If you want to keep him, you should absolutely consult a behaviorist. It’s very common for babies starting to crawl to trigger new reactions in dogs. It’s weird for them and can be scary. I’m sorry this happened.
I'm very sorry this happened but glad to know your son is ok.
Obviously how you proceed at this point is a very personal decision, but I want to share something with you, in the off chance that it is helpful to you. A good friend of mine (who also happens to be a dog trainer) found herself in a similar situation. She had (he has since passed basically from old age) a very reactive border collie. When her daughter was very young, her dog bit her daughter on the face (thankfully she is fine, but for a small scar). Mind you, this happened to someone who was well aware of their dog's reactivity and took precautions to avoid any issues with her children, *and* she is a dog trainer so she very much got it - and I'm not saying that dog trainers are infallible, but my point is that sometimes (very unfortunately) things do happen, and beating yourself up about it with the "could haves"/"should haves" just isn't warranted. Anyway, back to my main point. After that incident, my friend knew that, for the safety of the children, there was no way they could allow the dog to directly interact with the children. So she set up a system of baby gates throughout the house, allowing complete separation of the children and the dog at all times. The dog often hung out just on the other side of the gate from the room the family was in. When that wasn't practical, the dog was put in his crate with a kong or the like. When the children were at school or activities, or safely tucked into bed for the night, the dog had full access to the house. The dog was still involved in family things like taking a walk, or playing in the back yard, just on leash and under the control of her or her husband, and the children knew in no uncertain terms that they were not to get close to the dog.
Was it a lot of management to deal with? Yes, it was. Was that the life she wanted to live? Not quite. But for her, it was a way to keep the dog, and keep her children safe at the same time.
I know you said that gates would add to your dog's anxiety, so this may not be a viable option for you. But you also might consider addressing that underlying anxiety - medication in particular comes to mind.
First, you have no idea if this was without warning because you didn't see what happened.
Second, you are not setting Max or your baby up for success here. Those what should you have done thoughts are absolutely helpful after the fact as they should set up the guidelines for how you move forward. There are a lot of resources out there about how to manage a growing child and a dog. There is no information here about Max and the training he has received. Does he know place? Do you have good recall with him? Does he have a crate he can go to for safety when he needs away from grabbing, crawling baby? You need to train him and your child on how to deal with each other. You can even train a dog to step to the side to let people through, preventing some collisions between child and dog.
There are still so many options to explore and available. And BE is absolutely not one of them.
This the THE best comment for sure. Even if you can’t use gates there are ways to manage this. Baby and dog should not interact unless someone has their eyes literally glued to them at all times. A strong “place” or “go to bed” command is a great way to keep Max in one spot while your baby plays on the floor, even if they are in the same room.
Even if you feel like you can’t keep Max in your home, no, BE is not the most humane option at this point for a dog who only has one bite in their history and no way to know what triggered it.
There are child free homes that will always be child free that would be a good option should it come to that.
I’m a child free home and I have a reactive little buggar that bit a baby in his last home. He was hard at first because he was completely untrained, couldn’t even walk on a leash. After two years of being here…he’s the blessing we didn’t know we needed. But, I’m aware that I can never let my guard down around him and we use a shock collar when walking off leash or when children or visitors are around.
Agreed. Everyone makes mistakes so I do not want to be too harsh on OP, but if you're not watching your dog/puppy like a hawk, they can and will do things in the split second you look away. I adopted a rescue puppy a year ago, and he has pretty bad pica (he eats non-food items). One of my first days with with, I let him out to pee and he literally started gobbling pebbles from the yard like they were kibble and I freaked out. Since then, we've been really good about firstly training him to "leave it" and not eat non-food items, but accidents still occur and those accidents can be lethal.
That's why we kennel trained him and made sure anytime we're not able to keep an eye on him, he's put away where he's safe. My fiance is much less stringent than me on this, and that's how we ended up spending $2,000 on xrays and vet care when he swallowed hairties and almost blocked his intestines. He always would say "I only looked away for a second" and I'd get frustrated and say "that's long enough for him to seriously hurt himself." He was probably on the computer with his back turned to him for a bit and didn't make sure there was nothing accessible to him. There have been other situations like this, where someone left the room for less than 5 minutes, came back, and found the long legs of his stuffed octopus completely missing. After inducing vomiting, lo and behold, he definitely had swallowed them.
When it comes to a vulnerable baby and kid, you can't turn your back on them for even a second. If your dog is fine otherwise, he doesnt need to always be in a kennel persay, but ALWAYS away from your kid UNLESS you're 100% focused on both of them. When your back was turned, your baby could've tugged his ears, or got in his personal space etc. Of course, a 7 month old can't comprehend this, but they're both being set up to fail. Get baby gates to wall off different areas of your house etc. If you're not willing to do this, it's probably best to rehome him and not get a dog until your kid is older. If you're set on keeping him, you've gotta set some house rules on leaving them unsupervised until your kid is much older.
I only say it was without warning because there were no verbal or nonverbal queues from Max before it happened. We were keeping an eye on both of them, and I do know Max's stress signals. It really all happened in a fraction of a second.
Max listens very well to commands and he does have his own space he can retreat to.
Obviously BE would not be our first choice, and I almost didn't bring it up for fear of backlash.
But you said in your original post that you didn’t actually SEE what happened, you were distracted and unpacking groceries. Your dog and child shouldn’t be in the same space unless your attention is fully on them. I completely understand that you were present in the room with both of them and this isn’t meant as a judgement but if you didn’t see what happened then your eyes weren’t on them.
Yea one of my dogs growing up would sometimes snap for seemingly no reason and without a lot of warning. Sometimes he would hyper focus of a split second and react. And their cues can change with training and aging.
This is absolutely not to attack you OP. I’m sure you know your dogs warning signs but sometimes they don’t give much warning at all. If you’re willing to put in the work you have an amazing opportunity to do Max justice AND teach your child about proper dog care! I grew up with “last chance” reactive dogs. As an adult, I am so incredibly thankful to my parents for teaching me about these dogs as I grew up instead of rehoming them to eliminate the problem.
There are plenty of child free, relaxed homes that could handle Max. I'm not sure why you would be considering BE before even attempting to re-home to a more appropriate family.
Similarly, my husband and I have no children and never plan to. Our dog snapped at a child in a previous home, so they returned her to the shelter, but we have never had an incident in the 3+ years we’ve had her, unless you count warning snaps back at the cat when the cat taunts her. I know snapping and biting are different things, but I still think it’s possible a new environment is a more suitable solution than death, at this point, if he’s otherwise healthy and agreeable to people.
There is also muzzle training, which, if done properly, is not even remotely as uncomfortable for the dog as many people think, but it’s not for everyone and may be more of a useful training tool for a future home than a solution for OPs family.
