Friday afternoon my cousin's 9 y.o. daughter bent down to kiss their families' 4 y.o. golden, as she has done many times before, and the dog bit her on the face. The girl was taken by ambulance to a local hospital and then transported to Children's Healthcare of ATL and had emergency surgery on her face by a wonderful plastic surgeon. She's doing fine and only worried about dad putting the golden down and what kids at school are going to say about her face. The dog is at the father's parents' house at this time. This golden is the entire families' life and has never been aggressive towards anyone. My question is why now? The mother of the child told us yesterday that for the last couple of weeks they thought his hearing may be going. He always barked when people pulled in the yard but quietened down once whoever came inside. He hasn't been doing that the last couple of weeks. Could his hearing have become bad and when she bent down to kiss him it startled him? That's my only guess. This family has a 3 month old and I cringe to think what might have happened if it had been her. I've talked with the father and he's 99.9% sure he has to put her down. I know I can't speak without going through what they have but I told him if it were me he would have to be put down. His family raises wonderful goldens and have never had one in 15+ years that they know of that's been aggressive. What would you do and what's your thoughts on why?
Shocked, Saddened....WHY???
cocdawg
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If this had happened at my house the dog would have been dead before the ambulance arrived!
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wow. I am truely saddened by this comment.
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Had a similar situation, in my family, with my fathers black. She was about 5 and was the best dog a die hard hunting man could ask for. She was so well behaved, loving, gentle, obedient and pulled off some amazing field work. I was maybe 12 so my brother would have had to be 8 and out of no where we hear bark bark, and loud screams followed by crying out back. Mom and Dad go out side to find my brother holding his face with blood all over and Kate, about 5 feet away tail tucked looking as if she knew something was very wrong, almost as if she was scared. Aaron was scoped up and taken in by mom and dad and 14 stitches later he as home. He was asked by mom and dad, nurses and doctors what happened and he repeated over and over that Kate bit him, that is all he would say.
Long story short, dad isolated Kate and gave her, her chance.....THANK GOD....because it took about a week for Aaron to FESS up...he was picking on her....he had been twisting her ear for about a week prior off and on....and she had tolerated it for that week...finally she had had enough and she defended herself.
Kate NEVER EVER again showed even the slightest sign of aggression (except towards that German Sheppard that got lose and came after my mother) and thank god my brother fessed up because dad was ready to "take her away" as much as it would have broke his heart I sincerely believe that Kate wouldn't have made it much longer in our household.
Anyways, food for thought......it reminds me of the "kids do the darndest things"
Long story short, dad isolated Kate and gave her, her chance.....THANK GOD....because it took about a week for Aaron to FESS up...he was picking on her....he had been twisting her ear for about a week prior off and on....and she had tolerated it for that week...finally she had had enough and she defended herself.
Kate NEVER EVER again showed even the slightest sign of aggression (except towards that German Sheppard that got lose and came after my mother) and thank god my brother fessed up because dad was ready to "take her away" as much as it would have broke his heart I sincerely believe that Kate wouldn't have made it much longer in our household.
Anyways, food for thought......it reminds me of the "kids do the darndest things"
Update Guys n Gals-
Dog is at the vets getting checked. Not sure what/if anything he will find. Although, I'm praying for some answers for this family. He is a damn good dog!!! Something had to go wrong somewhere. Grandma (breeder) is devastated. She says she's giving up breeding all together. It's still early and things could change but right now she's a wreck bc she is taking all the blame. He has shown no signs of aggression since the accident. From my understanding, after the bite, he seemed "confused", then tucked his tail and moved to a back bedroom and finally after all the chaos settled seemed back to his self before ambulance arrived. The kids are doing better but mom and dad are still searching for answers. Hopefully they will have answers soon.
BTW-to the OP who told the story about his brother twisting the dogs ear-that wasn't the case here. Mom was watching the entire episode. Could she have done something earlier in the day or days prior? Sure, I guess. But at the time of the accident she wasn't doing anything she hasn't done for 3-4 years.
Dog is at the vets getting checked. Not sure what/if anything he will find. Although, I'm praying for some answers for this family. He is a damn good dog!!! Something had to go wrong somewhere. Grandma (breeder) is devastated. She says she's giving up breeding all together. It's still early and things could change but right now she's a wreck bc she is taking all the blame. He has shown no signs of aggression since the accident. From my understanding, after the bite, he seemed "confused", then tucked his tail and moved to a back bedroom and finally after all the chaos settled seemed back to his self before ambulance arrived. The kids are doing better but mom and dad are still searching for answers. Hopefully they will have answers soon.
BTW-to the OP who told the story about his brother twisting the dogs ear-that wasn't the case here. Mom was watching the entire episode. Could she have done something earlier in the day or days prior? Sure, I guess. But at the time of the accident she wasn't doing anything she hasn't done for 3-4 years.
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It’s always a tough situation to be in and I hope to not ever be there.You get pressure from the spouse, grandparents, siblings etc. etc. and most times none of them KNOW the dog like YOU do.
