The Story of a Dog That Attacked a Mentally Disabled Child, a Case That Will Give You Hope

Ever felt stumped by a problem that seemed impossible to solve? Let me take you on a rollercoaster story of love, compassion, and ultimately, a triumph of creative problem-solving - it's a story to inspire any heart. Our adventure centers on Mark, an endearing young boy faced with significant mental challenges, and his family's dog, who unfortunately, grew increasingly hostile towards Mark. As a certified expert in canine behavior, I found myself embroiled in the heart of this complex dilemma that involved more than just dog behavior - it was a situation steeped in unique human dynamics as well.

Against a backdrop of mounting challenges, something extraordinary unfolds - an answer to our seemingly insurmountable problem delivered through the prism of a prayer and a most unexpected source. This episode stands as a testament to the fact that solutions often come from the least expected places. 

Marvel at how, in the end, it all came down to understanding, empathy, and an innovative approach to problem-solving. This is a story that underlines the power of perspective and how sometimes, the simplest solutions might just be the most effective.

About Scott Sheaffer
Scott Sheaffer, CCBC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is a certified dog behavior consultant who has worked with thousands of dog owners and their aggressive dogs. Scott specializes in the assessment and treatment of fear, anxiety, aggression, and phobias in dogs six months and older.

Social Media and Other Links:
DogAggressionAnswers.com (you can leave me a message here)
Facebook
Training Videos
Scott Sheaffer's Dog Behavior Articles

Disclaimer
If you have a dog who is aggressive and dangerous to humans, it is important that you immediately consult directly with an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Take proper measures to ensure that your dog is never in a position to injure anyone. The information presented in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is neither intended nor implied to replace the need for the direct involvement of an experienced and certified canine behavior consultant who specializes in dog aggression to humans. Scott Sheaffer, the Grumpy Dogs podcast and USA Dog Behavior, LLC, are not liable for any incidents or outcomes resulting from following the advice given in this podcast.

Transcript

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 0:00

Five years ago, I had an extremely challenging canine behavior case that I'll never forget. Of all the cases I've had, this one rises above all of them, not because of the dog involved, but because of the people involved, namely a little boy named Mark, who has an amazing learning experience for everyone and that included me In today's podcast. I'm going to tell you this story. Welcome to the Dog Aggression Answers podcast. I'm Scott Sheaffer, your host and a certified expert in dog behavior. With the background of helping thousands of aggressive dogs and their owners, I'm here to share humane, science-based solutions for your dog's aggression. Stay tuned. It all began when a concerned dad contacted me about his son named Mark. Mark was an eight-year-old boy who had significant mental disabilities. His dad told me that Mark's doctor said he would never be able to live on his own and would need constant care and supervision for the remainder of his life. The reason Mark's dad called me was because the family dog was beginning to show significant aggression to Mark, and apparently only Mark. Over the last six months, the dog had begun staying away or hiding from Mark, had been growling at him and then, only a few days ago, had bitten him. The aggression toward Mark had steadily been escalating, according to his dad, and didn't show any signs that it was going to stop. The father told me that Mark had been watching TV in the den only a few days ago with the dog when all of a sudden he heard his son scream. When he ran to Mark he noticed he was clutching his face and when he removed his hands it was obvious the dog had bitten him on the face. It wasn't a bad bite, the father said. There were about three small marks where you could tell the dog's teeth had contacted Mark's skin and just a little bit of blood. After doing my normal behavioral assessment of the dog and questioning the family about all of the details, I determined the problem was Mark was acting inappropriately with the dog. In other words, mark was innocently and unknowingly doing things that were scary to the dog, like holding him too hard, sitting on him, lying on him, falling on him, grabbing him and so forth To Mark. He was showing affection to the dog. However, the dog saw things from a dog's perspective and was terrified of being hurt by Mark. The dog was now using aggression to keep Mark at bay, to keep him away. The dog wasn't being mean to Mark. He was afraid of Mark. Obviously, something needed to change for Mark's safety, but let's not forget that it was also unfortunate for the dog who was experiencing this scary situation too, even though Mark, of course, would never knowingly hurt the dog. With that being said, our focus was on creating a safe environment for Mark.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 3:46

Had a few questions for Mark's dad that would frame how we could approach the situation. We knew the problem. We thought we knew the problem. How could we approach it? The first question was was the dog showing aggression to anyone else in the family? The father said no only to Mark. He was great with everyone else, both inside and outside the family. Our next question to his dad was is this dog important to Mark? The father told me Mark constantly talked about how the dog was his only friend, since most people kids especially and kids at his school shunned him. Every time he got home the first thing Mark did was look for the dog. Mark slept with the dog, followed the dog just about everywhere and just couldn't be torn away from the dog. This dog apparently really was Mark's best friend, sad and happy at the same time.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 4:57

