I disagree. The attack was NOT completely unprovoked.

An under-confident (I just made that word up) dog sitting on its owner's lap, will bite anyone that reaches for it (especially a child!) 9 times out of 10. All parties at fault.

 Quote: Jessica Pedicord

I disagree. The attack was NOT completely unprovoked.

An under-confident (I just made that word up) dog sitting on its owner's lap, will bite anyone that reaches for it (especially a child!) 9 times out of 10. All parties at fault.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with this Jessica. A dog with a STABLE temperment would not do this. My dogs could be sitting on my lap, if they could fit, & would not lash out at a child if they reached to pet them. And my dogs are VERY possessive of me. I HAVE had a lap dog (toy poodle/very pssessive & mentioned on another thread) with no children living in my home at the time & had todlers & young children visit & never had a problem. This dog has lost ANY chance to be near children evey again. Regardless of being lonly & greiving the loss of her husband...this dog is not the right fit for her if she is going to have grandkids in her home. Even if crated...one mistake (not securing the crate door properly etc )& one of the kids could be seriously hurt. This dog is just another accident waiting to happen in this woman's home. I will repeat what I have stated on other posts...Many dogs are in shelters for a reason. Many of these dogs have been surrendered because of ongoing temperment issues. Many can be 'fixed' in the right hands with the right training. It doesn't sound like this woman has the interest,knowledge or commitment to do this, even with help,based on her decision to not take any action with this dog after the incident with her granddaughter. If she wants a companion dog, she should go to a shelter with a knowledgable trainer,unrelated with the shelter, & have them help pick out a dog with her. JMO

I took Jessica's "under confident" label to denote a type of instability. JMO. I think she agrees that the dog is not stable, but was saying that many unstable dogs would react similarly. Which is very true.

I took 'under confinement' as perched on the mother's lap with her arm or arms around the dog. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that.

Yes the dog seems to be very unstable & should not be exposed to ANY children ever again. Mon should find a new dog that is a better fit. All dogs are not able to be rescued, as much as we would like to think that they are.

Correct Jenni. What I meant was, putting a dog like this (history unknown, etc.) on someone's lap in a new environment and adding a child to the mix, is just a recipe for disaster.

Anne, YOUR dogs have probably had very extensive training to ensure that this situation wouldn't happen- even with a strange little child coming at them.... But with a rescue? Don't know the background, don't know the temperament, don't know ANYTHING about the dog- its really not a surprise to me that it bit in this situation. I don't want you to misinterpret that I think this its behavior was at all OK, its just that it seems like the handler put that dog in a very enabling situation for that kind of behavior. A month post-adoption and she thought it was ok to bring around kids.... And you called it- I don't think she has the knowledge to correct this dog. Especially by how she handled the situation in its entirety.

 Quote: anne jones

I took 'under confinement' as perched on the mother's lap with her arm or arms around the dog. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that.

I think a simple misread is to blame here. Jessica said "under CONFIDENT"...and you read "under confinement."

Makes much more sense now.

Thats what I get when I make up words! lol

Sorry, I did read under confinement. I guess that I need to have my glasses check. LOL

I absolutely agree with the under confident. Too bad this had to happen at all to this little girl. I wish that there were a hard & fast way of testing shelter dogs that everyone had to follow in order to prevent this type of problem. I know that the reputable shelters really try hard to weed out the dogs that are borderline. Just wish that there was a way to be sure. Unfortunately, this is some of what can happen when you take on a animal that you don't know their history. You don't know all the triggers. But I do think that in this case, if the dog had undergone proper testing, this would have showed up. At least the lack of confidence would have. But many of the people that surrender their dogs with issues don't tell the truth because they know that many shelters will not take dogs with a biting history. If they are honest about this they are just told to take them to the vet to be PTS. It's all sad. I think that sometimes the shelters are so elated to be able to move a dog out...that they are not as dilligent as they should be about where the dog is going & what it might encounter in the course of living in their new home. JMO

ETA...I have seen the same kinds of issues with horses that are re-homed. People will 'get rid' of a horse that has issues & be less than honest in doing so. The new owners are absolutly clueless until the right trigger appears & there are serious consequences for the new owner. Honesty is often lost when trying to rid oneself of a problem animal big or small.

 Quote: Charlie Snyder

Is everyone forgetting this dog launched a serious, unprovoked attack on a child?

An inch or so higher, and this little girl would be blind instead of just carrying of carrying life-long facial scars.

This dog has forfeited any right to draw another breath.

The original poster is very correct in that the dog -- if it allowed to live, should never be allowed to be around her's or any other children. Granny can make her own choice about the company of grandkids or nasty dogs.

Sure the dog may have been unprovoked. But it isn't the dog at fault. The blame rests squarely on the adult humans in this situation.

Not saying the dog is an angel but there was no safety nets put in place with this new 'rescue'. Saying that the dog needs to be euthanized is a wee bit premature.

Bylaw where I live if a dog bites there is heavy fines the dog is put in quarantine for 10 days and issued a muzzle order. To get a muzzle order lifted they have to appear in front of a justice and give ample reason such as completion of training etc. The a muzzle ban can be lifted ... but ... if the dog bites again. A owner is then in a world of hurt from bylaw and the monetary hit is huge with the dog being labeled a dangerous dog and then euthanized.

The dog is in one of the most unstable situations I could ever dream up.

If a kid was close enough to a malteepoo to get bitten in the face, it was too damn close to a strange dog that has absolutely no rules, and is also carrying the weight of a late husbands legacy on it's shoulders.

Not an angel of a dog, but too much wrong for this to be all dog.

Would I let my kid hug this dog? Hell no.

But I'm not going to let him in the calmest of dog's faces, either.

I do totally agree with the separation of this dog and kids.