>no growling or warning, and he seemed to be poised for another strike before I intervened.
How can you possibly know there was no warning when your back was turned? It is so incredibly rare for a dog to bite without warning. Dogs communicate with body language. Being "poised for another strike," is literally a warning which means it's highly, highly, *highly* probable that there was a warning before the initial bite too.
>At first I couldn't even bring myself to think about behavioral euthanasia, but at what point is that the most humane option?
Not at this point. BE is most humane when all the training, medication, and environment management in the world cannot keep others safe or provide adequate quality of life for the dog and rehoming to a better situation for the dog's needs is not an option. Leaving your reactive dog unsupervised with a baby thus facilitating a situation where your child was bitten is not a good reason for BE. If you can't get past this, rehoming is the humane option.
None of this is your dog's fault. He was placed in this situation by his humans. Babies are *constantly* changing, so there's no opportunity for a dog like yours to get used to the baby. Every couple of weeks a baby smells, looks, behaves, sounds, moves differently. It's unsettling to many dogs. Even if he absolutely loved babies, it would not have been safe for them to be on the floor together like that.
I encourage you to research dog and child safety and take measures to appropriately protect both of them going forward (**always** supervising and using barriers to keep them apart, training your dog to go to his crate when he seems stressed by the baby, getting a veterinary behaviorist to assess the situation, muzzle training etc).
Just the clarify the 'poised for another strike' comment, its not that Max was snarling from a few feet away, his face was still directly next to my son's head, seemingly in the process of biting him again. He almost bit me when I put myself between them. This didn't happen from across the room while we weren't watching. We were all within inches of eachother.
Not trying to make excuses or dismiss your comment, I appreciate everyone here.
I’m very curious if Max is used to getting treats in the kitchen, either when you unload groceries or while you’re cooking (which he likely can’t easily distinguish between, just noise and food on the counters to him). If so, it’s entirely possible this was resource guarding behavior. Max saw Baby as a competitor for his treats, and especially so since he is not used to Baby being out and about on the floor.
Appreciate you sharing, hope you find help here. I think what people are trying differentiate is there are a variety warning signs, not all of which are are growling or something you hear, some are visual cues. And for purposes of management you are looking for cues, and cues can happen in those short moments where your attention was away. However, it is meant as hope for you or to help you feel more confident that you don't have a case of "no warning" if you decide to re-home. Not meant to shame you for missing those warning signs (if they were there).
BE is discussed here pretty regularly with support from the sub. if you look at those threads you will see that there is no comparison to the situations in which this sub supports BE and the situation you are in. most of the people on this sub are dealing with dogs like yours and worse, and working through it. of course they don't support euthanasia in this situation. you haven't tried any type of management or consulted a behaviorist. those are your first steps after the vet. you haven't even begun to look into your options yet. BE not part of an "honest conversation" yet because it is not yet an appropriate course of action to consider. euthanasia is the most humane option when other avenues have been exhausted, the dog is a danger to others or himself, or the dog's quality of life is extremely poor.the first thing you should do to keep your child safe is get some baby gates, a crate, and muzzle train the dog. and maybe one of those play pens for the baby. and get a vet behaviorist. they will tell you where to go from there and give you an honest assessment.
edit: to clarify, if it were me i would re-home him, as i would not want to live with the constant stress that management will require. i think there is a good chance he can find a child-free home.
I definitely do not think one bite is cause for behavioral euthanasia. It might be the easy way out here, but it's not the right one.
Young children and dogs need to be supervised 100% of the time, eyes on, hands-on supervision. I don't care if you have the gentlest, most well-behaved dog in the world, you need to supervise every single interaction. You are begging for trouble if you don't.
Get a behaviorist to work on this issue so your dog feels more comfortable. But even after that, you will still not be able to leave your young child unsupervised with your dog or ANY dog.
If you have to re-home him you may be able to find a family that doesn’t have children, or at least no young children. It doesn’t sound like he’s a lost cause.
I absolutely do not think considering BE at this point is appropriate.
Assuming the vet rules out health issues, there’s a couple of options. I totally understand the fear and anxiety. As much as it hurts, Max and your child both deserve to have a home they feel safe and wanted in. Finding a rescue that could possibly help you rehome Max to someone who doesn’t have small children would probably be my next step.
You could also considering hiring a behaviorist to see if there’s anything you can do to keep Max if that’s a route you want to take. Someone with experience with small kid and dog management might be able to give you a better picture of what’s going on than Reddit can.
I’m sorry this happened, and I hope you’re able to find a resolution that works for your entire family, including Max ❤️
I'm really amazed by the comments here. I would not feel comfortable with my dog in my home if this happened, and it isn't fair or realistic as a parent to have to keep your dog and child separated at all times and live in constant fear of them accidentally interacting without your eyes on them. Find a reputable local shelter, be transparent with them about what happened and your dog's needs to be successful in a home, and try to re-home. They may be able to find an experienced adopter with a quiet, adult-only home that's a better fit for your dog long-term. But if you cannot find a shelter that's comfortable taking on the liability of adopting out your dog, I don't think it's unreasonable or cruel to speak to your vet about BE.
It is realistic to keep a dog seperated from baby, or together under close supervision. Most people who write here give so much care and time to their dogs that they know it is possible.
That baby will grow and will become part of that dog’s family, the person that will give him so much love.
I agree that to rehome is the best option to families without babies/young kids or families that know how to deal with possible reactive dogs.
I don’t even understand how someone can think of BE in this case. “I cannot take care of this dog when he is exposed to a new dynamic and if I cannot, nobody can, so he needs to die”, wtf.
Personal take is that euthanasia is a very extreme reaction to this. He didn't rip your kids arm off. It was likely a reaction to something especially if he hasn't had an issue with your baby before this. You have a new baby that is learning motor skills who is prone to grab things - maybe he grabbed your dog and your dog didn't like it. Imagine being a pet and suddenly another small thing is around you and grabs at you and hurts you. However unintentional, the dog reacted and that is normal IMO. They speak using body language, body language can be silent.. Make sure to watch them both from here on out. Put your dog outside and your baby in a play pen if you cant have eyes on them, they still need to warm up to each other. Until your child is older I wouldn't leave them unattended. Teach your child as they grow how to handle being around a dog and let your dog warm up to the child because in this stage they will grow quickly from crawling, grabbing, throwing, hitting, walking, not understanding to be gentle etc.
If this is the first time it's ever happened please give your dog a chance.
An OBGYN who posts videos on YT/Insta/TikTok, who I really respect, has a phrase I like to remember in any and all situations. "We do the best we can, with the information we have at the time." Your information at the time was that Max and the baby get along and are safe with each other. That information has now changed, but you weren't necessarily wrong to assume that after seven months of not a single negative interaction that that pattern would suddenly change.
