scary morning
My heart is still racing what a morning. I finally managed to find a new family for my house guest and we were getting ready to leave the house when she went over to say bye to Sassy.
(Grumpy and Sassy)Sassy is our lab mix that we got from the pound about a year ago. She had been taking away from a family that beat and starved her.
She was fine with us after the first month but this morning when the girl went to pet her while she was at her food dish she bit her. Granted you should never approach an animal while its near its food but thats still no comfort to me right now.
Sassy got her pretty good on the index finger right above the nail and there was blood dripping from it. I got her cleaned up and bandaged her up but she was pretty shocked and so was I. I put Sassy back in her cage and then we had to run to catch her train.
I just called her and she says her finger is feeling much better but I am still sad. Grumpy and I will consult with a trainer and see if we can work with Sassy but it makes me sad to think that we may not be able to keep her. She is usually such a loving dog but we want kids and I am sure we will have more house guests. For now we will warn everyone to stay away from Sassy since she bites.
8 comments:
Aww...that sucks. I know EXACTLY how you feel. My Bella used to nip/bite people outside the immediate family. But she was the most loving soul....
Maybe you just need to work with Sassy a bit more? It probably is best to keep her away from new or young people.
Crossing my fingers for you! I REALLY hope it turns out ok!
(Cute pic of her n Grumpy! :-)
Jin - I want to put her in some behavioral training and just trying. We will also check in if she could become a police dog because I think she'd like that. I am not ready to give her up but on the other side if I do get pregnant I do not want the child harmed either.
Sorry to read about Sassy. Sometimes dogs do get territorial around their food. Has she done this before, or is this a one time thing? Does she get territorial in other areas of the house too?
I'm thinking and I could be off, that after what Sassy has been through in her past, you and Grumpy might have spoiled her feeling bad for her and all. When this happens, dogs do tend to think they are now the "pack leader" and get territorial. She sounds like a wonderful dog, and I'm sure she's not a biter, and this can be fixed. Tell Grumpy to try next time, and maybe more than once, when feeding Sassy, to make her wait until he puts the food down before she comes over.. And tell him to stand over her food as if to say, it belongs to Grumpy. ( I know this sounds funny). Then when Grumpy allows Sassy to start eating, for him to keep standing there and reach in for the bowl. Petting her head. Making her realize after this is done a few times, that Sassy doesn't own the bowl.. YOU guys do. This might take some time though. Keep working with her. If she is territorial in other areas of the house, you need to take the same approach. Step in and let her know that YOU guys are the leader not her. I have a link to a show I watched and has helped me a lot in training my dog as well as helping others. It's very imformative and it might help you and Grumpy solve this problem, without having to give Sassy up. Wish you luck and keep me inform to how things are going. I hope the little girl is doing well.
Keep the dog and get rid of the kid. Don’t screw with a dog while it is eating, lesson learned. That’s the trouble with society today; we’ve forgotten that some situations are designed to be learning events. Like when I pushed the metal bar into the hot lamp socket – my mom didn’t get rid of all the lamps in the house, and after I picked myself up off the floor I knew better than to ever do that again.
Justmee - she has snapped at people before and it wasn't about food. My mom says there maybe certain spots on her head where she is more touchy. She has never snapped or growled at me I can do what ever to her but she has snaped at my mom, Grumpy and his brother before. Yes we have definately spoiled her which is why we will look into some more training. Thanks we will follow your advise
Phos well our house guest did leave that morning. this incident actually gave me an idea for a meeting with the AP's - dog safety since a lot of the families have dogs.
GOOD IDEA about the next AP meeting! Dog Safety! SOOOOO many kids do not know how to act around pets!
Jin - my thoughts exactly
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