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BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Chief

37K views 289 replies 79 participants last post by  JakodaCD OA 
#1 ·
Trying to keep my composure here, I cannot believe what just happened..


My boyfriend came home from work about 30 minutes ago. Chief was on the floor and just woke up from sleeping because Todd called him to take him outside. Chief refused and hopped up in bed and curled up behind me as he sometimes does. Normally Todd will say 'Let's go Chief!" again and he will follow him to the door. Well this time Todd reached for his collar to pull him down, not in a mean or rude way or anything, and Chief lunged at him aggressively and bit his face. Todd has a big gash in his cheek and across the bottom of his chin. He straight up with no warning lunged and put gashes in his face!! He just left for the minor emergency clinic to get it cleaned up, it is nasty and he said very painful. Omg I didn't even know what to say or do, I am completely shocked and I feel absolutely horrible. There was so much blood on his face and on the bathroom sink and floor. Now Chief is super attached to me but he has never shown any aggression to Todd. He has started to bond with him really well and would often cuddle with him in the bed and on the couch, something he would never do even with me in the beginning. I cannot believe he did this to Todd. I do not and cannot have this happen again. I love my dog to death but now I don't doubt he would act this way towards ANYone to "protect" me. This deeply concerns since it has hit close to home. I know this is Todd's fault since he is the one that went to move Chief but IMO this should NEVER happen, Chief should not act that way towards him. I am so thankful he did not get his eye. I mean I am just at a loss, this has never happened before? What do I do? Does Chief need to be re-homed, can he be trusted to a new home unless it was a single person? He apparently bonds to one person. He obviously has a pretty serious bite history now and that would be a big liability to put him up for adoption. I am really scared and worried. Todd totally kept his cool and didn't react to Chief but I could tell he was extremely upset, [censored], angry, etc. I am VERY upset about thinking of euthanasia and wonder if that is overreacting but tell me what should I do, I need some insight PLEASE. I know Todd is going to have a very different view of Chief now, and i dont blame him, but now I worry that he will direct his frustrations and anger onto me because of what my dog did and I don't want it to break our relationship apart, we are planning on purchasing a home together in May, he's not just a guy I could easily say goodbye to.

OMG
 
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#77 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

It's unfortunate that the written word can be interpreted in many ways. It's also unfortunate that we're stuck with it and sometimes react to it.

Everyone please understand that we should be addressing our posts to Chief's parents and be on topic with them.

This is not about us.
 
#78 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

WHAT THE [heck] IS GOING ON IN THIS FORUM?? PEOPLE GET UPTIGHT WAY TO QUICKLY THESE DAYS!!

Sorry, I had to bring a little humor with the all caps for emphasis...


Anyways, my Boxer/Pitbull mix bit me in the face once when she was 3 years old and my wife and I just got married. Thus the start of my wife sleeping in the same bed. Beau did not take to this well and has always assumed she was the absolute alpha dog. We solved that issue VERY quickly with extensive re-training and behavior management/modifications. Believe me, like you... I wanted to lash out and kill the darn dog. But, I had to control myself.

Beau is suprisingly enough allowing Titon to be over her in the pack order. That never would have happened had I not intervened 6 years ago when that incident occurred.

I wish you the best of luck and we are all here for you. Some of us have experience with this issue and some of us don't but willing to help in any way possible.

Please let us know how the evaluation goes.
 
#79 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Hi everyone I'm still here and still reading all the posts. Here are the pics of Todd's face *warning* there is blood incase anyone needs to skip over them fast





















I asked Todd about what happened at the Doctor's regarding shots and all of that. Todd did tell the doc that he was bitten by our own dog and that the dog is current on all vaccines and todd already has his shots..since we know the dog is current he didnt need to get a rabies shot. I am guessing Todd explained the situation to the doctor so he didn't report it.


Believe me I do NOT want to see Chief destroyed. This was a bit of a traumatic experience for Todd and regardless if this was not a vicious attack and just a warning bite that just happened to be on his face, it still happened on his face and could have been a LOT worse and we do not want to take that chance again. Some people might be comfortable keeping a dog around that has bitten them or their family in the face but that is just beyond our comfort level and that is me being totally honest. Todd is absolutely scared of Chief now and does not want to be around him. I can't blame him because I would not want to live with a dog that has bitten me in the face. I AM in the process of contacting people in the rescue who can help seek out a behaviorist and give him a proper evaluation. If he can be saved then by all means I want him to live out a healthy life with someone who can manage him. I have fostered, trained, and adopted out many German Shepherds and have never encountered this type of situation before. This really makes me take a step back and think about my future rescue endeavors.
 
#80 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

So if I'm looking at the picture correctly, the chin bite was Chief's lower jaw and the two cheek bites were the upper jaw? So essentially he took Todd's whole mouth/face square across? I was under the assumption it was just a little nick bite. This looks scarier than I had originally thought.