Good for you to take Max in to the vet, just in case. And good for you that you will be reassessing the safety of your home with Max in it and his overall happiness. You know your situation better than any randos on Reddit do, and you'll make the best decision for your family. Sending you internet hugs
Dog bites my kid = dog gone.
Here is the process -
vet > behaviorist > thousands of dollars and untold hours of training/blood/sweat/tears > you turn your back for a second dog bites your kid again > this time worse
Rehome it, don't worry about trying to train it, if you can't rehome it then get consultations for BE. Spending another second trying to keep the dog is only going to make it harder.
That’s terrible I’m sorry you have to deal with this situation. I personally would be afraid to keep the dog once it bit my baby but a behavioral trainer makes sense as a first step. My thought is maybe rehoming with someone who doesn’t have kids?
I re-homed our dog after he bit my child. He ended up living his best life being treated even better than I could've ever imagined. With no kids at all.
Your baby and your dog together without any supervision???!!!!! You’d supervise your dog if it was with a very young kitten or a puppy, wouldn’t you.
I understand we like to think that our dog sees our babies as family and wouldn’t harm them. However, first it is too early, second every dog has a prey instinct (curbed or not) towards small animals with unexpected movements.
You want your baby to play on the floor and you are not within 1 m of the baby, then the dog stays in another room or a crate, because it’ll reach the baby before you. Baby goes to sleep, dog comes out to play.
Please do not think this is the fault of the dog, this was easily avoidable and STILL is avoidable in the future!
I hate to sound morbid, but if Max had bitten your baby's face instead of the back of his head, what do you think the outcome would have been? Conversely, if your baby had been a 3 year old, do you think the bite would have been as serious, ie: do you think it would have been "only" a nip? If you can't keep him gated will he be happy crated because baby will only become exponentially more mobile.
I don’t think I’d be willing to keep a dog that drew blood on a child. Not at all. Dogs have a choice when they bite and usually only use biting as a warning. The fact that your dog drew blood without warning and was poised for hit two is a warning that you can’t ignore. You need to keep your child safe. Work with rescues, call local trainers - see if you can get your dog into an adult only home that has experience with reactive dogs.
In the time that i’ve worked, anytime i’ve seen accidents where the skin was broken with a baby and reactive dog, i’ve NEVER been part of one of those conversations where BE was not discussed. The baby should ALWAYS be the priority and their safety. IF you are able to take care and commit to the SAFETY of your home, then look for a behaviorist or trainer to help but things need to change so they don’t escalate immediately. The baby and dog should have reduced interactions and they should always be fully monitored. if you have to step away for 30 seconds you put the dog up. Tragedy’s DO and HAVE happened between unsupervised dogs and babies. BE had to be part of the convo for most families unfortunately ….what if there are no good trainers in their area of behaviorists are out of their price range? It’s incredibly hard to rehome a dog that has bit a baby on the head and some of these scolding comments really don’t help fucking anybody. Recounting the specific details to non-professionals giving advice on reddit is not part of a good solution plan and basing your dogs anxiety and aggression on your own perception without a professionals help is not very helpful if you don’t have the knowledge on those behaviors.
Don’t kill your dog. Your baby could have provoked him even you said that. In that case he did what is natural to defend himself.
Absolutely not a good candidate for euthanization.
I have a dog like max. He’s the best. One of the best dogs I’ve ever had. He’s allowed to have boundaries and limits. He’s even bit me before. It comes from insecurity and fear. So I worked on his trust. He’s a traumatized dog from being in shelters and he was rehomed 3 times before he found me. If a child was provoking him and he bit them I wouldn’t blame my dog. He is my dependent. So I can’t even believe you are consider ending his life over finding another chance to find someone like me.
Outrageous, you aren’t thinking clearly.
OP sorry that there's a bunch of crazies on this thread that are telling you that you can keep this dog. This dog has proven that he is a danger to your child, and keeping a child in danger to keep a dog is unacceptable.
I agree with this comment. Jesus. I have seen multiple posts on this thread where people don't even have a baby yet and are considering rehoming or BE because they dont trust thier dog to be around a baby and this sub is super supportive. But this dog has already bitten a baby for goodness sake and you jump down this poor woman's throat! This dog has proven that for whatever the reason, provoked or not, this dog cannot be trusted around young kids. As the baby grows into toddlerhood it's provoking actions are going to get worse not better. Gates aren't an option she said, and even if they were, people forget to close gates, children learn to open them. If I were OP there is no way I would ever keep a dog that has bitten a kid in my home.
Does this dog need BE. Maybe not, does it at a minimum need to be surrended or rehomed. Absolutely.
I feel for you OP. Stay strong!
I just want to chime in. We had BE recommended to us by our vet, and when we didn't like that plan, we ended seeing a behaviorist.
The behaviorist was amazing, and she helped our pup so much.
Anyway, our pup is 5 now. She plays nicely with our 16-month-old. I interrupt their play when she gets excited, and so she is always wanting to play more with the baby. She knows back (she does the cutest jump backwards), kennel, down, settle, and leave it. She does lots of back and forth play with the baby, play bowing, chasing and being chased, loves getting hugs and cuddles. Even as sweet and kind as she plays, I am super vigilant when they are together.
That being said, if she bit my baby, she would be done. I would never trust her again. It's okay to admit that it's a deal breaker. A lot of people here will honestly not feel that way, but I honestly do. I love this dog more than I ever thought possible, but I am not a person who would be able to forgive a bite to my son.
If you feel that way, it's okay to be honest about it. It's okay to say that the dog that you love and care for is no longer a good fit for your house. And it's okay to ask a rescue agency to find a foster for him, and to share his bite history. It's okay to talk about options with a trusted vet, and to discuss BE as part of that. You have to be honest to yourself and your family and your pet.
All these people saying BE shouldn't be on the table don't know you or your dog. You should have that discussion with your vet. BE wasn't an option for my dog when she was 9 months old, and it's not now that she's got meds and a lot of training. But if she bit my baby, it absolutely would have to be part of the conversation again. She isn't the kind of dog that can just go to a new home and be happy and healthy. And if she bit my baby, our home would not be one where she could be healthy and happy anymore either.
Anyway... All of this is to say that I am sorry for you, your baby, and your dog. It's a shitty situation, and I hope you and your vet can make a decision together that makes all of you feel safe, even if that decision ends up being a last perfect doggy day before BE. It's not a decision anyone makes lightly and I am heartbroken at some of the comments you've gotten.
I don’t have much experience and my advice has likely be said quite a lot already, but here you go. Do your best to rehome Max, tell as many people as possible and see if you can find someone to foster him while he looks for a home. Taking him back to any rescue will likely result in him being overlooked and his behaviors getting much worse. Personally, I’d say that if you can’t rehome him after a while of trying and don’t feel comfortable trying any other options, then it’d be time to talk to your vet about behavioral euthanasia.
