The bite was on her hand,She has 3 marks by her thumb.2 of the bite`s broke through her skin.They look like dots.
I feel HORRIBLE !
Of course this happened when everyone was asleep.(she spent the night).
She said Boo was chewing on some kleenex (which she does often,gross!I know) and she went to take it away from her and she bit her.
She said she washed it right away and I had her wash it again.
The last time this friend spent the night she got hurt also.She was by the bon-fire (barefoot) and some hot coals burnt the top of her foot.
I told all the kids to wear shoes,of coarse they did not listen.
She has been over often and she has a dog also.
I just feel terrible.
It just happened this a.m.Now I have to call the parents *sigh*.
Do I have to report this?legally I mean?
Boo has never bit any of my kids friends before.She has bit DD Tess when Tess was teasing and playing rough with her,nothing serious though.Her friend will probaly never be allowed to come here again!
I feel awful !

By Mommyathome on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 10:26 am:

I don't think you have to report it unless the parents say you need to. Does Boo have all of her shots? (rabies?)

By Mrse on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 11:15 am:

I am not sure if you would have to report it, I have never heard of that , before. Are you worried about being sued? Do you really think her parents won't let her come over any more? I would though not let kids friends go near boo anymore. Our dog charley turned growly ever since we moved into the city,a small lot, we lived in the country before and he had tons of room to roam now he is more protective of the small space, so now anytime any other kids come over if they even walk past him he growls, a low growl. No kid has ever done anything to him. When my best friend comes over with her 3 year old charley has to stay out side, then of course he is whinning at the door, not fair to the dog, but better than the baby getting bit. We are really scared just because of his growling he has not even as much as nipped at any one, but he is very convincing he could. I have also told my friend to keep her daughter away, but she ( when my back was turned , let her throw a ball, then when I went back outside my friend said see charley likes------. I told her don't even start that, I do not want ------ playing with him. I told her if she keep doing things like that, when I have said don't then it will be her fault if her child gets bit. I do know that it will only be one bite and charley will not be with us anymore, I know that seems harsh to alot of you but you can not have a dog or should I say we will not have a dog that you can't trust. Right now we are on the edge as he is a member of our family, but if he does bite someone, it would not be just a dot, ( imagining from the way he puts out the warning growl. I know this is a huge issue for us, I am just glad he has not bitten anyone. It does not sound like boo did alot of damage , but I could imagine how you feel, this is my biggest worry with our dog charley. I can not really see the parents not letting their daughter come over anymore that seems extreme. Let us know what happens ok?

By Claire on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 12:25 pm:

Personally I think you need to find the dog a home without children.

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:09 pm:

I don't think you have to report it. I do think you need to find a dog trainer and have your dog evaluated and determine what you need to do in terms of training so that she never, never, never bites again. IN the mean time, when outside children are in your house Boo should be caged or tied up and the children told to stay away from the dog unless you are present.

You do know, I suppose, that the child's parents could report it and could even sue you.

Fortunately, the bit sounds very minor, but if it were me I'd offer to pay to have the child's hand seen by a doctor immediately. That could go a long way toward soothing feelings. The parents may not think it necessary but the offer would not hurt.

By Shellyg on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:41 pm:

My opinion... Take it or leave it. I deal with these sort of things all the time. Children should NEVER take any thing out of a dogs mouth. That was the first mistake. If this were my dog I would consult a trainer. For instance..My Bullmastiff was very food,toy, anything in mouth aggressive. This could be dangerous, he is a 130 lb dog. After a few training sessions with my friend who it a trainer, you can now take ANYTHING out of his mouth. You need to have a trainer work with you on "take it, Leave it" command. You need to be the dominant or alpha person. If you want you can e-mail me and I can let you know what I do with my foster dogs when this sort of things happen. I would not label this dog a biter. He did not go after the child, the child took something out his mouth.

By Sue3 on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:53 pm:

Everything is fine,I am so relieved.The Mom came over and and we both looked at the bite
and it looks much better,
no swelling or redness and you can only see 2 of the 3 marks.
The Mom thought it was much worse when I spoke to her on the phone.
Also she told me that her dd has had past issue`s with other dog`s because she does not know when to leave them alone.
There was an incident with her mothers dog before also.
She did ask if Boo has all of her shot`s
and yes,she does.
Thanks for listening!and for the advice.
Sorry to hear about Charley Mrse,how old is he?
And yes,they are a huge part of your family.

By Pamt on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 01:56 pm:

I think you do have to report it. I have been on both sides of this as the owner and the "bitee." I was bitten by my best friend's next door neighbor's dog in high school. When I went to the doctor they said that the bite HAD to be reported. I begged them not too since the I was friends with the neighbor (they had a dtr in my class at school) and they said that they had to and the dog had to be quarantined for 10 days. Then a few years ago when my dog bit a horrible vet tech who didn't know what she was doing and didn't muzzle my dog as I had requested (he freaked out when they gave him a shot and they still had bloodwork left to do) it was reported to animal control and he had to be quarantined for 10 days as well, even though we had vet records showing his rabies shot up to date. We could choose where to kennel him, but we had to pay for it and have written documentation to turn into animal control that he was quarantined. They came by our house to make sure and check up on the paperwork. These mandatory reports of the dog bites were in 2 different states, AL and MO, so I would think that you do have to report it. Call animal control to check for sure. And...I agree with Shelly about having the dog assessed and trained, rather than just labeling him a biter and getting rid of him.

