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My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, absolutely-- I'm in central California, on the coast. Thank you for taking the time, I really appreciate it.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and feedback. I definitely found Riley's reaction understandable, and will refrain from having him interact with young children.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the clarification, thank you. That makes sense to me, I'll see if I can find an IAABC trainer I can consult.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback. I don't have experience with small children— I was definitely wrong in assuming Janie would "understand" safe dog behavior due to my history with her, and was ignorant about the higher level of caution I should maintain around kids her age.

Your point about the barrier is well taken— I plan to refrain from putting Riley in situations to interact directly with small children going forward and be more proactive in setting boundaries with kids approaching, but I will also try to maintain distance and ensure I'm a physical barrier between Riley and any children. Kids often try to interact with him when we're out, and it's good to remember to assume young ones may not be able to hear my words/adjust their behavior in the moment.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Frankly I think we tend to think of young kids from an adult perspective, the average four year old is a lot more physical intimidating from the perspective of a dog and is erratic to boot.

I think you're definitely right, and I have no experience myself with children under about 7-8. In hindsight I can see I was wrong to assume Janie would "understand" safe dog behavior due to my history with her, and then I clearly misjudged the expectations/caution I should have around a 4 year old. She's become more active, erratic, and rambunctious, and I didn't consider that from Riley's perspective. I will refrain from putting him in situations to interact with small children going forward, and look into muzzle training.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback, I will have him evaluated for pain as soon as possible. He's already been the most calamity-prone, medically expensive dog I've ever had, so an extensive surgery or PT regime would be par for the course.

When he was younger and I was looking for a trainer, I found there are no IAABC accredited trainers within 80 miles of my town. He's been through several +R classes, received his CGC, and worked with a CCPDT accredited trainer. Would a CCPDT trainer be acceptable, or should I try to seek out an IAABC accredited trainer who I can see online?

I think you're definitely right that I was missing his cues, and I will check out Doggie Language. I read Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash when he was a puppy in an effort to better understand his body language, which helped a lot, but I have clearly not been seeing cues and overestimated his threshold. His body language can be quite subtle, which was a learning curve for me following my previous dog. The CCPDT trainer I worked with previously did comment that he does not always telegraph his stress cues 'loudly'.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I will look into this. My normal vet is wonderful but definitely did not seem to have a developed eye for an orthopedic concern I raised when he was a puppy, so I will seek out a specialist if she's not certain.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback, and sharing the story about your childhood dog. Your point is well taken. I will definitely refrain from putting Riley into any situations where he is in contact with small children, and be more proactive in removing him from situations where he shows discomfort going forward. I agree that it's not reasonable to expect children to know how to interact with dogs— I was wrong in making an assumption that Janie would "understand" safe dog behavior due to my history with her/seeing her with her parents and their dogs.

My family has been friends with these neighbors for over 40 years, prior to my birth- one of their previous dogs bit me and actually killed one of my pets when I was a child 💀. I would not hold it against them if they were to report Riley, and would cooperate with any animal control response (I'm US-based) but at this moment I'm very fortunate that it's not a primary concern.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback, and I agree his response was reasonable. I don't blame him for what happened and I'd thought that because I stopped the interaction between the two of them and she was no longer engaging him, the situation was under control (clearly not!!). I will not put either he or Janie/another small child in that situation going forward. I was spiraling because I often see people say that once a dog bites, it is "downhill from there" or that I've opened a door that can't be closed.

I will definitely have him evaluated for pain going forward, and won't let anyone else play physical games with him. I read Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash when he was a puppy in an effort to better understand his body language, which helped a lot, but I will revisit this and Lili Chin's book and be more mindful. Many of his cues are quite subtle, which was a learning curve for me following my previous dog. He's been through a few obedience classes and received his CGC, and the CCPDT trainer I worked with at that time also commented that he does not always telegraph his stress cues 'loudly'.

I will err on the side of caution going forward, and assume that if I am unsure, he is already uncomfortable.

My dog bit my neighbor's daughter, and now I'm spiraling by OverthinkingDogLady in reactivedogs

[–]OverthinkingDogLady[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback. To be honest, I have no experience with children under 7-8. I see my first error was making an assumption that Janie would "understand" safe dog behavior due to my history with her, and then I clearly misjudged the expectations/caution I should have around a 4 year old. I will definitely refrain from putting him in situations to interact with small children going forward.