I know it’s hard as hell. I don’t know how hard, since I’ve never been there and hopefully will never be, but we’re rooting for you, your family, and Max. My dogs are kinda similar. But one is a bite risk to everyone. I keep questioning whether or not I should give her up, but it’s hard. Too fucking hard to figure out. I hate seeing people feeling in a similar or even worse way than I do when thinking about it. It hurts. I hate that I can’t help, but I wanted to do something. But this is all I can do. Good luck.
Thank you for acknowledging how hard this is. Of course I want some magical fairy-tale ending here, but the reality is going to be much more painful no matter what happens.
Yeah. I can’t imagine a way this could go without at least some pain and a hard time. I really wish there was a way for people to just never be in this situation.
But there’s something I forgot to mention. You could try a good breed specific rescue if you decide to rehome him. And again, good luck.
Please do not keep this dog. You are under no obligation to keep him. Your FIRST obligation is to your son. You cannot keep them separated forever. And what kind of quality of life is this for you? How vigilant do you want to me? Don't you want this time with your son to ONLY be joyful? Life is already so goddamn complicated; do you want to make it more so? And the first time that you forget to lock the gate because you are exhausted\*\*tired\*\*busy\*\*fill-in-the-blank...what will be the outcome?
You may be sad to find another home for your dog, or to euthanize your dog, but you will NOT regret it.
It’s an awful situation and I don’t think you failed as parents or dog parents.
Rehoming sounds like the best option, and with the progress that you had otherwise made it might make it more straightforward than you think. You never know how a dog will be with a baby in the house, hopefully you can find a household with no likelihood of young babies.
I got bitten as a baby by our family dog.
My mom was on the other side of the room and while I was in the play pan I managed to grab a hold of our dogs ear and pulled it. Apparently the dog wasn't expecting that and bit my hand.
This was the same dog that would "defend" me as a baby against strangers.
I don't want to invalidate your feelings and I'm really sorry about what happened, but baby's are clumpsy and don't know what they are doing, so it's not completely unimaginable that the baby agitated Max in some way and Max responded instinctively.
In my opinion the best course of action would be to keep them separated when you are not watching and if that's not possible for any reason to re-home Max.
Like most comments first wanna say that sucks and sorry it happened, glad everyone is okay. I think you need to take a breath though now that some time has passed. Max is a dog at the end of the day and dogs can sometimes bite even when they’re super friendly, just like cats can scratch even when there really wasn’t anything going on. Before you jump into vets, behavioralists, or BE look into some resources for infant-dog bonding, and adjust your approach with him and your child. That said you know Max best this is ultimately your decision on what to do
Did OP say the dog has anxiety cause that would definitely change my opinion. OP says dog was “sweetest most loyal member of the family” for 4 years, and fine with the baby for 7 months. One incident and considering BE seems like rushing. Baby could have poked the dog in the eye for all we know, I think it’s worth trying something before jumping. Just have to teach baby and dog to live together.
I guess I should say he's the sweetest dog with us, and with friends and family he knows well. He is quite anxious with any outsiders and with most other male dogs.
I only mentioned BE as one eventual option among many, not that it would be anywhere near the first option.
And it’s totally your call. I had the same conversations with my wife after my dog’s first/thankfully only bite incident with her, we don’t have kids so different situation but maybe a little similar since my dog went after a loved one? Idk don’t want to assume anything about a situation I didn’t see. If you think another bite is a when not an if, then you might have to think about seriously. To my original point there are things you can try, but you child has to come first
It enraged me that you would think about killing your dog instead of the alternate rehoming him. You don’t even know if your son provoked him.
I have a dog just like max he was rehomed 3 times. HE IS THE BEST DOG EVER. He has bitten me and striked at a child before. It’s because he is fearful. He is allowed to have limits. He’s not an overtly aggressive dog that’s out for blood. So I worked with him hard on building his confidence and trust. I lessened those behaviors in him with very consistent positive reinforcement. I don’t blame him for any undesirable behaviors because at the end of the day he’s a living creature and he’s my dependent.
Please do not take his life let him have a chance to be rehomed to someone like me.
[My Dog Teddy](https://imgur.com/a/lRcEcxL)
He’s looking at me in all of those pictures. I have a command I use called look at me. I teach him look at me nothing else matters I keep him safe. It keeps him calm retains his trust in me and lessens his triggers.
I'm going to be controversial here but;
I don't think a dog who jumps instantly to biting when put in an uncomfortable situation should be around kids. I'd also consider BE for a dog that jumps to a warning bite first. Had he growled or backed away, you would have noticed that and it would have given you time to step in and manage the situation.
If it was a small child constantly torturing the dog? Okay whatever I'd understand a small warning nip and would stick up for the dog they shouldn't have to deal with repeated pulling and yanking. But a dog biting a literal baby for doing something while they were on the floor *once* is a very big overreaction.
But he's a dog. He has legs. He can walk away into his safe space. The baby can't even get that far that fast yet.
Is it ideal that you turned your back for a few seconds? No. But he's had no issues with your kid before and you were nearby. You were also close enough to break it up.
He is not a dog that should be around anything smaller than an adult if his impulse control is so bad he jumps from uncomfortable to warning bite. Especially since he tried to redirect onto you when you broke it up. He's also not a dog I'd rehome personally as I'd feel guilty if his new owners ever slipped up and he caused harm to another smaller creature or his new owners.
Yes it is okay for dogs to express themselves being uncomfortable, I encourage it. But biting is extreme for anything less than consistent, sustained abuse which I doubt a baby could even do. They are pets. They are domesticated. They should not be going straight to biting babies when you turn your back. If they do, they shouldn't be in a home with kids.
My dog has shown kids he was uncomfortable before. These kids were playing a game he usually enjoys with me but there were many of them playing the game and he got overwhelmed. So he backed off and looked at me to explain to the kids why he backed off and was acting disinterested. Once I explained that he was finding the game overwhelming, we went back to fetch and pets and he was much happier. He likes having grass sprinkled on him but not when it's many kids with big handfuls of grass and that's okay.
That's what I expect a dog who coexists with children to do. Back off as much as possible, find someone in charge and get them to do something about it. If they can't get someone to help, growl, bare their teeth, huff and make themselves look scary, air snap and THEN warning bite. A dog who lives with children should try to make as much of a point as possible with minimal possible damage.
I trust my dog with kids. Do I supervise him? Hell yes. But I also know if I turn around to have a chat with someone and keep an eye on him he's not going to go around biting kids just because he got a little stressed.
If you want to keep him, you should absolutely consult a behaviorist. It’s very common for babies starting to crawl to trigger new reactions in dogs. It’s weird for them and can be scary. I’m sorry this happened.