My bite from Beau was chin (her bottom jaw) and my nose (her upper jaw).
 
#81 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Yeah his face wasn't really that close to Chief's either and it wasn't over him. He was reaching out with his arm to get the collar and Chief lunged out over me and got him.
 
#85 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

I've been reading this thread for a while now....
I can empathize with the "rescue & fostering" situations, ideas & dedications......however;....these types of situations must be thought out with a "clear head" and sometimes, a hard heart.
I can absolutely understand, the Ops position.
This dog has lived in the household for several months.
This should not have happened.....but it did.
This has the possibility of happening again......and it probably will.
The bite is bad.......next time could be worse.
I have no doubt, what my own, personal decision would be....
JMO
 
#86 ·
Originally Posted By: LilaFollowing the assessment you and Todd can decide what to do. We all know you've stated your attachment to Chief and we know that Todd is a cop. That being said don't make any hasty decisions about Chief's future.

Being a rescue in the first place means that Chief will need more work than normal. Rescuing is a brave and sometimes foolhardy thing to do. I've looked at your prior post celebrating Chief's Gotcha Day. I know you love him intensely.

Read the other posts. Now is not the time to make a final decision regarding Chief's future. It's emotional and shocking but "rescue work" has the potential to reveal something you never expected. Working through those problems requires a dedication and structure that I'm sure is within both of your capabilities providing that Chief's not evaluated as hopelessly "male aggressive".
I think it needs to be stressed, again, that MustLove has a LOT of experience with rescues (so I'm not sure lecturing about it being a "foolhardy" thing is going to help anything) as both a foster and an intake coordniator. Also not sure why Todd being a cop needed to get brought up since it has abosolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand.
 
#87 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Thanks Elsa, maybe it is odd that in my years of rescuing I have never come across a GSD behaving like Chief, I've dealt with some stubborn dogs but none that would ever sink their teeth into me or anyone I was with. Sure dedication, structure, and a lot of work can help or improve any issue and I'd like to say this would not be beyond my capabilities, but when it involves a pretty bad bite on the face with my SO, I'm sorry but that just really changes things. Chief clamped down across Todd's face, we're seriously lucky this wasn't a LOT worse. For a guy who has learned to be patient, kind, and understanding with me about the rescue world and my volunteering and who has such a big heart for dogs and really loves ours just as much as I do and helps me out so much, it absolutely sucks that this happened to him. He grew very attached to Chief and always bragged about him to his friends and to strangers. Chief was always giving him kisses and was so eager to go in a sit, down, or give him a shake sometimes more than he would be for me! None of us secretly hated this dog or wanted him gone, I was expecting him to be a part of our family until he grew old and was called home to the rainbow bridge, there are days when I would think about him passing on and I would break down and cry. What would I do without my Chief? This whole ordeal has not been easy by any means, I am trying my best to be logical and level-headed in this situation and make the best decision for the humans and the dog.


PS thanks for all the well wishes for Todd, everyone. He is reading/following this thread right along with me. He is doing alright, his jaw just hurts a good bit and he has taken a couple days off work. Unfortunately the poor guy didn't get any sleep yesterday because I was on the phone half the day with rescuers. He is more concerned with how I am feeling and keeps apologizing for what he did
 
#88 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

one valuable thing my trainers taught me is to not over analyze the situation.The dog feels that he can cross the boundaries or he has no boundaries. The only reason Paige hasn't bitten anyone is because she is just marginally convinced that I am in charge. I have a client who always had some excuse why the dog bit them, sent them BOTH to the hospital. You think I would be afraid of this dog but we start a two week vacation today. Long ago after the first bite I changed my stance with this dog to avoid getting bitten.
some dogs can not be spoiled. some dogs cannot be on the bed. I had to be really strict with Paige when she was young-no bed etc. or else she would have me conquered.
 
#89 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

This definitely puts things in perspective for me as to the future with my dogs and their privileges. Chief is such a relaxed and calm dog that I never gave it any second thought as to allowing him on the bed. I guess he was subtly climbing up the ladder unbeknownst to me. In fact most times I would want him up there with me and he would rather stay on the floor. I definitely will be doing things a lot different with this Doberman and after what has happened with Chief, at this point I won't be allowing this dog on our furniture. Anytime he's even attempted to he has been corrected. When I first bring dogs into my home I work on boundaries and structure first and make sure they know they're place before they get any privileges/freedom.
 
#90 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

live and learn. I call dogs like Chief -"vipers" they act mellow but they are ready to strike. The dog I mentioned above is like that-no warning just strike.
also when you have more than one dog there is always more dynamics, more than we can see. Often times an innocent looking dog is actually the provoker.
one thing we cannot ignore is a bite to the face. sorry for your troubles.
 