More often than not the dog is provoked. Most animals don’t just snap for no good reason.
Immediate investigation usually reveals whether or not it was ‘aggressive behavior’ or bought on by ‘provocation’/ (And as a poster said earlier, sometimes not so immediate) so it’s not wise to be so quick to put the dog down.
I’ve thought about this over and over and can only speculate what I would do considering the large number of reasons why such a thing could occur.
I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, but pray til then, to never see that bridge.
More often than not the dog is provoked. Most animals don’t just snap for no good reason.
Immediate investigation usually reveals whether or not it was ‘aggressive behavior’ or bought on by ‘provocation’/ (And as a poster said earlier, sometimes not so immediate) so it’s not wise to be so quick to put the dog down.
I’ve thought about this over and over and can only speculate what I would do considering the large number of reasons why such a thing could occur.
I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, but pray til then, to never see that bridge.
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If that comment saddens you then many of my other comments would too. Sorry, this was a bad situation but I love my family more than I love my dogs.
Lonnie Spann
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this is your answer
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I would direct you to Firehouse Labs response.
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The owners and family member/grandmother breeder of the Golden Retriever all love their family and want to do the best
for them...especially the children.
Hopefully it's a win-win resolution for all..including the dog. As said, a hasty decision..then finding out it was the wrong one that cannot be undone..would make things even worse, and heartbreaking all over again.
Please give the family credit for taking care in their decisions..
Judy
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I would feel that even if I couldn't trust the dog with kids grabbing/climbing on him. He may be a great match for someone without children, that is aware of the potential for an issue and is able to be proactive. For example, my dogs are friendly, but they are still dogs (animals) If there are going to be children around that I don't trust to treat the dogs respectfully, the dogs get kennelled up. Better, and more fair to everyone involved, to not push anybody to their limit.
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So what did they find out about the dog's health? Any decisions?
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If a thyroid was done, I think that takes a few days to get back? ..last time we had it done anyway. TBD full panel.. too, any bloodwork a day or two.
Facebook, Sunfire Golden Retrievers...a few owners (located all over) are having issues with their dogs, great lameness, not wanting to eat, lethargic..and posting finding out Lyme etc positive and treating. This time of year is the start of the season for the things
..but they come out in winter on warm days too.
Dogs being seen at our vet office here are also coming up positive for Anaplasmosis, Lyme, RMSF etc.. possibility for this dog, too. Certainly worth checking on. Do hope it is not a tumor..type of issue.
Judy
Facebook, Sunfire Golden Retrievers...a few owners (located all over) are having issues with their dogs, great lameness, not wanting to eat, lethargic..and posting finding out Lyme etc positive and treating. This time of year is the start of the season for the things
..but they come out in winter on warm days too. Dogs being seen at our vet office here are also coming up positive for Anaplasmosis, Lyme, RMSF etc.. possibility for this dog, too. Certainly worth checking on. Do hope it is not a tumor..type of issue.
Judy
Judy is correct, all bloodwork is not back. Vet did say he has hearing loss and did more testing on that to see what the cause may be. I say all bloodwork isn't back but I coul be wrong. We got busy at work yesterday and I didn't talk with the family. My wife did say that the little girl is doing much better as far as not worrying what kids at school might say about her face. This has been a huge hurdle to overcome. I will try and contact her dad today and find out more details. I had lunch with the vet yesterday but didn't ask any questions. I wasn't sure if vets were like our docs and not give out info to just anyone. Since we are fairly close I didn't want to put him in an awkward situation.
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A tragic situation, but one thing that likely will come into play with the dog is the legal liability of the owner. What if the dog bit someone else and that person decided to sue? Think they might bring up the fact that the dog had bitten someone previously, that the owner knew it, and then continued to let the dog be around people? You hate to have to look at things from a legal and liability perspective, but that's the world we're in.
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There is an antibiotics that can cause loss of hearing..some FT dogs have had it happen. Only mentioning FT dogs because it has ruined some careers.. Will look to see which one it is, if I can find it.
Perhaps someone on RTF might know?
Has he had any for ear issues? ..and had ear drops/antibiotics?
Very young for hearing loss..so wondering.
Judy
Perhaps someone on RTF might know?
Has he had any for ear issues? ..and had ear drops/antibiotics?
Very young for hearing loss..so wondering.
Judy
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Good thought Judy, hearing loss (can be permanent) is a side effect of some of the very common ear drops, like Oto-max to name one.
My senior golden went from normal hearing to stone deaf in about 48 hours with the ear drops. Luckily we caught it quickly, flushed out his ears, and almost all of his hearing was restored.
My senior golden went from normal hearing to stone deaf in about 48 hours with the ear drops. Luckily we caught it quickly, flushed out his ears, and almost all of his hearing was restored.
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Hi...wondering if there are any updates? Is the family doing ok..and the pup?
Judy
Judy
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