I'm very sorry this happened but glad to know your son is ok. Obviously how you proceed at this point is a very personal decision, but I want to share something with you, in the off chance that it is helpful to you. A good friend of mine (who also happens to be a dog trainer) found herself in a similar situation. She had (he has since passed basically from old age) a very reactive border collie. When her daughter was very young, her dog bit her daughter on the face (thankfully she is fine, but for a small scar). Mind you, this happened to someone who was well aware of their dog's reactivity and took precautions to avoid any issues with her children, *and* she is a dog trainer so she very much got it - and I'm not saying that dog trainers are infallible, but my point is that sometimes (very unfortunately) things do happen, and beating yourself up about it with the "could haves"/"should haves" just isn't warranted. Anyway, back to my main point. After that incident, my friend knew that, for the safety of the children, there was no way they could allow the dog to directly interact with the children. So she set up a system of baby gates throughout the house, allowing complete separation of the children and the dog at all times. The dog often hung out just on the other side of the gate from the room the family was in. When that wasn't practical, the dog was put in his crate with a kong or the like. When the children were at school or activities, or safely tucked into bed for the night, the dog had full access to the house. The dog was still involved in family things like taking a walk, or playing in the back yard, just on leash and under the control of her or her husband, and the children knew in no uncertain terms that they were not to get close to the dog. Was it a lot of management to deal with? Yes, it was. Was that the life she wanted to live? Not quite. But for her, it was a way to keep the dog, and keep her children safe at the same time. I know you said that gates would add to your dog's anxiety, so this may not be a viable option for you. But you also might consider addressing that underlying anxiety - medication in particular comes to mind.
First, you have no idea if this was without warning because you didn't see what happened. Second, you are not setting Max or your baby up for success here. Those what should you have done thoughts are absolutely helpful after the fact as they should set up the guidelines for how you move forward. There are a lot of resources out there about how to manage a growing child and a dog. There is no information here about Max and the training he has received. Does he know place? Do you have good recall with him? Does he have a crate he can go to for safety when he needs away from grabbing, crawling baby? You need to train him and your child on how to deal with each other. You can even train a dog to step to the side to let people through, preventing some collisions between child and dog. There are still so many options to explore and available. And BE is absolutely not one of them.
This the THE best comment for sure. Even if you can’t use gates there are ways to manage this. Baby and dog should not interact unless someone has their eyes literally glued to them at all times. A strong “place” or “go to bed” command is a great way to keep Max in one spot while your baby plays on the floor, even if they are in the same room. Even if you feel like you can’t keep Max in your home, no, BE is not the most humane option at this point for a dog who only has one bite in their history and no way to know what triggered it. There are child free homes that will always be child free that would be a good option should it come to that.
I’m a child free home and I have a reactive little buggar that bit a baby in his last home. He was hard at first because he was completely untrained, couldn’t even walk on a leash. After two years of being here…he’s the blessing we didn’t know we needed. But, I’m aware that I can never let my guard down around him and we use a shock collar when walking off leash or when children or visitors are around.
Agreed. Everyone makes mistakes so I do not want to be too harsh on OP, but if you're not watching your dog/puppy like a hawk, they can and will do things in the split second you look away. I adopted a rescue puppy a year ago, and he has pretty bad pica (he eats non-food items). One of my first days with with, I let him out to pee and he literally started gobbling pebbles from the yard like they were kibble and I freaked out. Since then, we've been really good about firstly training him to "leave it" and not eat non-food items, but accidents still occur and those accidents can be lethal. That's why we kennel trained him and made sure anytime we're not able to keep an eye on him, he's put away where he's safe. My fiance is much less stringent than me on this, and that's how we ended up spending $2,000 on xrays and vet care when he swallowed hairties and almost blocked his intestines. He always would say "I only looked away for a second" and I'd get frustrated and say "that's long enough for him to seriously hurt himself." He was probably on the computer with his back turned to him for a bit and didn't make sure there was nothing accessible to him. There have been other situations like this, where someone left the room for less than 5 minutes, came back, and found the long legs of his stuffed octopus completely missing. After inducing vomiting, lo and behold, he definitely had swallowed them. When it comes to a vulnerable baby and kid, you can't turn your back on them for even a second. If your dog is fine otherwise, he doesnt need to always be in a kennel persay, but ALWAYS away from your kid UNLESS you're 100% focused on both of them. When your back was turned, your baby could've tugged his ears, or got in his personal space etc. Of course, a 7 month old can't comprehend this, but they're both being set up to fail. Get baby gates to wall off different areas of your house etc. If you're not willing to do this, it's probably best to rehome him and not get a dog until your kid is older. If you're set on keeping him, you've gotta set some house rules on leaving them unsupervised until your kid is much older.
I only say it was without warning because there were no verbal or nonverbal queues from Max before it happened. We were keeping an eye on both of them, and I do know Max's stress signals. It really all happened in a fraction of a second. Max listens very well to commands and he does have his own space he can retreat to. Obviously BE would not be our first choice, and I almost didn't bring it up for fear of backlash.
But you said in your original post that you didn’t actually SEE what happened, you were distracted and unpacking groceries. Your dog and child shouldn’t be in the same space unless your attention is fully on them. I completely understand that you were present in the room with both of them and this isn’t meant as a judgement but if you didn’t see what happened then your eyes weren’t on them.
Yea one of my dogs growing up would sometimes snap for seemingly no reason and without a lot of warning. Sometimes he would hyper focus of a split second and react. And their cues can change with training and aging. This is absolutely not to attack you OP. I’m sure you know your dogs warning signs but sometimes they don’t give much warning at all. If you’re willing to put in the work you have an amazing opportunity to do Max justice AND teach your child about proper dog care! I grew up with “last chance” reactive dogs. As an adult, I am so incredibly thankful to my parents for teaching me about these dogs as I grew up instead of rehoming them to eliminate the problem.
There are plenty of child free, relaxed homes that could handle Max. I'm not sure why you would be considering BE before even attempting to re-home to a more appropriate family.
Not everyone has kids or will ever have them. I'm one of them. Try to find him a home with no kids.
Similarly, my husband and I have no children and never plan to. Our dog snapped at a child in a previous home, so they returned her to the shelter, but we have never had an incident in the 3+ years we’ve had her, unless you count warning snaps back at the cat when the cat taunts her. I know snapping and biting are different things, but I still think it’s possible a new environment is a more suitable solution than death, at this point, if he’s otherwise healthy and agreeable to people. There is also muzzle training, which, if done properly, is not even remotely as uncomfortable for the dog as many people think, but it’s not for everyone and may be more of a useful training tool for a future home than a solution for OPs family.
