What a horrible experience! I feel sorry for all involved-you, your family, even the dog. But most of all, I feel sorry for the children involved. Children have such faith in dogs as trustworthy friends, and when bitten, they oftentimes blame themselves. Your son must feel really badly that all of this could transpire, and he may feel afraid to trust another dog or to become emotionally involved with another one. It is challenging and worthwhile to teach a child to love and trust dogs, but also, at the same time, to know dogs for what they really are rather than what human imaginations and wishful thinking sometimes define them to be. I believe there is a benefit in moving forward and teaching your son to have a fact-based, rather than fiction-based, understanding of dogs.

By loving and living with dogs, we also face risks and problems. One day we will lose the dog we love, and that is hard enough to accept when it comes after many happy years together. When a dog has an untimely and traumatic end, as yours has, people can become afraid to recommit to another dog; they are afraid the same unexpected horror can happen again. It is hard to "get back on the horse" so to speak, and I realize your trust in canines also has been shaken, especially in this particular instance because your previous dog had some common ancestry. But breeds of dogs don't bite; individual dogs do. Dogs of every breed and breed combination are capable of biting, just as they all are capable of being safe pets.

To reassure you further, I have an Australian Cattle Dog, a.k.a. Blue Heeler, and the dog coexists with our many children, including our 2-year-old son. We've raised the dog since puppyhood to be controllable and self-controlled; likewise, we raise our children to behave safely and respectfully with dogs. We never allow unsupervised interaction between children and puppies; in fact, we keep our young dogs-in-training leashed and attached to one of the adults at all times while children are present until we are confident about the dog's reactions and actions with children. We also teach the dog what is and isn't appropriate behavior in a proactive, rather than reactive, manner. I do not wait for problems to pop up; I set dogs up with gradually increasing social and environmental stimuli and teach them appropriate responses. When dealing with a herding dog and children, the predatory mechanisms of the canine group come into consideration. These breeds were developed with a purpose; they have been selectively bred for a strong chase-reflex mechanism to maximize their working ability. In order to assert toward cattle, chasing and nipping at them, these dogs require an aggressive predatory mechanism.

With a good leader, they make great "right hand" assistants; they can get out front and do their job, but remain controllable and accepting of their owner's authority. But when a dominant dog is allowed to spend unsupervised or unchecked time "playing" with children, a message other than "isn't this fun" is being communicated. When a dog behaves assertively during play, it is using ritualized behaviors to communicate superior rank without requiring bloodshed or serious conflict. During play "sparring" a dog easily can "out-dog" the average child and form the conclusion it has superior rank. Dogs often become bullies when allowed to express their perceived higher rank. Allowed to bark territorially, chase and demonstrate possession-related aggression over family and visiting children, many dogs develop aggression problems right under the owners' noses. Many people believe certain aggressive actions from dogs toward children are normal or even deserved. The problem is, if the dog is allowed to assume it has authority in any circumstance over a child, it is likely to behave the same way in all circumstances. Touching the dog, taking something from the dog, even passing near it when it has a possession all can provoke a dominant-aggressive dog.

Entering dog territory, such as a yard, pen or home, and especially running and screaming, can escalate aggressive responses. Some dogs seem to bite without obvious provocation, but when seemingly spontaneous biting cases are examined closely, there usually is a very obvious line the dog has drawn that has been crossed. Of greater concern with biting dogs is the issue of force. When a normal dog is provoked and goes from the threat of aggression to actual biting it will use the minimum amount of force required to make its point. But some dogs behave abnormally, due to cumulative aggression, chemical imbalances, inherent temperament problems or mishandling. These dogs use excessive force, biting with abandon and intending to inflict serious harm, or with a total loss of self-control. It sounds as if your niece was bitten by a dog that was behaving abnormally or that had a long history leading up to the episode.

Unfortunately, dogs can learn to be aggressive and can be taught either deliberately or accidentally to use excessive force. My greatest concern for you, your family and your new puppy is that you may have some old habits of handling and interaction that could lead to this dog developing a similar aggression problem. I suggest you enroll the dog in a puppy class that allows your children to participate and that emphasizes leadership skills for the humans rather than just trying to teach your new dog old tricks. With proper training, most likely you will have no trouble and will enjoy having a responsive, intelligent, educated dog!

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• Aggression

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