilitation work with dogs. It's been my experience that the dogs that done give any warning before they act are the most dangerous and hardest to help. Owners that excuse a dog's behavior with overly humanizing comments such as: "he's just feeling grumpy today" only make the situation ten times worse because unless they're willing to accept that they have a potentially dangerous animal on their hands, their denial of the situation only increases the likelihood for more and more serious incidents as time progresses.

If these owners cannot predict their dog's behavior, and cannot step in when the dog does something like this are not suited to own this animal. Unless they learn how to manage a potentially dangerous dog in public, the very real threat of a kid getting bit exists. Children don't always ask before petting strange dogs.

I'm not saying the dog -must!- be put down, but unless the owners are willing to learn how to handle him (whether he's rehab-able or not), then I think it's best that they no longer have ownership of this dog.

jc.carroll ...................... This was probably the most well spoken post by far.