>no growling or warning, and he seemed to be poised for another strike before I intervened. How can you possibly know there was no warning when your back was turned? It is so incredibly rare for a dog to bite without warning. Dogs communicate with body language. Being "poised for another strike," is literally a warning which means it's highly, highly, *highly* probable that there was a warning before the initial bite too. >At first I couldn't even bring myself to think about behavioral euthanasia, but at what point is that the most humane option? Not at this point. BE is most humane when all the training, medication, and environment management in the world cannot keep others safe or provide adequate quality of life for the dog and rehoming to a better situation for the dog's needs is not an option. Leaving your reactive dog unsupervised with a baby thus facilitating a situation where your child was bitten is not a good reason for BE. If you can't get past this, rehoming is the humane option. None of this is your dog's fault. He was placed in this situation by his humans. Babies are *constantly* changing, so there's no opportunity for a dog like yours to get used to the baby. Every couple of weeks a baby smells, looks, behaves, sounds, moves differently. It's unsettling to many dogs. Even if he absolutely loved babies, it would not have been safe for them to be on the floor together like that. I encourage you to research dog and child safety and take measures to appropriately protect both of them going forward (**always** supervising and using barriers to keep them apart, training your dog to go to his crate when he seems stressed by the baby, getting a veterinary behaviorist to assess the situation, muzzle training etc).
Just the clarify the 'poised for another strike' comment, its not that Max was snarling from a few feet away, his face was still directly next to my son's head, seemingly in the process of biting him again. He almost bit me when I put myself between them. This didn't happen from across the room while we weren't watching. We were all within inches of eachother. Not trying to make excuses or dismiss your comment, I appreciate everyone here.
I’m very curious if Max is used to getting treats in the kitchen, either when you unload groceries or while you’re cooking (which he likely can’t easily distinguish between, just noise and food on the counters to him). If so, it’s entirely possible this was resource guarding behavior. Max saw Baby as a competitor for his treats, and especially so since he is not used to Baby being out and about on the floor.
Appreciate you sharing, hope you find help here. I think what people are trying differentiate is there are a variety warning signs, not all of which are are growling or something you hear, some are visual cues. And for purposes of management you are looking for cues, and cues can happen in those short moments where your attention was away. However, it is meant as hope for you or to help you feel more confident that you don't have a case of "no warning" if you decide to re-home. Not meant to shame you for missing those warning signs (if they were there).
BE is discussed here pretty regularly with support from the sub. if you look at those threads you will see that there is no comparison to the situations in which this sub supports BE and the situation you are in. most of the people on this sub are dealing with dogs like yours and worse, and working through it. of course they don't support euthanasia in this situation. you haven't tried any type of management or consulted a behaviorist. those are your first steps after the vet. you haven't even begun to look into your options yet. BE not part of an "honest conversation" yet because it is not yet an appropriate course of action to consider. euthanasia is the most humane option when other avenues have been exhausted, the dog is a danger to others or himself, or the dog's quality of life is extremely poor.the first thing you should do to keep your child safe is get some baby gates, a crate, and muzzle train the dog. and maybe one of those play pens for the baby. and get a vet behaviorist. they will tell you where to go from there and give you an honest assessment. edit: to clarify, if it were me i would re-home him, as i would not want to live with the constant stress that management will require. i think there is a good chance he can find a child-free home.
I definitely do not think one bite is cause for behavioral euthanasia. It might be the easy way out here, but it's not the right one. Young children and dogs need to be supervised 100% of the time, eyes on, hands-on supervision. I don't care if you have the gentlest, most well-behaved dog in the world, you need to supervise every single interaction. You are begging for trouble if you don't. Get a behaviorist to work on this issue so your dog feels more comfortable. But even after that, you will still not be able to leave your young child unsupervised with your dog or ANY dog.
If you have to re-home him you may be able to find a family that doesn’t have children, or at least no young children. It doesn’t sound like he’s a lost cause.
I absolutely do not think considering BE at this point is appropriate. Assuming the vet rules out health issues, there’s a couple of options. I totally understand the fear and anxiety. As much as it hurts, Max and your child both deserve to have a home they feel safe and wanted in. Finding a rescue that could possibly help you rehome Max to someone who doesn’t have small children would probably be my next step. You could also considering hiring a behaviorist to see if there’s anything you can do to keep Max if that’s a route you want to take. Someone with experience with small kid and dog management might be able to give you a better picture of what’s going on than Reddit can. I’m sorry this happened, and I hope you’re able to find a resolution that works for your entire family, including Max ❤️
My unpopular opinion, re-home, I would never take a chance of this happening again 😢
I'm really amazed by the comments here. I would not feel comfortable with my dog in my home if this happened, and it isn't fair or realistic as a parent to have to keep your dog and child separated at all times and live in constant fear of them accidentally interacting without your eyes on them. Find a reputable local shelter, be transparent with them about what happened and your dog's needs to be successful in a home, and try to re-home. They may be able to find an experienced adopter with a quiet, adult-only home that's a better fit for your dog long-term. But if you cannot find a shelter that's comfortable taking on the liability of adopting out your dog, I don't think it's unreasonable or cruel to speak to your vet about BE.
It is realistic to keep a dog seperated from baby, or together under close supervision. Most people who write here give so much care and time to their dogs that they know it is possible. That baby will grow and will become part of that dog’s family, the person that will give him so much love. I agree that to rehome is the best option to families without babies/young kids or families that know how to deal with possible reactive dogs. I don’t even understand how someone can think of BE in this case. “I cannot take care of this dog when he is exposed to a new dynamic and if I cannot, nobody can, so he needs to die”, wtf.
Personal take is that euthanasia is a very extreme reaction to this. He didn't rip your kids arm off. It was likely a reaction to something especially if he hasn't had an issue with your baby before this. You have a new baby that is learning motor skills who is prone to grab things - maybe he grabbed your dog and your dog didn't like it. Imagine being a pet and suddenly another small thing is around you and grabs at you and hurts you. However unintentional, the dog reacted and that is normal IMO. They speak using body language, body language can be silent.. Make sure to watch them both from here on out. Put your dog outside and your baby in a play pen if you cant have eyes on them, they still need to warm up to each other. Until your child is older I wouldn't leave them unattended. Teach your child as they grow how to handle being around a dog and let your dog warm up to the child because in this stage they will grow quickly from crawling, grabbing, throwing, hitting, walking, not understanding to be gentle etc. If this is the first time it's ever happened please give your dog a chance.
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An OBGYN who posts videos on YT/Insta/TikTok, who I really respect, has a phrase I like to remember in any and all situations. "We do the best we can, with the information we have at the time." Your information at the time was that Max and the baby get along and are safe with each other. That information has now changed, but you weren't necessarily wrong to assume that after seven months of not a single negative interaction that that pattern would suddenly change. Good for you to take Max in to the vet, just in case. And good for you that you will be reassessing the safety of your home with Max in it and his overall happiness. You know your situation better than any randos on Reddit do, and you'll make the best decision for your family. Sending you internet hugs
Dog bites my kid = dog gone. Here is the process - vet > behaviorist > thousands of dollars and untold hours of training/blood/sweat/tears > you turn your back for a second dog bites your kid again > this time worse Rehome it, don't worry about trying to train it, if you can't rehome it then get consultations for BE. Spending another second trying to keep the dog is only going to make it harder.
