Springer spaniel who bit my son

Question
Should I be afriad that my mom's Springer Spaniel will bite again?  My mom got a 3 yr old Springer Spaniel who had been brought up by a breeder.  The breeder sold the dog b/c he has an over bite and could not be used as a show dog.  My mom and step - dad live alone with no children.  They had had the dog for one month.  I was visiting with my four children for a week. The dog seemed great all week, then on Thanksgiving, bit my son in the face  He had to get 40 stitches in the emergency room.  The dog was over due for his dinner by one hour.  He had a bone in the yard.  My 6 year old son reached down to pet him and he severely bit him in the face.  Should I be concerned that this will happen again?  My mom thinks that it was totally related to the food and that it will not happen again.

Answer
Hi, Lacy,

I'm very sorry to hear about your son's experience. That's just terrible.

If you ask me your mother needs to understand that this dog is potentially very dangerous. She may be right that it might not ever happen again, but what if she's wrong? What if this is the tip of the iceberg?

Another thing: I don't care if the dog hadn't eaten in three days, that's no reason to bite a child on the face that severely. And the normal reaction in a dog who's protecting his bone is to go for the hand, not the face! If you ask me this dog is in need of professional help from an experienced trainer who knows how to deal with severe aggression issues.

I hope this helps.

LCK

One more thing, it's going to be very difficult for your son to be around that dog without feeling nervous or apprehensive. That alone could set off this dog for another attack.