Will is absolutely correct - the safest action is to euthanize the dog.

While it is certainly wise, safe and best that this dog not be around children, it is most likely overstepping the bounds of what we can infer via internet to say that the dog cannot be managed.

I have seen some dramatic changes in dogs - long chances, yes and certainly not every dog can be saved. It's nothing to toy around with, so separate your dog from your children until you euthanize it - even if you do decide to keep the dog into it's old age.

I will be the first to tell you that Will has FAR more experience with dogs than I do so take my opinion for what it's worth (about 2 cents).

This dog should not be euthanized. Please don't take this personally, but whether you intended to or not, you most likely caused this and I believe you have an obligation to fix it. Even if you rescued or adopted the dog and he came to you with these problems, you signed up for the responsibility when you brought him home.

First and foremost, your child needs to be removed from the equation. This dog should not be allowed to have ANY interaction with children until he has proven to you that he has made significant progress and you have figured out exactly what sets him off.

Next, the ground work article mentioned before should be your first step. You need to make it crystal clear to this dog that he is the lowest ranking member of your pack and that everyone that walks on 2 legs is above of him.

In addition to groundwork, you need to learn to read your dog better. Most dogs will display some signs of aggression before an actual bite (especially true with small dogs). Look for "alert" behaviors such as ears standing up, facing/staring at a target or pulling on a leash. A dog's tail can often tell you exactly what he's thinking. A stiff, highly held tail is often a sign of dominance or aggression. A straight, puffed up body posture can be a sign of dominance or aggression. Growling, barking or bearing of teeth are all clear signs that your dog is going into an aggressive mode that is usually driven by fear or dominance. The signals are all there to see, clear as day if you know what to look for. Do some research on canine body language and posture. The main goal here is to stop the dog before any signals escalate into aggression. It's far easier to "snap him out of it" with a level one correction than it is to break up a fight or stop an attack. A dog that really sees you as a pack leader will respond very quickly if you let him know you will not allow him to continue to act aggressive.

It's possible that this dog may never be stable enough to be trusted around children, but I don't believe that's the case. Most dogs just need a strong, responsible leader. I would also recommend Cesar Millan's "The Dog Whisperer" on the National Geographic Channel. He solves similar problems on almost every episode. He's obviously got a way with dogs, but the basic steps of his methods are not rocket science.

You can do this and I for one think you have a responsibility both to your child AND your dog to use caution and find a way to fix the situation.

*****Disclaimer*****
I'm not a professional. Most of my neighbor's have asked if I am after seeing my dogs, but I'm just a pet owner with an interest in dog behavior. There are other members on this forum with MUCH more experience than me. I just think that most problems with dogs are problems that have been caused by people and that most people are far too quick to dump a dog or put it to sleep when things don't work out the way they wanted.

PS. Hope I didn't ruffle any feathers. That certainly isn't my intention.

ryan, you may be 100 percent right that the owners are at fault and the dog can be managed, but at what cost? there are children at risk here. it isn't reasonable to ask pet owners to keep their children and their dog 100 percent separate from each other. the risk is too high and not worth it.

either euthanize the dog, or rehome it to a child-free home and to an experienced dog owner/trainer.

i'd also add, before getting another dog, study up on what you did wrong this time and prepare yourselves to be good pack leaders.

Ryan, Nope, no ruffled feathers at all.
But I have a saying - "I only need to be right *one* time, and then it's a tragedy" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
And I've been right in my predictions for bad outcomes several times when owners chose not to follow my advice ( <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ) so I've developed my advice based on what I see happening in the real world versus that "wish fullfillment" that I see so many owners suffering from.

And after you've seen a life altering bite to a child, it simply becomes not worth the risk in any sense to try and have an inexperienced owner with few training assests at their disposal try to fix a "problem" when the end result can be the facial disfigurement of a child.
It's a risk vs. benefit concept - I don't have any children, but I wouldn't take the chance, and I don't think any smart owners would when they looked at the possible bad outcome.

I love my dogs just like a client pet owner does, but I'd hope that people love their children more.

 Quote:

I believe you have an obligation to fix it.

The only obligation in this situation would be the safety children...

