The Unthinkable has happened...

Dogs have got to know there place that`s all and keeping it right from the start matters.In Careys case I think you did right not to destroy him.I`m no expert but I think if you take a back seat and supervise while Maggie takes a less gentle more dominant role,giving comands,asserting control over Carey as well as lots of quality fun time together so they bond further it could work out ok.You can teach Maggie how to behave around the dog and keep Carey in check at the same time.If she so much as growls at her again,hit her hard,bawl her out and she`ll get the message.As much as we love our dogs and hate the thought of hitting them I believe it is sometimes necessary when it`s this important.

I had a cocker spaniel that tried to nip a toddler. She didn't break skin, but out of the blue, she jumped at the toddler and gave a warning nip. That was the first and last time she was allowed anywhere near a toddler. If younger children came to visit, the dog was crated. My children were older and had no problem with her.

Perhaps with training and as the child grows older, the problem can be corrected, but I would not leave the two of them in the same room. I think rehoming is a legitimate solution. Many people have no children and would be responsible not to let him around any. Its not that hard to do.

Absolutely agree that doing what is best for one's family is most important. To my mind, doing what is best for my children would include putting as much distance between them and a dog which had bitten one of them on the face as possible. I take your point about the PROFESSIONAL, but I still think that common sense must prevail.

your dog thinks she\he is the dominant person and its probably your fault for not doing anything. is she excercised? just letting her roam the Backyard doesn't do anything. atleast 1 hour of heavy running\fast walking a day depending on the dog. the dog thinks the ball is his\her own and was reclaiming it.

its not a bahavior problem.

I hate it when people don't understnad dogs and just go kill them

you obviously didn't take the time to read the entire thread. this isn't about 'people who don't understand dogs and go kill them'

I hate it when people don't understand a situation and make a judgement on it.

I do understand it, Dogs aren't aggressive to people. what did the daughter do?..

Some dogs are aggressive toward people unfortunatly, but it is usually how they were raised from very early on. Some aggressive issues can be helped, others can not, and it is not safe to have the dogs around people. The "daughter" did not do anything except what normal young children do, pick things up. Dogs that have food or dominance issues need to be trained not to react when someone or another pet messes with their food or treats.

Orbit,
Please do not assume. Go back, read the thread, then reply.

~Tucker

Dogs aren't aggressive?

You can bet your life some dogs are aggressive to people indeed.

Gapeach, I have just checked in again, and I hope your progress is going ok

Please let us know how you're getting on. Thats unless I've missed any updates

Good luck

To clarify Carey has no agression towards people. She has just got her place in our family mixed up by thinking she is dominant over our daughter.

The trainer still has not contacted me and noone seems to be at home, we go by the house on the way to town. The first time I contacted her she returned my call immediately. I assume she has gone out of town, to train someone's dog or for personal reasons, I have no idea. This week I plan on stopping by there and dropping a note. Things are still going well howver, Carey does her commands for food, play time, going out, and coming in. She waits while we go out first until I tell her she can come in. We still do not allow Maggie in the room while Carey is eating. And where we used to let them roughhouse together (which I now know is probably how this got started) Maggie can only pet her nicely. I watch and make sure Carey has not had enough of her and when she has the petting/ attention stops. I am really tired of being judged so harshly for our decision, I believe it is the right one. As I have said many times before, no two dogs are alike, you do not know my dog. She has always LOVED (yes I will use that word again) Maggie. This was simply a food agression and dominance issue. It can be improved with help, which we still plan on doing and in the mean time I am donig all I possibly can to help along the relearning proces with what I know. For those of you who support me Thank you very much I appreciate it immensely for those of you who don't I have not asked for any opnion on this thread except on what to ask a trainer. Your opinoins do not matter to me, as we have done and continue to do what is right for our family. Maggie is not scared of Carey or any other dog, she has no pshchological(sp) damage from this and continues to love Carey very very much. As for another episode happening or her getting her finger bitten off is harsh and obviously you do not understand the problem at hand or our extreme efforts to correct this behavior. We will not put Carey to sleep she is a member of our family. If we had another child who hurt Maggie in some way, would you expect us to get rid of him/her as well? I understand a dog can do alot more damage ( in most cases anyway) than another child. But that is exactly why we are not sitting back and doing nothing, we are doing everything in our power to reteach Carey her place in the family. And will continue to do so, hopefully soon with professional help.

I know you said you dontcare about our opinions but I think your doing the right thing.

If it is a fixable issue, why would you through the life away?

Cudos to you

Thank you Jenn, the people who support our decision mean alot to me, it's the people who think we're doing wrong that I'm sick of. I'm tired of defending our decision, that's all. I didn't mean to seem rude. Thanks for your comment, we feel the same.