I Never Thought It Would Happen *LONG*

[Scrapper's Mom]

Mandy, what a nightmare for you... I'm sorry about Alyssa getting bit because that's just the absolute worst thing any of us as dog owners fear. I agree, it might be because he's getting older and less patient. But, it also could have been because of the both of you pulling on his collar with neither one knowing that the other one was on the other side.

Thank goodness, Alyssa's mother is understanding.... my sister's Doberman bit my son, and she and her husband immediately defended the dog, despite the fact that my son, 13, not a little baby, was just petting her. Geez, I never would have done anything, but a little bit of sympathy and oooing and tsk tsk - ing would have helped.

Good luck to you and Riley!

 

[KELLY W]

Mandy, I know exactly how you feel. Muggsey had a biting incident as well this weekend. One of my husband's friend's who Muggsey doesnt know came by for a second. He and my husband were standing outside talking because Muggsey doesn't like strangers and wouldn't let anyone he doesnt know in the house. Well, Muggsey is freaking out at the door and figures out how to open the sliding glass door and runs out of the house. He ran up to the guy and bit him in the arm. This all happened so fast that my husband didnt have time to catch Mugsey before he bit him. After he bit him, he proceded to go to the neighbor's for a visit where my husband then picked him up and took him inside. Thank God the bite wasn't that bad, it was just one small puncture wound. He was just telling the guy to stay away from his house. We were devistated. However, we were glad the guy was a friend and was very understanding about the whole thing. After that, Muggsey moped the whole rest of the day. He would not even really look at us at all. I honestly think he felt bad just like you think Riley felt bad as well. We know that he has protection aggression around the house and we always take precaution. Unfortunately, the door wasnt locked and he got out. It is just a horrible feeling to know that your sweet little baby would do something like that. I hope everything is alright with Riley. He probably just felt trapped and didnt like it.

Kelly

 

[Jan]

Mandy it doesn't sound like Riley was acting aggressively. With both of you pulling at his collar he just got scared and reacted the only way he knew how. I'm glad that your cousin was so understanding.

I personally wouuldn't tell your vet as I wouldn't want the bite put on record.

 

[ljnash]

Mandy, I'm so sorry this happened, but it sounds like it was an isolated incident where Riley felt cornered, like the others said. Since he calmed down and interacted with the kids normally later on, it sounds like he was overly excited, or being protective of you, or confused about two people pulling on his collar.

Now that you know what happened, you can help educate your young cousins on how to behave around dogs, as well as keeping an eye on Riley and the situations he is in. Grabbing collars is something my two furkids don't like at all when I do it, and they would probably lash out if someone else did it to them.

I hope all goes well for future family get togethers.

Lenore

 

[debbie knowles]

Oh Mandy, I am so sorry this happened. I got tears reading your post, so I can only imagine how you felt. Riley IS a sweetheart and we all know that. I am quite certain he just got scared and panicked a little. I am glad the little girl is OK and wanted to set things right with her "buddy"....I am sure poor Riley was confused and felt bad afterwards. He is always sooo eager to please and knows he messed up...I feel sorry for him. But, you are such a good Mom, that I know you'll bring him through this with all the love, care and compassion that he needs. He is NOT a bad dog and I feel certain that this is only an isolated incident. Please hug him, Alyssa and yourself for us, OK? Deb

 

[Boxer_21]

I personally wouuldn't tell your vet as I wouldn't want the bite put on record.

Jan, I never thought of it that way. After reading everyone's views here and looking back at the incident, I do believe that Riley just got spooked. So after much thinking and reading your post, I decided not to say anything to the vet. I'm obviously not downplaying it, but I don't feel that it was out of aggression. That's just not what Riley is about. He's also shown no signs of being ill or uncomfortable. Of course if anything should come up and he starts showing signs of being sick, we'll be heading back up for whatever tests need to be done.

Today we went to the vets and there was a lady there with a cat (in a carrier) along with two young kids. Both around 7 or 8 years old. They asked to pat Riley and after Riley was put in a sit/stay, I allowed them to come over. Riley was just thrilled to have the youngsters come over to see him. I was very proud of how he handled himself. He didn't try to jump up on them and he gently kissed their hands. It definitely put my mind at ease.

Now on a different note, we had Riley weighed today and he's a tad bit over weight. He needs to lose about 4-5 lbs. I guess we'll have to start monitoring what we give him a little bit better.

- Mandy

 

[Jan]

Poor Riley! He needs to go on a diet. :( You might try upping the veggie content of his food as it's low in calories and will still make him feel as full.

 

[Barron's mom]

Mandy -

You certainly touched every boxer owner's heart, and their greatest fear. You did not fail as a mother, although I probably would have felt the same way if I were in your position. It sounds like you handled the situation perfectly...for all involved.

I agree with Jan in that Riley, being pulled in different directions, responded naturally by trying to pull away from the one person with whom he did not want to go with.

 

[amyf]

This is my first time on this site. I have had a similar problem with my male 2 1/2 yr old bridle boxer KOBY. We have had koby since a puppy and we spoil him rotten. He was very easy to train and obeys well. We had a birthday party for our son who is 9 yrs old. We took Koby to grandma's to watch. Later that night we picked him up. We were inside my mom's house with My my husband, son and his friend ( 9yrs) Michael. I was on the couch and my mom was next to us and the boys were on the floor at my feet. We were all talking and it happened so fast.Michael had put his hand up to pet Koby and Koby bit him on the face that required 9 stitches just ender his eye. It was not a bit but a tear from his tooth. Koby let our a growl as he was did it and we all screamed and koby stopped immediatley. He did not attack him but did hurt him. We do not know what to do. I contacted my vet immediatly and they suggested I call a behavior specialist in my area. The specialist asked me some questions and finally said it was an accident and all dogs are allowed 1 bit. This does not sound right to me...I need help.....The animal control came over to visit with us and Koby and could not beleive he did this. He is a very loving dog and gets alot of love at home. They release him from quarantine and gave us a letter of release. To this day I am very nervous with strangers around KOBY. Michael comes over everyday and KOBY stays away. We tell KOBY to stay and he stays. Micheal has been slowly coming around and talking to KOBY and wants to play but we tell him not yet. YESTERDAY we came home for lunch with our son and KOBY gets very excited when we come home. He was getting loves from all of us and when our son got on the floor to give him hugs and kisses KoBY growled. We immedialty Said No Koby and he stopped. We made him sit and stay for awhile until we noticed he calmed down. I am very upset about this and do not know what to do. PLease help. I see a different attitude with Koby and kids and some time strangers. His ears go back and he gets a look in his eye that says leave me alone. We do not let him around kids alone anymore. He has recently been having mild seisure lately and I don;t know if some how this could all be connected.

 

[Scorpio]

amyf, I would have him check out at the vets there could be something wrong with him. I know this is a very scary thing. I hope it all works out.