From a behavioural point of view, without all relevant health tests being done, and without a full history of the event including any calming signals a dog may have tried to exhibit without them being noticed or understood, sorry but no that would`nt be enough for me

Well you obviously have different priorities to me then, theres no way i would keep a dog if it attacked my kids or anyone else for that matter. If a rescue centre deemed my dog unhomable then thats good enough for me. And yes i think there are lots of people who are anti people/kid - i've seen it on here loads of times (someone said on a thread that "nothing would make me get rid of my dog" - even if it had attacked someone) that just about says it all !
This is my last post on this thread - its just going nowhere - i know i did the right thing - please don't try the guilt trip route.

Thought for the day, Dogs bite & cats scratch.That is their nature.
Would you PTS a Cat that Badly Scratched a Child?

Firstly, the person that owned the dog that was pts did not make the decision to do so. The Rescue did

Secondly, I wouldn't own a cat with kids. All the cats I have known throughout my life have scratched out, without warning and for no apparent reason (I'm talking about cats owned by friends when I was a child/teenager) so I wouldn't dream of having one around young children jmo

Have to say though, I'm not a cat lover. Just like some people on here are not kid lovers

It would be enough for me to do exactly what you did. If I'm not mistaken, you did not have the dog pts. You put the dog in the hands of the professionals, to take their considered opinion on what appropriate action should be taken. The Rescue made that decision, because they felt it was the right thing in the circumstances

Well I am a cat / dog / and kid lover (well some kids) and to be honest I would have to take the circumstances into account... if I could not trust my dogs around my children.. and they had bitten I would have to consider it very carefully... if I felt I could not guarantee my dog/s going to a home that was child free and them not coming into contact with any... then I would take the decision to have them PTS...

My dogs my responsibility.. and no I would not put a cat to sleep if it scratched a child... the two are worlds apart.

Hear hear!

As a mother and a dog owner, of what some have deemed and still deem an "unsuitable breed to have with children and have been accused of being selfish and stupid for owning one with children"...

I can honestly say, that for me to give Bruno up, he would have to seriously maul my child, and even then he would get every health check known to make sure that there was nothing wrong. I know I will be frowned on for this, but I KNOW he would never do it though, he just doesnt have it in him... I would not do it lightly and I would not do it for a bite.,.. it would only be a serious attack.

I have to say after saying all of the above, you never know what you would do til it happens though, and I dont think its fair to judge someone on their actions and cast them over for it.

I dont necessarily agree with what Greyhoundk did, but having not been there and not seeing how badly her child was bitten and the circumstances then I am not going to say what she should have done differently.

However I do take issue with the antikid comments, I dont think its one or the other, plenty of people have dogs and kids and the dog is another kid - Bruno is my first baby and I have the same level of love for them albeit in slightly different ways.

I dont like how it alwaysturns into one or the other in these type of discussions. It is possible to adore your dog and your child ..

I haven't read every post so I apologies for that.

But here we have 3 dogs, 13, 3 and 15months, we also have 5 cats ranging from 6 upto 15yrs, plus one rabbit, 2 guinea-pigs and chickens.

We are not anti kids either, as we are Foster Carers, but I think you have to assess situations carefully. I have never owner a dog that had just attacked, IMO a dog that ''just attacks'' is different from a dog that bites. I am probaly not explaining this very weel, but a dog that ''bites'' usually has a reason, a dog that does a ''attack'' without a reason, is different.

In our profession, we often have to spend a lot of time and monitoring the child to educate that child about animals and thier behaviour. I don't think it's a case of ''we've been lucky'' that our dogs take alot from strange children, because thats what they are when they first arrive, strangers.

It is more case of training the dog and child both separately and together, edicating both where the boundries lie and where each has thier own space.
It is hard having both child and animals as they have to be kept a eye on, as for my cats they never scratch, again thats not doen to luck, thats down to watching for the warning signs.
I got bitten (not badly) by my rabbit yesterday, but on reflection that was actually my fault as I picked her up from behind and I think I startled her.

I agree that once a dog has bitten, it is a worry as to whether they can be trusted not to do it again, but I think that to have that dog PTS would not be a option for me, although it would mean that a ''big'' investigation would take place from Social Services, but I think all aspects need to be looked at.

I think it turns into "antikid" comments because often, the ones saying they'd never take serious action (as in rehoming/pts a dog that has bitten) usually don't have children. That's all. I think if those people actually had children, then maybe their opinion would differ. I can't ever imagine putting my children (knowingly) in any situation that can cause them harm. Of course, if you trust a dog (shown no signs of aggression whatsoever) and then it bites, then you can't totally beat yourself up about it. However, if a dog has bitten and then you continue to keep the child and the dog together, then you are putting the child in danger and I don't think many parents would feel they could do that. I certainly couldn't. Imagine if a dog were to bite a child's face and cause them to be disfigured for life. I could never forgive myself for that! I doubt the child would be too impressed either, once it grew up.

Of course, I am not talking about a little nip here or even a serious bite that was caused by a child inflicting pain on the dog. I'm talking about a dog that attacks a child for no apparent reason, causing serious damage (as in a bite that draws blood).

Brundog, you are the first person I have come across in real life and on Forums that has said you would keep a dog and child together, even if your dog bit your child. No doubt we'll hear of others now that you have voiced your opinion on this. Quite interesting, really