Pack Mom Daily Bite: Dog Bites and Kids- Who’s to Blame?

My husband and I flew back to Tampa yesterday after spending a wonderful three days in Chicago, attending Backer’s Total Pet Expo.  I floated through our house, still on cloud 9 from the trip.  The dogs were more than excited to see us…running around and wiggling their butts everywhere.  My parents rolled in about an hour later with our son, Sebastian.  They had graciously babysat for 72 hours.  God bless.

After a delicious dinner with them we started getting the troops…well the one trooper, Sebastian, ready for bed.  As you can imagine, he was on high speed, zooming through each room, trying to avoid the inevitable.  Then, his energy turned towards poor Chico.  We immediately corrected him.  He tried to spray Chico with a spray bottle, held a dog treat for ransom and then began to chase him around my bedroom. While I, with one leg in and one leg out of my pajamas, was yelling at  my son to STOP BUGGING the dog, “it” happened.

CHICO           BIT          SEBASTIAN.

Everyone froze.  Chico looked shocked.   Sebastian just stared at me.  And my stomach hit the floor.

Damn.  Damn, damn, damn!  How could I have let this happen?

I immediately scolded them both and then had to get busy cleaning and disinfecting Sebastian’s hand.  The bite wasn’t bad but did break the skin. Boo boo cream and one owl band aid later and we were all good.

This was a good lesson for our entire family.

1.  We were dealing with dogs that had been at home alone for three days.  Not exercising like they usually do and off their routine.  They had an awesome pet sitter visit three times a day but let’s face it, their activity level was curbed significantly.  Chico was overly excited and anxious.

2.  We were also dealing with an overtired and over stimulated 2.5 year old.  Three days of being spoiled by loving grandparents will do that 🙂  He should never have been allowed to interact with Chico in that manner.

3.  Most importantly, my husband and I were 100% to blame.  We were tired from a weekend filled with a lot of work,  eating, drinking and a long flight.  Truth is…we were being lazy and should have power walked our dogs and been on top of our son’s behavior.

I share this story with you because it was a lesson learned for my family and I hope it can help you if you ever find yourself in this situation.  Almost 100% of dog bites are PREVENTABLE.  And, most times, the dog is provoked.  As was the case in my house.

We  love all of our boys and made a mistake.  We hope our mistake can help you in the future!!

~Jenn

Tags: cats, dog bite prevention, dog bites and kids, dog walk, Dogs, featured, Jenn Fadal Pet Expert, jenn fadal pet wellness and lifestyle expert, jenn fadal the pack mom, kids, pet sitters, total pet expo

Category: Exercise, Family, MY PACK LIFE, Safety, Training