Need advice to save my dog's life

i'm sorry about what happened to your niece, but considering the fact that he's an old dog (who are usually more patient -- unless he was sick at this time, which can cause some dogs to become a little aggressive) and has never shown aggression (are you sure of this? not even a growl or a snap ever, even around kids?) i think it's unfair to have him put to sleep. she must have yanked pretty hard for him to bite like that! unfortunately, it's hard to convince someone who is so fixed on one solution -- but keep at it. does your mother live with you? is she afraid he will bite her? explain as much as you can about dog behavior and what triggers aggression/biting. in the meantime, when your niece or any other children come over, keep him in another area of the house. giving him away is a good alternative if your mom is insistent. good luck!

I moved out a few years ago because im in college but i still consider him my dog. He does have a history of growling at men that are strangers who come to the door, but thats about the only agression he has ever shown.  My niece is over at the house alot so this why my mom is worried.

My old dog is actually less patient than he used to be. I won't trust him around kids because I know he might bite if they hurt him even a little. I don't let them pet him unless I'm right there beside him to stop them from doing anything they shouldn't. Personally, I don't trust any dog around kids, especially a kid that young! It doesn't surprise me that the dog bit when his tail was yanked. I think it would be a bit unfair to put him down.

I won't trust any kids around my dogs!  lol...  My dogs are great, it's the kids that haven't learned yet. 

tashakota (& everyone else) is correct...kiddos need to be educated about how to approach a dog. Even then, they should NOT be around them without supervision!

I love how kids think that Marley is trying to bite them when they are trying to bypass him smelling them and go directly to petting him. I explain to the kid that to him it's rude not to introduce yourself first! He needs to smell you so he knows what your name is...then you can pet him!!!

I don't think it's fair to put this dog down either if it has no history. Hopefully, someone will have some better advice!

An 11 year old dog could very well be getting arthritic and a little *achy* here and there.  It's possible that the yank on his tail caused him a good bit of pain, even if that's something he endured pretty well in his younger years.

Joyce & Max

Was the little girl bothering the dog even before the tail incident?  Do the adults know if the dog gave a warning before biting like a growl??  Usually, you like to see a warning before they just bite.  And, you also like to see a less severe bite. 

My mom got me a dog when I was 8 so ofcourse it was really my parents dog... but anyway he was the perfect boy until he got older then he got a little more irritable but still totally sweet, never hurt a fly.  One day a friend of her's daughter pulled his tail and he bit her, not in the face and no blood, but he bit for the first time in his life nonetheless.
 
I would suggest to your Mom that instead of putting him to sleep she educate your neice on how to treat dogs, how to approach and pet etc, and then still always keep a close watch.... not because Im worried about the dog biting for no reason, but because young kids forget and may do something like that again when no one is around. 
 
I would only give him away if you have a loving home ready for him, it is NOT fair to bring him to a shelter or anything like that (in fact, I would say to put him to sleep before bringing him to a shelter).  Either way he doesnt deserve to lose his home IMO.

I'd say the child and the dog need to be separated completely.  They can both be unpredictable and FAST.

Lori is right - separation is the key.  There's no way you can tell a 16 mo. old baby how to behave around a dog and expect her to remember it - it's a long learning process. For now it's best to keep them apart.

Joyce & Max

I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt that toddler is going to want to be around that, or any other dog, for a very long time.  I'm a dog lover thru and thru and don't have children, but I can tell you I wouldn't bring my child anywhere near the dog again.  I just wouldn't be willing to take a chance.  If you take the dog to a shelter and are truthful, they'll likely put him to sleep because of the bite history.  Perhaps you can find someone who doesn't have children who would be willing to take him in. 

I'm sorry to hear about your situation - but there is something very important that the other posters have not mentioned.  IF your dog is given away and the dog eventually bites another person or child, by law, your parents or you - are legally responsible.  This happened to my friend's dog, his dog snapped at his infant daughter and as much as I wanted to take the dog, he said that he spoke to his lawyer and that he could be found liable for any future problems - even if the dog belonged to someone else.  They put the dog down.  This happened in Massachusetts, I don't know if the law differs in other states, but you may need to look into that before just giving him away.  I'm so sorry.

I am so sorry to hear about your niece, I hope that she heals well and quickly and that she doesn't grow up being afraid of dogs. 
 
People who say "my dog doesn't bite," really should say, "we've never hit the buttons that would make this dog bite."  Every dog can bite if the buttons are pushed in the necessary order and enough times.  Most have very long thresholds and, thankfully, live out there years without biting anyone.  But, as a dog gets older, that threshold may get shorter.  If this dog grew up with children and was socialized with them, my guess is he would have never done this 6 years ago, but he's older now and perhaps hasn't been around children for a long time.  The child should have never had the opportunity to pull to dog's tail, that's poor supervision of the child and the dog.  In an ideal world, she should have been able to do that and not get bitten, but we all know it's not an ideal world. 
 
I would never let any child under the age of at least 10 to be alone with any dog I've ever owned.  Now, when children approach my dogs, who "have never bitten anyone," I don't allow the children to pat the dogs until the dogs are in the sit position and I instruct the children to gentle pat the dogs' shoulders or side of their face, with one hand.  I don't take any chances. 
 
I would not give this dog away, I would keep him knowing that he needs to be protected from children who may pull his tail. 
 
 

I completely agree! I do the same thing with my dogs, even my guide dog. Parents think it's safe to let their kids pet my guide dog just because she's a guide dog, but I tell them never to go up to a strange dog and assume they can pet it without asking the handler first. If I know that a child is going to pet my dog I can make sure they do it gently and don't hurt her.
I would worry a lot more if the dog bite was completely unprovoked. But since the dog had a reason for biting, I would simply not let the child be alone with the dog, or touch the dog unless someone is right beside them to make sure the child doesn't hurt the dog.