Dog Bit My Son

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In. Not saying hunt it down. I'm saying if it comes on the property again. I can't sit home all day and male sure my family doesn't get bit by dogs running around the neighbourhood. What of the dog rips half the kids face off next time. The guys wife is prolly scared to go outside right now. This could have been disasterous.
 
Sucks... Sorry to hear that happened to your boy.

Best advice is take him to the doctor and focus on his needs, as he is most likely scared and unsure of what / how to think about the incident. Be happy that he is whole and healthy.

Let the cops / home owners / animal control do their jobs.

It wouldn't hurt to remember that this website, your posts, and advice could be viewed by the police and used as evidence against you either.
 
Overreaction is an understatement here. Best bet it let animal control handle the dog. We all know if the dog was truly aggressive he would have ripped that kid to shreds and probably the mom too. Don't let emotions cause you to do something stupid.
 
That is for sure the right course of action. As long as they handle it in a timely manner. I'm sure they will seeing as how it was a baby that got bit. However, I stand by my other posts if he is on my property again. Which would mean that animal control did not do their job.
 
B_Li_Ber_Tar_Ian said:
My son starts to pet the dog

the bite ... only scratched the side of his nose
Click to expand...

This wasn't a bite, but rather just a warning nip, and only after the boy advanced on and touched the dog. No a reason to go Charles Bronson. Be thankful your kid is OK and take this as an opportunity to teach your son not to go engage strange animals as it could easily be perceived, and in this case probably was, as a threatening gesture by the animal, especially if it was feral.
 
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We usually are in a frantic race to lock these kinds of discussions. This has nothing to do with guns. Why is this thread not locked?
 
My dad always said " a vet can cost thousands of dollars, but a .22 short cost less than 3 cents. "
If the dog disappears before the catcher gets him, all well.
 
If the dog was out to hurt your son, there would be more than a nick on his nose. Everyone knows what animals are capable of, and this was not an attack, it was a defense. The dog simply felt threatened.

If the dog had mauled your son, then I'm sure when your wife called the PD, they would have sent uniformed officers immediately to eliminate the dog and keep it from harming others. However, due to the nature of the bite, it is obvious that the dog is not wanting to hurt people and does not warrant immediate action. This means that shooting it is not necessary. Just keep your family inside for the night and you will be doing your job of protecting them.
 
Depends on the jurisdiction.

Defending yourself against a threat is a fundamental part of the RKBA.

That said, if you have to defend yourself against an unrestrained dangerous animal that has already bitten a child, the animal needs to be quarantined for at least 10 days to monitor it for rabies. Or a tissue sample from it's brain is necessary. Rabies is incurable in people. I'd vote for the tissue sample.
 
I'd get some bear spray and nail that dog with it if it ever comes back. Or you could look at one of those sjamboks from cold steel. Its just a whippy piece of plastic but its supposed to be nasty on the receiving end.
 
An agressive dog on my property is a dead dog; collar or not. Funny when it's cats everybody says kill the vermin, but dogs, unless they do grave bodily harm, just need love. I've owned dogs all my life and don't let them roam and expect others to do the same, especially with agressive animals, or I will and have taken care of the problem.
 
I would suggest if you happen to have any feed stores locally they will usually have and let you borrow or rent a have a heart trap (non lethal kind) you can bait it and hopefully have the dog captured by morning for animal control.
 
I put up a fence after a run in with a neighbors (A few houses down) chow. It came after me, I scored some well placed kicks and had it pinned when the neighbor got there. Fortunately I'm a touch larger than a 3 year old. I told him to not let that happen again....He got rid of the dog immediately and apologized a few days later, I appreciated that. I still put up a fence, so when kids came, and they did, that was one thing I could worry less about.

I wouldnt go out and shoot it, unless it was threatening someone. The scary part is if the dog catcher doesnt find it, you are left wondering if/when this could happen again where it could turn out worse. If you live in town, I would suggest the fence idea, keeps things in and other things out.

If you live in the country.....it's dog season (And I like dogs!) IMHO.
 
Well my two cents. Calm down. In the grand scheme of things this is really no big deal. I don't see this as a RKBA issue, unless you're gonna either hunt it down and shoot it (illegal) or wait for it to come back and shoot it (likely invalid self defense)... also - issues with discharging a firearm in a urban area to consider.

Are you sure the your son didnt provoke the dog to bite? Not unusual for a toddlers to provoke even the nicest dogs into biting to defend themselves.
Pulling a dog's ear or sticking their fingers in the dogs eye etc
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Bingo

In a year you'll have forgotten about it. You have no proof that your kid didn't provoke the nipping, a nipping is no big deal (equivalent to a cat scratching), and rabies is practically extint. All the owner has to do is show evidence of a current rabies certificate/vaccine. 10 - day quarantine if you're really worried about it.