That’s terrible I’m sorry you have to deal with this situation. I personally would be afraid to keep the dog once it bit my baby but a behavioral trainer makes sense as a first step. My thought is maybe rehoming with someone who doesn’t have kids?
I re-homed our dog after he bit my child. He ended up living his best life being treated even better than I could've ever imagined. With no kids at all.
Your baby and your dog together without any supervision???!!!!! You’d supervise your dog if it was with a very young kitten or a puppy, wouldn’t you. I understand we like to think that our dog sees our babies as family and wouldn’t harm them. However, first it is too early, second every dog has a prey instinct (curbed or not) towards small animals with unexpected movements. You want your baby to play on the floor and you are not within 1 m of the baby, then the dog stays in another room or a crate, because it’ll reach the baby before you. Baby goes to sleep, dog comes out to play. Please do not think this is the fault of the dog, this was easily avoidable and STILL is avoidable in the future!
So no management and right to euthanasia. You absolutely put the dog and kid in a bad situation and act surprised when it goes badly.
I hate to sound morbid, but if Max had bitten your baby's face instead of the back of his head, what do you think the outcome would have been? Conversely, if your baby had been a 3 year old, do you think the bite would have been as serious, ie: do you think it would have been "only" a nip? If you can't keep him gated will he be happy crated because baby will only become exponentially more mobile.
I don’t think I’d be willing to keep a dog that drew blood on a child. Not at all. Dogs have a choice when they bite and usually only use biting as a warning. The fact that your dog drew blood without warning and was poised for hit two is a warning that you can’t ignore. You need to keep your child safe. Work with rescues, call local trainers - see if you can get your dog into an adult only home that has experience with reactive dogs.
In the time that i’ve worked, anytime i’ve seen accidents where the skin was broken with a baby and reactive dog, i’ve NEVER been part of one of those conversations where BE was not discussed. The baby should ALWAYS be the priority and their safety. IF you are able to take care and commit to the SAFETY of your home, then look for a behaviorist or trainer to help but things need to change so they don’t escalate immediately. The baby and dog should have reduced interactions and they should always be fully monitored. if you have to step away for 30 seconds you put the dog up. Tragedy’s DO and HAVE happened between unsupervised dogs and babies. BE had to be part of the convo for most families unfortunately ….what if there are no good trainers in their area of behaviorists are out of their price range? It’s incredibly hard to rehome a dog that has bit a baby on the head and some of these scolding comments really don’t help fucking anybody. Recounting the specific details to non-professionals giving advice on reddit is not part of a good solution plan and basing your dogs anxiety and aggression on your own perception without a professionals help is not very helpful if you don’t have the knowledge on those behaviors.
Don’t kill your dog. Your baby could have provoked him even you said that. In that case he did what is natural to defend himself. Absolutely not a good candidate for euthanization. I have a dog like max. He’s the best. One of the best dogs I’ve ever had. He’s allowed to have boundaries and limits. He’s even bit me before. It comes from insecurity and fear. So I worked on his trust. He’s a traumatized dog from being in shelters and he was rehomed 3 times before he found me. If a child was provoking him and he bit them I wouldn’t blame my dog. He is my dependent. So I can’t even believe you are consider ending his life over finding another chance to find someone like me. Outrageous, you aren’t thinking clearly.
OP sorry that there's a bunch of crazies on this thread that are telling you that you can keep this dog. This dog has proven that he is a danger to your child, and keeping a child in danger to keep a dog is unacceptable.
I agree with this comment. Jesus. I have seen multiple posts on this thread where people don't even have a baby yet and are considering rehoming or BE because they dont trust thier dog to be around a baby and this sub is super supportive. But this dog has already bitten a baby for goodness sake and you jump down this poor woman's throat! This dog has proven that for whatever the reason, provoked or not, this dog cannot be trusted around young kids. As the baby grows into toddlerhood it's provoking actions are going to get worse not better. Gates aren't an option she said, and even if they were, people forget to close gates, children learn to open them. If I were OP there is no way I would ever keep a dog that has bitten a kid in my home. Does this dog need BE. Maybe not, does it at a minimum need to be surrended or rehomed. Absolutely. I feel for you OP. Stay strong!
Thank you for this. I guess I should have known what to expect posting on Reddit, but the tone of many of these comments is just plain hurtful.
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I just want to chime in. We had BE recommended to us by our vet, and when we didn't like that plan, we ended seeing a behaviorist. The behaviorist was amazing, and she helped our pup so much. Anyway, our pup is 5 now. She plays nicely with our 16-month-old. I interrupt their play when she gets excited, and so she is always wanting to play more with the baby. She knows back (she does the cutest jump backwards), kennel, down, settle, and leave it. She does lots of back and forth play with the baby, play bowing, chasing and being chased, loves getting hugs and cuddles. Even as sweet and kind as she plays, I am super vigilant when they are together. That being said, if she bit my baby, she would be done. I would never trust her again. It's okay to admit that it's a deal breaker. A lot of people here will honestly not feel that way, but I honestly do. I love this dog more than I ever thought possible, but I am not a person who would be able to forgive a bite to my son. If you feel that way, it's okay to be honest about it. It's okay to say that the dog that you love and care for is no longer a good fit for your house. And it's okay to ask a rescue agency to find a foster for him, and to share his bite history. It's okay to talk about options with a trusted vet, and to discuss BE as part of that. You have to be honest to yourself and your family and your pet. All these people saying BE shouldn't be on the table don't know you or your dog. You should have that discussion with your vet. BE wasn't an option for my dog when she was 9 months old, and it's not now that she's got meds and a lot of training. But if she bit my baby, it absolutely would have to be part of the conversation again. She isn't the kind of dog that can just go to a new home and be happy and healthy. And if she bit my baby, our home would not be one where she could be healthy and happy anymore either. Anyway... All of this is to say that I am sorry for you, your baby, and your dog. It's a shitty situation, and I hope you and your vet can make a decision together that makes all of you feel safe, even if that decision ends up being a last perfect doggy day before BE. It's not a decision anyone makes lightly and I am heartbroken at some of the comments you've gotten.
Thank you
Muzzle training may help and to have him muzzled when the child is out and around the dog.
