I own two huskys, brother and sister. They are 17 months old.
We have had the boy since 6 weeks old and before hand see him everyday since birth.
He is well trained and has boundaries set in place, no going on sofa, no going upstairs.
Him and my daughter have always got on very well, however yesterday is bit her, enough to leave teeth marks and bruise on her arm.
I was in the same room, more or less next to them, she went to put her arms around his neck to cuddle him as she usually does and he bit her. No warning growl nothing.
This has totally shocked us and have no idea how to handle this situation I feel very torn.
My husky bit my child
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: My husky bit my child
How old is your daughter?
It may be that he was sending warning signs, on this occasion and in the past when she cuddled him, but that they were too subtle to notice. There are loads of videos on YouTube of children cuddling dogs where the owners thought they got on great, but people more experienced in dog body language are cringing because they can see the whale eye, the lip licking, the look at the owner that says 'Help me'. If your dog has been saying this, then he's realised that it doesn't work so he feels he has to take more easily read action. Bear in mind that he has still shown a degree of control - if he hadn't, he would have broken skin.
Many dogs are simply not keen on being cuddled, but may have come to think they need to tolerate it. Think about it - when dogs meet other dogs they really like they don't cuddle each other. Even dogs that like to have a lot of body contact with you can still retreat if you try to pet them - again, many people don't notice this and pet them anyway.
It's possible, though, that your dog was particularly unhappy today - it would be worth a full vet check to rule out anything that might be causing him discomfort.
The bottom line is, your daughter needs to stop giving him cuddles, and only pet him when he initiates it. She could give him a brief chest scratch, say, then stop and see if he asks for more. I'm hoping she is old enough to understand this as if not, you will have to keep them separated so she can't cuddle him again.
It may be that he was sending warning signs, on this occasion and in the past when she cuddled him, but that they were too subtle to notice. There are loads of videos on YouTube of children cuddling dogs where the owners thought they got on great, but people more experienced in dog body language are cringing because they can see the whale eye, the lip licking, the look at the owner that says 'Help me'. If your dog has been saying this, then he's realised that it doesn't work so he feels he has to take more easily read action. Bear in mind that he has still shown a degree of control - if he hadn't, he would have broken skin.
Many dogs are simply not keen on being cuddled, but may have come to think they need to tolerate it. Think about it - when dogs meet other dogs they really like they don't cuddle each other. Even dogs that like to have a lot of body contact with you can still retreat if you try to pet them - again, many people don't notice this and pet them anyway.
It's possible, though, that your dog was particularly unhappy today - it would be worth a full vet check to rule out anything that might be causing him discomfort.
The bottom line is, your daughter needs to stop giving him cuddles, and only pet him when he initiates it. She could give him a brief chest scratch, say, then stop and see if he asks for more. I'm hoping she is old enough to understand this as if not, you will have to keep them separated so she can't cuddle him again.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: My husky bit my child
Edit: got cross-posted by Judy 
so some of this is repeated from her post!
How old is your daughter?
If she's very young, for now, keep them separated. Still spend time with the dog, but don't let your daughter near him.
I would also advise a thorough vet check - if it's something he normally tolerates but this time he didn't, it's possible he's sick or in pain. Animals naturally hide this and sometimes the only symptom is a change in behavior.
Another possibility is "trigger stacking" - you know how normally, if you can't find your keys right away, it's not a big deal and you keep looking? But on a day where your alarm clock didn't go off so you're running late, and the shower didn't warm up fast enough so you had to take a freezing cold one, and you burned your toast and ran out of butter so you can't even put that on it...not being able to find your keys might then make you yell or cry in frustration. This is trigger stacking. Small things are still stressful. On their own, you may easily be able to handle them. But on a day when you encounter half a dozen small things, they add up. It may be that something similar happened to your husky - maybe there's construction next door and the noise is stressful, and he has a stomachahe because sometimes your stomach just hurts, so on and so forth, and the hug was the straw on the camel's back.
I am running out of time so will either come back later to give resources on appropriate child/dog interactions or someone else will - but I would advise starting to teach your daughter that dogs don't like hugs and instead she should pet them on the chest, shoulders, sides, or back.
Have you ever scolded him for growling?
What's his usual daily schedule?
so some of this is repeated from her post!How old is your daughter?
If she's very young, for now, keep them separated. Still spend time with the dog, but don't let your daughter near him.
I would also advise a thorough vet check - if it's something he normally tolerates but this time he didn't, it's possible he's sick or in pain. Animals naturally hide this and sometimes the only symptom is a change in behavior.
Another possibility is "trigger stacking" - you know how normally, if you can't find your keys right away, it's not a big deal and you keep looking? But on a day where your alarm clock didn't go off so you're running late, and the shower didn't warm up fast enough so you had to take a freezing cold one, and you burned your toast and ran out of butter so you can't even put that on it...not being able to find your keys might then make you yell or cry in frustration. This is trigger stacking. Small things are still stressful. On their own, you may easily be able to handle them. But on a day when you encounter half a dozen small things, they add up. It may be that something similar happened to your husky - maybe there's construction next door and the noise is stressful, and he has a stomachahe because sometimes your stomach just hurts, so on and so forth, and the hug was the straw on the camel's back.
I am running out of time so will either come back later to give resources on appropriate child/dog interactions or someone else will - but I would advise starting to teach your daughter that dogs don't like hugs and instead she should pet them on the chest, shoulders, sides, or back.
Have you ever scolded him for growling?
What's his usual daily schedule?
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Re: My husky bit my child
My daughter is four and we have now told her no more cuddles.
He seems well in him self.
From what Ive seen a cuddle has never bothered him before, they both have fell to sleep cuddling before. He has never growled or snarled.
Maybe he was having an off day, however we are seeking a dog trainer to come to our home and see if they find anything we may be doing wrong.
He seems well in him self.
From what Ive seen a cuddle has never bothered him before, they both have fell to sleep cuddling before. He has never growled or snarled.
Maybe he was having an off day, however we are seeking a dog trainer to come to our home and see if they find anything we may be doing wrong.
Re: My husky bit my child
It was raining yesterday an refused to go out in our massive garden to do is usually running about. Maybe that made a difference.
Re: My husky bit my child
Is he normally reluctant to go out when it's raining? Also, does he get regular walks as well as running about in the garden?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Re: My husky bit my child
He goes out most days for a walk and run. Rain never normally bothers him.
Re: My husky bit my child
That could suggest there's something not quite right with him at the moment, so I'd keep a close eye on his behaviour and take him to the vet if in doubt. He may also be understimulated if he's not getting a walk every day - as well as regular interesting walks, there are some ideas for entertaining a dog mentally in this thread: viewforum.php?f=4Feebie19 wrote:Rain never normally bothers him.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