My last question to Mark's father was could Mark learn how to more appropriately interact with the dog so that the dog wouldn't be scared of him and then therefore we wouldn't have aggression. I told him this most likely would stop the aggression. The father's answer was heartbreaking and maybe the kind of the low point of this case for me, or the saddest point. He looked at me with a palpable look of sadness and after a really long pause, said I wish he could, but no, he won't be able to learn those kinds of things. I'm hoping that you can figure out something, scott. I don't think Mark is going to be able to help us with this problem and I'm also not sure he can live without this dog.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 5:55

At this point I now knew three things. The dog was only showing aggression to Mark. Mark couldn't bear to live without the dog and finally, mark was unable to learn proper human canine interactions. What a bind. How could we make this work and keep everybody happy? It really hurt hearing Mark's father talk about the dog and his son's situation. I have a child. I can't imagine being put in this situation. It's almost a lose lose. No one's going to win in this. I told him I would have to think about what we could do for Mark and their dog. Our options were limited, to say the least. The issue wasn't really the dog. It was Mark who needed to learn how to properly interact with the dog, but his dad had told me that this wouldn't be possible and since the dog was Mark's best friend, we couldn't consider putting the dog in a different home.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 7:02

I returned to my office and felt pretty discouraged. Mark needed the dog, but he didn't know how to safely interact with the dog. Things were even more difficult for him, the dog. Things were definitely getting increasingly dangerous for Mark also. We couldn't risk another serious bite. We had reached a tipping point and something had to give. I went to bed that night and did something I probably need to do more of I prayed. I really felt bad for Mark and the family and the dog. It's really funny talking about it here, just like it happened yesterday. Really, there was no canine behavior textbook that covered this situation. That's the understatement.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 7:54

The next morning I got up and I instantly recalled a dream that I'd had that night. We all had that from time to time, recalling dreams like when you immediately wake up. I immediately called Mark's father at around 6 30 am and I'm probably sure I woke him, but I didn't really care because I thought I had an answer and I knew he wanted to hear that the dream I had may have actually provided the solution. I don't know where this dream came from. Well, maybe I did, when I think about it. In the dream I was with Mark sitting on a sofa in their den and was handing Mark this big stuffed animal that looked exactly like their family dog. In the dream, I kept handing this to him over and over, and each time he received the dog he was so happy and giggly and it was just such a fun thing to see they're handing him this stuffed animal, the stuffed dog that looked just like their dog, over and over to him. He was just so happy to have it each time I gave it to him. And then the dream was over. And when I thought about it for one second, I realized maybe this dream provides the answer Get Mark a large stuffed dog that he could hold.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 9:22

I realized that we may have been looking in all the wrong places. Maybe Mark just needed something to hold, to hold in any way that he wanted, without fear of being hurt. We all, including myself, were seeing it from our personal perspective, not Mark's. I suggested to Mark's father that he buy his son a large stuffed animal to meet the needs of Mark. The father instantly lit up and said that's perfect, he loves stuffed animals. I'll get one today and I'll try it. This is a great idea. I told him that if Mark is happy and content with his substitution, I would work with them to find a new home for their dog so Mark would be safe and their dog would ultimately be happier. Their family dog One could potentially win and Mark would have this stuffed animal for his emotional needs. The father called me about a week later and said it worked. Honestly, as I talk about this, I still get chills. Nothing like this that really ever happened to me before. It was just so rewarding in a lot of different ways from what I normally see working with dogs.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 10:47

Mark's uncle stepped up and permanently took the dog into his home. The uncle was more than happy to have the dog. He loved that dog. He knew the dog already and, by the way, the dog was a great dog. He was just being scared and didn't know what else to do and finally the dog was in a better environment.

Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA: 11:10

Mark was in love with his new stuffed animal. In fact, he named it of all things. I'm sorry this case just gets to be friend. He could hug, sit on and fall on friend as much as he wanted and friend was perfectly fine with all those things. Mark was not unlike all of us really. He just needed something to hold and fortunately a stuffed animal did the trick. There are two reasons why I love this story. Mark and his dog are happier and Mark is no longer in danger of another bite because of his inability to properly interact with dogs. Second, the solution for the dog aggression problem had nothing to do with textbook certifications or clinical canine behavior modification exercises, but had had everything to do with being open to creative and novel solutions that took the people involved into account. Animal and human behavior can never be distilled down to just a bunch of formulaic concepts. Creative solutions can be right in front of us, even when it comes to serious dog behavior issues. So visit dogaggressionanswerscom if you'd like to leave me a message.