Chained, Aggressive Dog Still Alive After 100-stitch Bite

Last week, a dog bit a child in the face.

Things you will see wrong with this story:

1. The dog is always chained. Constantly chaining a social animal is a bad idea. Chaining increases frustration. It increases aggression and boredom. It reduces a dog's ability to escape and avoid and increases his likelihood of resorting to the fight response.

2. The dog has a history of aggression and is only 15-months-old. The owner of the dog is clear about wanting to keep the dog away from children. This is because the owner knows the dog has exhibited undesirable behaviors directed at children.

3. The dog has been teased by children in the form of having rocks thrown at him. This ties into problem #1. A dog who cannot escape teasing is a lot more likely to try an alternative means of ending conflict, like with his teeth. Keeping a dog who does not like kids in a manner such that any child can easily reach the dog is asking for trouble.

Now, there are variations on how this bite transpired. (You'll notice that when you click to the article, the breed of dog is mentioned once.) The owner claims the victim ignored his warning of not approaching the dog, went up to the dog, and stuck her face in the dog's face. Isn't it in your best interest to physically intervene if a verbal warning is insufficient? That is, if a child ignores your spoken words regarding your dog's aggression, shouldn't you remove the dog from that situation or physically restrain the child?

The victim claims she was just walking by the chained dog when he got up, ran toward her and latched on to her face.

Either way, the owner of the dog is 100% at fault.

The dog, by the way, is a Labrador Retriever. The bite? It required more than 100 stitches to close. That is a hard, dedicated bite. That is a bite from a dog who meant business, who was doing more than just giving a warning. That child, in all honesty, is incredibly lucky that that dog's mouth did not wrap itself around her neck. When the rest of the victim's family arrived, they could not reach the child because the dog was running loose and acting aggressively. The dog was not taken into custody and is still alive.

In case you are wondering, with one exception, every single one of the seven articles on this story excluded the breed of dog.

Adding insult to injury, the three dogs belonging to the victim's family have been killed. One was poisoned, the other two were beaten to death. This is a little coincidental.