#91 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

OH! Poor Todd!! Yikes...it looks like Chief had Todd's whole face in his jaws! You obviously have a very good relationship and he seems like a very kind man. I don't blame you one bit for giving Chief back to the Rescue for re-evaluation. It is wise for you to think of your future and what if you have babies...by then Chief might be too old to find another more suitable home.

I was at my local dog trainer/boarding kennel/ daycare place and saw a woman with a Pit/ Rhodesian mix. This was her own dog. It jumped up and bit her in the face so severely, because she was issuing a correction I believe, she had two line of stitches down either side of her mouth, each a couple of inches long!! It was shocking! She was there at the trainer, trying to rehabilitate her dog. I took one look at that dog, and the dog watched me as I handed some money through the chain link fence to the trainer...and my friend the trainer said "Careful!! Go slow!"

There is no way that lady was going to be able to handle that dog.

Not sure where I was going with that..except a bite in the face is serious and I'm glad Todd didn't get it worse. Best of luck to you both!
 
#92 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Originally Posted By: SuzyEone valuable thing my trainers taught me is to not over analyze the situation.
agree here. Return your dog to the rescue and learn from this, there is nothing else you can say or do for this dog. You are both are afraid of him and that's end of the story.

I've heard on this board GSDs are not for everyone, and only now I start understanding why breeders say that. GSD with correct temperament do have aggression in them, they are working dogs so they are mellow when they are not working, why is this such a surprise?
 
#93 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

I am not afraid of Chief, as I've said I've handled a lot of German shepherds, mostly rescues so most have had baggage. I personally love the protection breeds and I am definitely not a Labrador or purse dog person. Out of respect for Todd I will not keep Chief in our family.
 
#94 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

What is Chiefs bite history? The bite to me doesn't look terrible if you put in perspective how bad it could have been if Chief had wanted to do real damage. Looks like a "hey buddy don't touch me bite" which in my limited experience means Chief needs to train with Todd so Chief knows Todd is his master like you. I'm sorry your BF wants him gone and respecting his decision is something I can relate too, but is there anyway you guys could choose to work with him? His odds of finding a forever home aren't good and he'll need someone who knows how to gain his trust and really work with him. It sounds like you know how to train and he already trusts you...

Hope all ends well and I am so sorry this happened.
 
#96 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Originally Posted By: crhuertaI've been reading this thread for a while now....
I can empathize with the "rescue & fostering" situations, ideas & dedications......however;....these types of situations must be thought out with a "clear head" and sometimes, a hard heart.
I can absolutely understand, the Ops position.
This dog has lived in the household for several months.
This should not have happened.....but it did.
This has the possibility of happening again......and it probably will.
The bite is bad.......next time could be worse.
I have no doubt, what my own, personal decision would be....
JMO
She said it better than me.
My sympathies to you and Todd for what I know must be hard moments.
 
#97 ·
I'm sorry if you thought I was lecturing.

My understanding and use of the word "foolhardy" is that it's a risky, bold and adventurous thing to do.

My reference to Todd's occupation is that he is trained to assess and weigh risks.

Between his training and her experience in rescue it's possible that something could be worked out. Only the two of them can decide such a thing regardless of what you and I may believe. They were there. We weren't.

No offense meant.

Heartfelt thoughts and wishes sent to all involved.
 
#98 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

I ALSO use capital letters all the time. Not to yell or for drama. But for emphasis.

And I'm not going to stop or quit this site.

I DO wish that the OP would just own/deal with one dog at a time. If the Dobe puppy is 'new' and may have aggravated the situation. Then it's 'last dog in, first dog out' for me. The GSD didn't ask a new dog to come in the house and upset the apple cart, so why the GSD is then 'punished' isn't fair to me.

Additionally, when I add a dog to my house, I know it's MY (see, capitals
) responsibility to make sure I make that dog 'all that it can be'. With training, socialization, education. I would try EVERYTHING before giving him up. Since most of the suggestions given by every one are EASY (again
) but would involve work from the OP (not excuses) I'm thinking the GSD is going to be out of the house in the end.

I think it would be interesting to see if with just ONE dog in the hours (the GSD) and seriously training/socializing and NILF went on. With a crate in place for management and for the dog to sleep in at night......be interesting to see if stability came into place again in the house.
 
#100 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Originally Posted By: MaggieRoseLee


Post was removed by OP, but before that happened it was quoted here. Quote removed by Admin. Wisc.Tiger
Oh that's so unfair to her and her BF. Don't make them feel any worse than they already do. How sad, she is doing the right thing in her heart for her dog.
 
#101 ·
Re: BIG problem my boyfriend was bit in face by Ch

Originally Posted By: Snickelfritz
Originally Posted By: MaggieRoseLee


quote removed by Wisc.Tiger Admin. Removed from original post but not before it was quoted
Oh that's so unfair to her and her BF. Don't make them feel any worse than they already do. How sad, she is doing the right thing in her heart for her dog.
Oops, you are RIGHT, I had gone back in to edit and remove that.
 
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