However if you go blasting a neighbors dog, or create an irreversible rift by getting a neighbors dog put down for an accident... it could end badly for you. Let's just say that these "trivial" neighborhood skirmishes can quickly escalate into macho <deleted> contests and lethal force. What will YOU do if this guy thinks <deleted>?

As a dog owner, sometimes dogs get free. And they can nip sometimes, espeically in self defense. Heck, I watched my neighbors dog nip at a kid just this weekend. Kid cried for a minute and then went on playing. Dog was spanked, end of story. Dogs that nip are different than dogs that attack or maul.

If my neighbor killed or had destroyed my dog over something trivial like this there would be consequences.

Ensure kids medical needs met. BTW - rabies is practically non-existant in the US in domesticated pets. If the kid has medical bills, talk to the homeowner about paying for them.
 
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Enough emoting.

Now that the incident has passed, any lethal action would be in the absence of a threat. So, discharging a weapon within the city limits, possibly, and destruction of another's property.

Seems to me the main issue is the possibility of rabies. Hard to tell, here on the Internet. I'd ask a vet, as a starting point.
 
Vanfanel said:
I would suggest if you happen to have any feed stores locally they will usually have and let you borrow or rent a have a heart trap (non lethal kind) you can bait it and hopefully have the dog captured by morning for animal control.
Click to expand...

All you'd have in the morning is a few pissed off racoons and maybe an angry opossum or two.
 
Are you in the city limits of where ever you are? Can you legally discharge a firearm on your property? If so, the dog has proven to be a menace and you probably will be justified in shooting it. Just make sure that if you do, you are prepared dispose of it so that there is no evidence to cause an irate neighbor to blame you.

That being said, I would recommend not shooting it. Dogs do not understand the concept of property rights and your son approached the dog and attempted to touch him while the dog was minding his own business. If the results were only scratches it sounds like the dog only reacted with a warning rather than bighting down hard in an attempt to cause damage. He just did not want to be touched and being a dog; he did not understand your son’s intentions were friendly. This is probably somebody’s pet and the owner should be held responsible not the dog. Your son should learn not to put his hands on strange dogs. I was taught to squat down and let the dog come to me and smell my hand first before trying to pet him.
 
The op said it broke the skin. For you guys saying it isn't a bog deal why don't we all meet somewhere and ill bring a hostile dog and we will let it break the skin on your 3 year old kid or grandkids face to teach him a lesson about touching strange dogs. Wait a minute, on second thought I hope Yall don't have kids.
 
No attitude. I just can't grasp the idea of a stray dog breaking the skin on the face of a baby that is in his own yard and saying that its no big deal, and it will teach him a lesson. I understand and I would first let the authorities handle it. But if the dog showed up in the yard again im not gonna give him another chance to do something worse. If my dog bit my 5 year old like this then we would be burying it. Much less a stray.
 
I'm glad your son is ok.

I would maintain that if the dog comes back, just close the door and stay inside. Should it be there? No. Do you have a right to enjoy your yard and your property? Of course. Is that course of action aggravating beyond belief? No argument here...

But when all is said and done, I wouldn't want to have to rely on some administrator's/prosecutor's/jury's thoughts on whether or not you were within your rights killing the dog.

If you see the dog on the street and you have no choice, that's a different story entirely. The same if you were in your yard and couldn't safely remove yourself or your family.
 
Sorry if this trips up any high horses, but I can't believe no one has said this:

This is a parenting issue. If your wife was with your child the dog should not have gotten close to the kid, let alone should the kid be allowed to have begun petting the dog.

No one to blame here but your wife. The dog was doing what dogs do. Like others have said, it was defending itself, more or less invoking the same right you are attempting to invoke to vent your anger. Instead of being angry have a talk with your kid and your wife and explain that next time a person, animal, or object that could cause harm is in the vicinity of your child, your wife should not let the child make contact.

This just seems basic to me. Am I crazy or what? :banghead:
 
My uncle had the buried wire fence deal at his house so it would appear that his dogs were just running free although they could not leave the boundaries on reality. Someone across the street did not realize he had installed this and they called the cops saying these big dogs are running loose. Well, a cop and animal control shows up. They were fairly large dogs and one was a pit bull that I gave him as a puppy. The cop shot the dogs and they threw them in the back of the garbage truck that happened to be passing by. My uncle was at work at this time. One of the neighbours said one of the dogs was not dead and was whimpering in the GARBAGE truck. The cop said he was scared for his life and was within his rights. And no one even got bitten. Animals can not run free and terrorize neighborhoods. If animal control catches this dog they WILL put it to sleep.
 
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