Regards, Me (complete with my 'some scraped a fork down the right side of my face' looking scar, courtesy of a little aggressive dog's teeth when I was 6yrs old.. I am now 32)

I think the number of animals that are needlessly put to sleep every day in this country is a disgrace. I am not an extremist by any stretch of the imagination, and I know that there are dogs that are too far gone to be helped. But in this case, you're talking about a 10 pound dog with what seems to be a dominant personality. I have fixed this type of problem every single time I've come across it in a matter of days.

Say what you will about the safety of your children, but there's nothing difficult about crating a dog when children are around and teaching your children to stay away from certain animals. If something that simple is too much to ask of a pet owner, then maybe that pet owner should never own another pet again. This whole discussion sounds a lot like a BSL debate and I'm the only one saying that the owner needs to get a clue and that the dog is not the problem.

To the original poster... it appears I'm clearly in the minority here so sorry if I made the inevitable decision any harder.

Ryan,
I saw a Yorkie *remove* the lower lip of her owner about six years ago ( I only saw the aftermath, but the injury was horrible ). It weighted.....about nine lbs.

The woman was carrying her aggressive yorkie that had been trained by two "trainers" for his aggression problem ( obviously without much help ) . I evaluated the dog and recommended euth, but the owner refused because she "loved" the dog. She got years of plastic surgery repair to fix that injury. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
And I've seen plenty of bad bites from smaller dogs, the size is an irrelevant factor.

Ryan, if you've fixed everyone of those problems every single time that you've come across them, it's time to set yourself up in the dog training business and gladly I'll refer to you the dogs that I suggest euth'ing. But I would find it odd that I train aggressive dogs for a living and I know when a dog can't be fixed, but you have a 100% fix rate. I need to review my training and figure out what I'm doing wrong....

And as far as "Say what you will about the safety of your children, but there's nothing difficult about crating a dog when children are around and teaching your children to stay away from certain animals."
Oh man.......you must get totally different clients then the rest of us get. If you've got a 100% certain way of getting clients to do this, I would really like to hear of it, because that pesty human nature thing is what I see getting people injuried and I just can't seem to train responsibily at a 100% level into people - nor do I think that any trainer alive has been able to do so yet.

I can't help but jump into the fire here...I agree with both Will *AND* Ryan-One tragedy is too many. Yes, maybe the dog is small, so let's say for the sake of argument, that this dog's actions will never result in a fatality. However, children are short, and often play on the floor and get in dogs' faces...possibly resulting in a bite that causes permanent disfigurement. I, as the owner of 2 small/microscopic dogs and one giant, see the grossly unjust manner in which small dog problems are treated. A GSD would've been put down immediately, most likely. A chihuahua would've been told NO! harshly, and well...that's probably about it! If I remember correctly, this dog is in that in-between size that makes a fatality very unlikely (unless we're dealing with an infant), but is very capable of disfiguring a child. I am in no way judging the owner of this dog, yet, over the internet, because I have a similar dog. He was like this from the day I got him. I have followed dominant/aggressive dog protocol to a "T" and he is still vicious. He is, by some miracle, an angel with children <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. I still would not keep him if I had children, though. He's food/toy/grooming/whatever-he's looking-at-at-the-moment aggressive, and I have seriously considered sending him back to the breeder on numerous occasions. If it weren't for his one saving grace (his vicious temper is *very* predictable-no surprises or sudden "turning" on anyone) he wouldn't be alive today. I don't believe that being mentally unsound, as I believe the dog in question is, is a pleasant life for ANY animal, and I think they should be put down. Having said this-this is a LAST RESORT. Everything Ryan said is true-animals are not expendable, and we need to follow through with our responsibility to them. However, we also need to know when we have done our best, and cannot take blame for poor nerves/genetics/whatever, and need to take appropriate action and then...move on. I sincerely wish this owner the best with whatever decision is made. No one wants the guilt of putting a seemingly (physically) healthy dog to sleep, but weigh it against the guilt of looking at your child's disfigured face, and go from there.

Argh! Redundancy! I was typing as fast as I could, but one-handed Will still beat me!

As far as training kids with dogs;
I can't sem to get my kids to realize that our dominant dog needs to be crated 100% of the time that their friends are over, and they are teenagers and not stupid. But... one will come home, see the dog crated, and let her out before checking the rest of the apartment. Yung children will certainly not be reliable, and also, a kid should have a family pet, not a family warrior.