My husband and I got a German Shepherd puppy years ago after we got married. A few months later she started showing signs of aggression towards people so we spent a ton of money on a trainer. The training has worked well and we have really great control of her and know how to handle her. She is still very protective and sometimes aggressive when people are on her property but, again, we’ve learned how to handle her.

Well, about a week ago my husband was playing on the floor with our 8 month old. Our dog brought him a toy and our 8 month old acted interested and she bit him on the head. He had 2 puncture wounds that bled like crazy and a couple of bruises. He’s okay! The bleeding stopped after a few minutes and his pediatrician told us not to worry. We’ve felt terrible and extremely guilty that it even happened. But our dog didn’t even give any warning. She normally growls a lot or shows her teeth and this bite was definitely out of aggression- not playful.

My husband and I have been trying to figure out what to do. She’s so incredibly unpredictable and we feel that we can’t trust her around our baby anymore. Trying to keep them separated for years in a smaller house seems like it would be near impossible, but my husband and I don’t really believe in getting rid of a dog. We don’t think she would do well if we re-homed her because she’s very attached to us and she’s extremely aggressive toward everyone else. A lot of people have told us to put her down but the thought of that breaks my heart. Im just at a loss, but I need to keep my sons safety my first priority and I’m very worried this could happen again and be much more serious.

Any advice? Has anyone dealt with this? Please don’t send hateful comments, either. This has been so incredibly hard and o know this is our fault and should have been avoided. I feel like I failed at keeping my son safe.