Dog bites a man, that’s not news, but if a man bites a dog….

So we have a story. Last week in Longview, a girl bit a dog.
Natalya, 18 months,  sank all her  6  teeth  into the side of her grandmother’s golden Labrador retriever, Earl, and she wouldn’t let go.

She laid her head on him to give him a kiss and a hug and then latched on to him.
Earl snapped back, nipping Natalya on her face.
The grandmother, who was babysitting little Natalya , called 911.

The bite struck near the toddler’s eye, causing it to blacken and swell shut, but it didn’t damage the eye itself.  stitches are healing rapidly and the toddler is not afraid of her family’s two dogs.

The day after the whole incident, she was playing with the dogs, playing like nothing’s even happened.

The mother wanted to put Earl down, but her husband talked her out of it, reasoning that Earl reacted naturally.

Now Earl is quarantine for 16 days, and the mother does not intend to let the two be together even after the quarantine is over.
“I’m not going to take that chance,” she said.

The family hoped being bitten would teach her daughter a lesson, but unfortunately it hasn’t.

“We’ve been working with her to get her to stop biting, but she’s bit me every day since,” grandmother said.

From article by Vicki DeGruy, originally published in Dog Owner’s Guide :

Very few bites happen without provocation — but the provocation may exist only in the dog’s mind! We need to realize that dogs are not little people in furry costumes. They don’t think in the same way that we do. They look at the world around them with a different perspective. Most of their actions are instinctive. A dog will react to situations according to what his instincts tell him unless these instincts are overridden by the consistent training and socialization he needs to receive from his owner throughout his life.

Small children (and some adults) don’t recognize a warning when they see or hear one. A very young child (under age six) doesn’t know what a growl means. What may be obvious to an adult isn’t understood by the child. The child continues to pet or follow after the dog even though the dog has now clearly told him what will happen if he doesn’t stop.

A small child that’s petting or hugging a dog has already intruded well within the dog’s flight or fight boundary, the dog’s safety zone. If the dog has tried to leave or has issued a warning with no response from the child, the dog (in his mind) has no other recourse — he bites. This is normal, instinctive behavior — to the dog. He is responding to what he perceives as a threat and is doing what his instincts tell him to. Remember that dogs don’t think in the same way that people do. A child’s innocent action, petting the dog, can be provocation for a bite when seen through the eyes of the dog.

There are other circumstances that can provoke a dog to bite a child. Running, playing, screaming kids can trigger an instinctive predator-prey reaction in some dogs. Children who rough house and wrestle with dogs unknowingly encourage them to use their teeth. Dogs equate this kind of play with littermates or other dogs where using teeth is allowed. Startling a sleeping dog or petting him when he’s eating can also provoke a bite.

What can be done to prevent dogs from biting children?

Obedience training and socialization are absolute musts for a dog who’ll be spending time with children. Remember that a dog will act according to his instincts if he doesn’t receive proper training or if that training isn’t kept up through regular practice. The dog needs to be taught to obey commands under all conditions no matter how distracting. Just as responding to the command to “come” could save the dog’s life someday, an immediate response to the command “leave it!” could save a child from serious injury.

Just as children need to be taught how to be well-behaved around other people, they need to be taught to be well-behaved and respectful around animals. They need to learn what kinds of games are appropriate, how to touch the dog properly, how to interpret the dog’s body language and when the dog is not to be disturbed. When they’re old enough to understand, kids should be involved in the training process. They should learn to give the dog commands and be able to enforce them.

Adult supervision is essential! Small children should never, ever be left alone with any dog, no matter how reliable the dog has been before. A responsible adult needs to be on the scene to prevent any aggressive behavior by the dog and to keep the child from putting him or herself in danger. Telling the toddler to stay away from the dog isn’t enough! Remember that young children don’t recognize when they may in trouble. It’s up to the adult to keep them safe from the dog and to keep the dog safe from the children. I can’t stress enough that adult supervision around children and dogs is absolutely critical! If you can’t be right there to handle whatever might come up or if you have any doubt about the dog’s behavior around children, the dog should be put away out of reach of the kids.

Kids and dogs are wonderful together — when adults use common sense and put safety first