Bad News

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Originally Posted by kayboxer

Don't know if I agree with that. There have been studies done suggesting that they do. If you google it you can find them. Opinions vary on this subject, but I think they do get jealous. Just my own opinion.

I agree that opinions vary. personally I tend to go with more it's that they've been bumped out of their pack structure and now don't really know where they belong plus their environment, routine, etc has changed when a new person comes into the mix. But "jealousy" I believe is more a human's perception of something that's really a lot more simple.

[RoxiesEcho]

I just want to throw my 2 cents in regarding concern that your daughter be afraid of dogs after being bit. I know that everyone and every circumstance is different but when I was 10 years old I was bit in the face by a neighbor's german shepherd. Long story short, other kids had been teasing him and unfortunately I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The dog got me in the cheek on the left side and the ear on the right side. After stitches and plastic surgery, I never lost my love of dogs. Even before the stitches were out I used a different german shepherd for a pillow and nearly gave my mom a heart attack!

I'm sorry that you find yourself in this unfortunate circumstance and hopefully your daughter will come out of all of this just fine and still loving dogs!

[kayboxer]

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

I agree that opinions vary. personally I tend to go with more it's that they've been bumped out of their pack structure and now don't really know where they belong plus their environment, routine, etc has changed when a new person comes into the mix. But "jealousy" I believe is more a human's perception of something that's really a lot more simple.

I agree to disagree. That's what is great about this site, many varying opinions.

[TwoDogs]

Originally Posted by kayboxer

Don't know if I agree with that. There have been studies done suggesting that they do. If you google it you can find them. Opinions vary on this subject, but I think they do get jealous. Just my own opinion.

Actually, to date there has only been one scientific study published that examined whether dogs were capable of exhibiting envy or jealousy and that study was conducted on only 43 dogs. (There have been plenty of such studies done on primates.)

The absence of reward induces inequity aversion in dogs — PNAS

Basically, they had one dog watch another dog do a trick and get a treat. Then they asked the watching dog to do the trick and when it did, they didn't reward it. The study showed that the test dog performed the trick less times without a reward when the other dog performed the trick and was getting rewarded than it did in a control situation when it was tested by itself. The results do seem to prove that dogs' behavior is affected by reward inequity. Additionally, the test dogs did exhibit signs of stress (licking, yawning, stretching, averting gaze) when subjected to reward inequity.

Whether this is proof that dogs feel jealousy or envy, I don't know, but it makes very interesting reading.

[kayboxer]

Originally Posted by TwoDogs

Actually, to date there has only been one scientific study published that examined whether dogs were capable of exhibiting envy or jealousy and that study was conducted on only 43 dogs. (There have been plenty of such studies done on primates.).

That's not exactly true. There have been a couple of more articles on the subject.

Dogs can be jealous, say scientists - Telegraph

Jilted dogs feel intense jealousy, study finds

Dogs may feel jealousy too

Studies have shown they actually have a range of emotions. We have just put a name to them in human terms. I do feel that dogs feel love and happiness, and if they feel that why can they not feel jealousy? Like I said, it's all a matter of personal opinion. Mine is that they feel many emotions, including jealousy.

[LILYLARUE]

I have not read any studies. But, as far as "jealousy" goes, I think they do exhibit a form of it. This only is based on my experience with a very "jealous" dog. Which is also a form of possession. What they can not possess, they react negatively to. In short, my staffy who attacked both my other dogs cause I took the attention off her and gave it to the other two. She showed signs of possession (of me) which lead to a reactory "jealous" attack on them.

Is this jealousy, possessiveness or just pack behavior? Hmmmm, makes me wonder. In my simple mind, it seemed to be the possessive behavior that lead to the jealous reaction. No pack behvior was involved. The staffy was always at the bottom of the pack.

[TwoDogs]

[QUOTE=kayboxer;1263594]That's not exactly true. There have been a couple of more articles on the subject.

Dogs can be jealous, say scientists - Telegraph

Jilted dogs feel intense jealousy, study finds

Dogs may feel jealousy too

QUOTE]

Not to be overly picky, but your first citation is an article that is reporting on the very same study that I cited. Your second citation discusses a "study" that was really more of just a survey amoung pet owners--hardly a scientific study where all factors were quantified and controlled. Your third citation is another article that references both the scientifically conducted study that I cited as well as the survey done by the University of Portsmouth. So at most we are talking about results from one study and one survey, which have been reported on many times. This is how misconceptions get started--by not checking works cited and thinking that the amount of media coverage a topic gets is equal to it's level of acceptance in scientific circles.

[JaspersFam]

not to sound like a jerk but i think if you all are going to continue a friendly discussion on the topic shouldn't you start another topic? i'm sure the poster of the issue comes on here to find out peoples opinions on his situation, not about whether boxers are jealous or not.. :0)

as far as the actual topic i am in total agreement with you, i have a two year old son and a six month old boxer and i would not tolerate him biting my son, whatever the circumstance.. again i agree that it is our job as parents to be extra vigilant when they are both together (to make sure the child isn't harassing the dog, dog isn't just attacking) but if you said that the bite was unprovoked i would do the exact same thing.... i understand your conflicting emotions but i applaud your decision as a parent.. good luck

[SweetCody]

I am truly sorry you are in this situation. I too agree that your daughter comes first hands down. My pups are very spoiled and enjoy many luxuries in my home....but they are my pups not my kid. Good luck to you in dealing with your situation. I hope your daughter's face heals beautifully with minimal scars both externally and internally.

[gordnbec]

This is very sad to hear and hopefully you can resolve the issue to your satisfaction. It really is hard to say what causes the bite but it can't be tolerated. Just a question though does he show any aggression or fear towards your child as in growling or any other posture when he she's her as this could be important. Unfortunately a small childs head is at about the same height as a dogs and this will often be where they are bit and dogs do not always see kids in the same light as what they see adults. They quite often will see them as pack mates as they see you telling them off the same as you tell them off so they may treat them just like another dog not realising kids have much softer flesh and slower reactions than them. This is the hard part of having kids and dogs they both need alot of training to work out how to react with one another to avoid such horrible encounters. A behaviour specialist may be able to help out and you may not have to rehome the dog at all but it will all depend on seeing how your dogs attitude really is with your daughter because it would be very sad if he was put down for something like this if it wasn't an aggresive action. As others have said rescue homes quite often take a dim view of these things whether they like to or not because the liability issue is too great and they do not like to put the doggs in further vulnerable positions either. Finding a new home for him might just be down to you. Good luck