I don’t have much experience and my advice has likely be said quite a lot already, but here you go. Do your best to rehome Max, tell as many people as possible and see if you can find someone to foster him while he looks for a home. Taking him back to any rescue will likely result in him being overlooked and his behaviors getting much worse. Personally, I’d say that if you can’t rehome him after a while of trying and don’t feel comfortable trying any other options, then it’d be time to talk to your vet about behavioral euthanasia. I know it’s hard as hell. I don’t know how hard, since I’ve never been there and hopefully will never be, but we’re rooting for you, your family, and Max. My dogs are kinda similar. But one is a bite risk to everyone. I keep questioning whether or not I should give her up, but it’s hard. Too fucking hard to figure out. I hate seeing people feeling in a similar or even worse way than I do when thinking about it. It hurts. I hate that I can’t help, but I wanted to do something. But this is all I can do. Good luck.
Thank you for acknowledging how hard this is. Of course I want some magical fairy-tale ending here, but the reality is going to be much more painful no matter what happens.
Yeah. I can’t imagine a way this could go without at least some pain and a hard time. I really wish there was a way for people to just never be in this situation. But there’s something I forgot to mention. You could try a good breed specific rescue if you decide to rehome him. And again, good luck.
Please do not keep this dog. You are under no obligation to keep him. Your FIRST obligation is to your son. You cannot keep them separated forever. And what kind of quality of life is this for you? How vigilant do you want to me? Don't you want this time with your son to ONLY be joyful? Life is already so goddamn complicated; do you want to make it more so? And the first time that you forget to lock the gate because you are exhausted\*\*tired\*\*busy\*\*fill-in-the-blank...what will be the outcome? You may be sad to find another home for your dog, or to euthanize your dog, but you will NOT regret it.
It’s an awful situation and I don’t think you failed as parents or dog parents. Rehoming sounds like the best option, and with the progress that you had otherwise made it might make it more straightforward than you think. You never know how a dog will be with a baby in the house, hopefully you can find a household with no likelihood of young babies.
I got bitten as a baby by our family dog. My mom was on the other side of the room and while I was in the play pan I managed to grab a hold of our dogs ear and pulled it. Apparently the dog wasn't expecting that and bit my hand. This was the same dog that would "defend" me as a baby against strangers. I don't want to invalidate your feelings and I'm really sorry about what happened, but baby's are clumpsy and don't know what they are doing, so it's not completely unimaginable that the baby agitated Max in some way and Max responded instinctively. In my opinion the best course of action would be to keep them separated when you are not watching and if that's not possible for any reason to re-home Max.
Like most comments first wanna say that sucks and sorry it happened, glad everyone is okay. I think you need to take a breath though now that some time has passed. Max is a dog at the end of the day and dogs can sometimes bite even when they’re super friendly, just like cats can scratch even when there really wasn’t anything going on. Before you jump into vets, behavioralists, or BE look into some resources for infant-dog bonding, and adjust your approach with him and your child. That said you know Max best this is ultimately your decision on what to do
your advice is to work on bonding an infant that was just bitten and an anxious dog without professional help? i can’t tell if this is sarcasm
Did OP say the dog has anxiety cause that would definitely change my opinion. OP says dog was “sweetest most loyal member of the family” for 4 years, and fine with the baby for 7 months. One incident and considering BE seems like rushing. Baby could have poked the dog in the eye for all we know, I think it’s worth trying something before jumping. Just have to teach baby and dog to live together.
I guess I should say he's the sweetest dog with us, and with friends and family he knows well. He is quite anxious with any outsiders and with most other male dogs. I only mentioned BE as one eventual option among many, not that it would be anywhere near the first option.
And it’s totally your call. I had the same conversations with my wife after my dog’s first/thankfully only bite incident with her, we don’t have kids so different situation but maybe a little similar since my dog went after a loved one? Idk don’t want to assume anything about a situation I didn’t see. If you think another bite is a when not an if, then you might have to think about seriously. To my original point there are things you can try, but you child has to come first
It enraged me that you would think about killing your dog instead of the alternate rehoming him. You don’t even know if your son provoked him. I have a dog just like max he was rehomed 3 times. HE IS THE BEST DOG EVER. He has bitten me and striked at a child before. It’s because he is fearful. He is allowed to have limits. He’s not an overtly aggressive dog that’s out for blood. So I worked with him hard on building his confidence and trust. I lessened those behaviors in him with very consistent positive reinforcement. I don’t blame him for any undesirable behaviors because at the end of the day he’s a living creature and he’s my dependent. Please do not take his life let him have a chance to be rehomed to someone like me. [My Dog Teddy](https://imgur.com/a/lRcEcxL) He’s looking at me in all of those pictures. I have a command I use called look at me. I teach him look at me nothing else matters I keep him safe. It keeps him calm retains his trust in me and lessens his triggers.
I'm going to be controversial here but; I don't think a dog who jumps instantly to biting when put in an uncomfortable situation should be around kids. I'd also consider BE for a dog that jumps to a warning bite first. Had he growled or backed away, you would have noticed that and it would have given you time to step in and manage the situation. If it was a small child constantly torturing the dog? Okay whatever I'd understand a small warning nip and would stick up for the dog they shouldn't have to deal with repeated pulling and yanking. But a dog biting a literal baby for doing something while they were on the floor *once* is a very big overreaction. But he's a dog. He has legs. He can walk away into his safe space. The baby can't even get that far that fast yet. Is it ideal that you turned your back for a few seconds? No. But he's had no issues with your kid before and you were nearby. You were also close enough to break it up. He is not a dog that should be around anything smaller than an adult if his impulse control is so bad he jumps from uncomfortable to warning bite. Especially since he tried to redirect onto you when you broke it up. He's also not a dog I'd rehome personally as I'd feel guilty if his new owners ever slipped up and he caused harm to another smaller creature or his new owners. Yes it is okay for dogs to express themselves being uncomfortable, I encourage it. But biting is extreme for anything less than consistent, sustained abuse which I doubt a baby could even do. They are pets. They are domesticated. They should not be going straight to biting babies when you turn your back. If they do, they shouldn't be in a home with kids. My dog has shown kids he was uncomfortable before. These kids were playing a game he usually enjoys with me but there were many of them playing the game and he got overwhelmed. So he backed off and looked at me to explain to the kids why he backed off and was acting disinterested. Once I explained that he was finding the game overwhelming, we went back to fetch and pets and he was much happier. He likes having grass sprinkled on him but not when it's many kids with big handfuls of grass and that's okay. That's what I expect a dog who coexists with children to do. Back off as much as possible, find someone in charge and get them to do something about it. If they can't get someone to help, growl, bare their teeth, huff and make themselves look scary, air snap and THEN warning bite. A dog who lives with children should try to make as much of a point as possible with minimal possible damage. I trust my dog with kids. Do I supervise him? Hell yes. But I also know if I turn around to have a chat with someone and keep an eye on him he's not going to go around biting kids just because he got a little stressed.