By Sue3 on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 02:04 pm:

Shellyg,
That is what I tell my kids also and I told Tess` friend this last night because Boo was
eating kleenex then too.
Never take any thing out of a dog`s mouth.Her friend`s Mom said this also to her daughter that got bit,she said, you know better than to take something out of a dog`s mouth.
kid`s will be kid`s though.
And like I said,I am SO relieved that it was not more serious you don`t know.
She is generally a great dog,though if she ever did bite out of anger I know what I would have to do.
I guess I should look into a trainer.I was alway`s afraid of her being an older dog that it could not be done also her breed.
She is almost 2 and she `s a Shar-pei.
I`ll e-mail you shellyg. Thankyou

By Lauram on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 04:33 pm:

I have to say, I would still not let her around children- just in case. The mom could still sue you. In our state, you can sue someone up to two years after it. My son was bit last year- violently though. I ended up reporting it to the police because the owners weren't doing anything to make a change. I wanted the dog dead to be quite frank. He attacked my son on our property without provocation. THe neighbors were fined for allowing a dog to roam and keeping a dangerous animal. Then 4 months later, after the two weeks of quarantine and a statement saying the dog would not live in that house ever again, he was on our property loose. At that point I threatened to sue. I never went through with it because the dog was gone after that, but I would have if they had given me trouble. If the girl's mother changes her mind and reports it, the dog gets quarantined and you have to pay for it.

Your dog did not attack, but I would still be extremely vigilant about not having it around children. ALso, I think the training idea is a good one.

By Palmbchprincess on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 09:31 am:

The child needs to go to the Doctor. Even if it was a minor bite, it could get infected... puncture wounds are like that. Other than telling her mom, which you did, I don't see a need to report it. The training idea was and excellent suggestion.

By Coopaveryben on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 09:57 am:

A friend and I had gotten poodles at the same time when we were kids. I swear hers was the spawn of Satan, especially when it got older. He never bit anyone before, expect in playing, but one day she was sleeping on the coach (she was 16 at the time) and the dog was laying next to her for some reason it bit her in the face...no reason my friend was sleeping. She had a serious cut from the bottom of her nose to her lip, they were really worried it was going to scare. All I can say is I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to my children.

On another note, most pounds, dog rescue's, etc. will do an aggression test on your dog for free, they will give you an evaluation of the level of aggression in your dog and be able to tell you how safe they would feel having it around your children.

By Colette on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 10:08 am:

Definately look into training and keep it away from children. Your dog has bitten 2 children on seperate occasions. Both times it was the child's fault and it was minor damage, but if it happens again it could be worse - you could be sued, the dog could be put down and most of all the person bit could be seriously hurt. Good luck!

By Mrse on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 10:17 am:

Hi, Sue well charley is about 8 or 9 now. He just does not like anyone little, be human or otherwise. Little kids, or little dogs . We do have our little dog baily, charley has his good days where he will play with him and he is fine, and other days, he will not even let him go past him in a doorway to go outside he does the low growl and baily just stands their and looks up at me, for me to tell charley to move. I don't know if 8 or 9 is old for a dog, but he (charley) is a black lab, and his white beard came in all around his face now. We had ( as kids) a collie and she was part of our family awesome dog, we lived on a farm and she got kicked in the head by a cow, bit it's heals one to many times, and after she got kicked her personality changed, and when she got older she did not regognize my dad one day and went after him with teeth showing, after that she had to be put down, as you could not trust her. dh and I have tryed to give charley away because of the growling problem, it was a nightmare, we gave him to an older couple in the country ( told them about the no kids ) and he had him in a fenced area and he dug out and went missing, my parents had dropped him off, and went home , I was at work, could not stand to see him go... my parents just got in the door and the people called and said he was missing from the yard so they went back over their and they had a long drive way as soon as mom and dad's diseal truck came back he popped out of the bush at the end of the driveway ( he had been hiding / waiting for them . I say hiding because the people searched all around the bottom of the driveway. When they pulled into the drive way he came out crying and shaking, and mom said no way we are taking him home!! They brought him to my work at the hall, and he was so happy to see me , he climbed up on me and was shaking so bad, I was in tears the whole day at work not knowing where he was and when mom and dad showed up with him, we swore we would never try that again, he loves his girls and I think that ( in the end ) was mental torture even though it did not even last a day. He has been with us since he was 6 months old, I felt like I had given away one of my children. This is why it is so hard for us, we can not give him away again.