scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
I think that's a reasonable and proportionate use of a muzzle in the interest of both chlid and dog (*not sarc), as well as an anecdote supporting the banning of labradors, which vicious brutes are always tearing the faces off children (*sarc).Many years ago before my marriage I had a beautiful labrador bitch that my then boyfriend (now husband) bought me as a birthday present. By the time we married and went on to have our first child my dog was about 5 years old. She was very well bred from a reputable breeder. Always excellent behaviour, very easy to train from day one, but, she could show the odd mini snarl at my terrier and once or twice at the vet. Never showed any intention of biting though, just a small 'keep away from me' warning. To be on the safe side we always muzzled her at the vets.
When our son was born we were obviously very careful that we never left her alone with the baby, not even for a minute. She had not shown any signs of jealousy, indeed her attitude was the usual goofy labrador snuffling around at the bottom of his high chair looking for scraps and wagging her tail while she did so. One day I was sitting on one side of the lounge with my labrador at my feet, watching my son at about 12/14 months of age climbing on the sofa at the other side of the room and bouncing up and down and laughing as he did so. In a split second the dog leapt up flew across the room and bit my son on the side of his face. Fortunately it was not a major bite, more like a small nip but it has left him with a small scar on one side of his eye. There was no provocation, nothing unusual going on, a totally normal afternoon indoors with the baby and the two dogs.
So should we have immediately put her to sleep? Many would say yes we should have done. Well we didn't, from that day onward she wore a muzzle from the moment I got up (before getting my son out of his cot) until the baby was put to bed in the evening. If for any reason I had to get my son up the dog would be shut in another room. She lived for another 8 years and by the time my child was about 3 we had a second baby so in total the dog wore the muzzle for about 6 of those 8 remaining years. She never rubbed at the muzzle, she never complained, she joined in all family activities as before, and she never growled or threatened either of the children ever again, but she did still occasionally mutter at the terrier, but then so did I! She would put her nose straight into the muzzle herself when I appeared in the mornings.
I think her life was still happy and fulfilled, and eventually she did become a very good and loyal companion to the boys and would trail around after them all day long in the summer out in the garden. She would even leap in the paddling pool to play with them.
Were we cruel to muzzle her like that? Were we wrong to have kept her after that first unprovoked attack on a very small child. I am only posting this as an example of how a dog can be muzzled without any adverse effects on its quality of life or having to be shut out in a yard like it seems a lot of family dogs are. I think half the owners of these dogs do not really care much for their dogs at all if the new regulations are enough to warrant dumping their dogs, having them put down etc. etc.
Ducks behind the parapet and awaits the attack.
PS. I would have had her PTS too, probably, unless I could see a reason for the attack.*
*my sister once stuck a pin in my childhood CKCS, playing 'vets'. Some kids deserve what they get.
) treat thing though it. She was fine.
