I always believe that under the right circumstances any dog can get scared and can bite. It is part of their nature.
Even little Gigi. She never did it before and never did it since. She was really shy when I first got her. We were traveling cross country for Christmas. We were in a hotel room, and I stepped out for 1 second to throw something in the trash outside my room. When I opened the door, she bolted out and wouldn't come to me. She was very spooked. She ran out in front of cars on Route 66.
We finally lured her into the lobby of the motel. She ran behind some people. They reached down to pick her up. She felt cornered and she bit. Luckily, she didn't break the skin.
But anyway, I just mean it as an example of how when a dog is frightened, they may use their teeth and bite even if they never have before.
Scary! I don't think I was around when you got little Gigi (and I forget how old she is) and I never heard that story. So glad you got her back though and nothing happened on the highway! Whew.
I wouldn't titer the rabies. I have a child-hater dog, and in the terrible circumstance that he somehow bit one, I would rather have the current shot then have to worry that the titer wasn't proof enough.
Yesh, that's basically what I concluded
I have one dog who also hates kids, so I know how it is.
I think you are doing the smart thing regarding rabies because you never know when the law will change, someone will successfully challenge it, or you visit an area that doesnt accept titers.
I never thought of being in an area that doesn't accept titers, thanks so much for pointing that out.
If titers is legal proof of rabies immunity in your area, thats absolutely the way to go. Rabies vaccine has been linked to aggression in dogs. You don't want to add to the problem you already have.
Rabies and aggression eh? Something I'll have to research, and as much as I don't want to hit her with more rabies vaccine, I decided to do both dogs, and titer for the rest. It's also alot more reasonable cost-wise, although that's not much of an issue really, but the rabies jabs are about $25 each (canadian dollars) and the titers are about $100 each. Rabies titers here run at about $200, and for both dogs, well, it makes more sense to me to spend much less for absolute assurance than to spend a whack more for something that could still be left questionable. Decision made
We only know what you tell us. You said YOUR dog has bitten children three times and did not elaborate. Iam supposed to read your mind? Thats why I asked, and I did not attack you, I simply asked and you dodged the question, which is why I asked a second time. Your statements were scary and concerning. You still did not say anything about the third bite which IMO is an intentional ommision at this point
Thats the impression you gave. If you didn't allow the dog near kids, it wouldn't happen. I don't see how you are not seeing the coralation. Iam assuming you are an adult in your household thus can prevent dog/kid contact. The fact shes bitten three times is frustrating to ME.
Heck, its your dog, your money, and your liability, its just bizzare to me that it could happen three times when you openly admit the dog has a problem.
I didn't say you were attacking me, I said I was frustrated with the way your comments made me feel. I know you don't know the whole story, and I know I didn't really tell it yet, but the thread was about rabies shots and titer testing, not why my dog was "allowed" to bite a child. Completely different issue. For now, I need to worry about vaccinations, and vaccinating and spaying the cats. The kid thing is an ongoing problem that we sort of work on, because these two are my first dogs (the other one is friendly as pie and issue-free, thankfully) and I ended up getting in over my head but I've learned alot and we're pretty much ready to overcome our last two obstacles, which are the hardest, and they scare me. We're getting there, kinda a learning together to not be afraid type thing.
Before something ever happens, you don't know it's going to happen, unless it's happened before, right? So when she nipped the first boy, how were we supposed to know it was going to happen? Should we all shelter our dogs from everything that
might happen? No, she was running around with Kye and the other dog, and the kid ran, as kids do, and she nipped him. Then it happened again, and as I said, the first time we chaulked it up to excitement because she was young and so much was happening but then it happened again a few minutes later, she got in major trouble and was dealt with in a majorly wrong way considering her cirsumstances, so from then on "kids = bad things happen, keep them away no matter what". The second time I wasn't even there and the people that were with her knew better but allowed her out with the kid anyways, and it happened again, and I guess she got in major trouble again (like I said, I wasn't there) so yeah.
Therefore, I don't allow her near kids, so it doesn't happen. I
did make that correlation, thanks.
So, getting back to the topic at hand: for the record, it's rabies jabs for both and titers/anything necessary for everything else.
Thanks guys for your opinions and information