Another baby killed

I can respect your views Kate1949 but we had our dog for 5 years before our granddaughter was born. He was our 3rd rescue, all had horrendous pasts. It beggars belief what people do yo animals but that is a different discussion.
We were not about to get rid of our beloved dog, where was he supposed to go, pts?
We take every care with him, he is walked 3 tines a day, mixes with his dog friends. I just won't allow uninvited pats or strokes from people he doesn't know.

Kate1949

I just wouldn't have a dog with children. Any dog. It's not fair to a small child to be told not to go near it or stroke it etc. They are children.

I wouldn’t have a dog either that the children were told not to go near either. But most family dogs are fine and a great joy and protector of the small family members. I was watching my 4 year old granddaughter share her breakfast yesterday with their rottie the dog adores her and has been brought up with her She knows how to behave around him although he is a big softie and she knows which pet to watch out for as he has a habit of reacting and that’s the ruddy cat

Kate1949

I just wouldn't have a dog with children. Any dog. It's not fair to a small child to be told not to go near it or stroke it etc. They are children.

Dogs and children can be great friends and having a dog can help children develop kindness, understanding and respect for living things. Dog companionship can improve a child¿s social skills with people and caring for a pet can encourage responsibility. Because of this many families have dogs.

The above from the RSPCA

As for saying it's cruel and they're children, what do you mean?

I am talking about approaching an unknown dog.

I don't feel remotely cruel telling children not to touch.

I feel I need to point out that my children and grandchildren all have great fun with our dogs. And they do stroke them!

I take your points. I suppose as a non dog lover I can't see the point but obviously people love their dogs.

I think dogs should be muzzled when out and kept away from small children in the home.

There have been several threads on this matter, unfortunately because it happens far too often. And I’m going to repeat what I’ve have said previously. Dogs are animals and unpredictable, they shouldn’t be kept as pets and especially in homes where there are children. Any dog can get overwhelmed by active children. I was attached by a standard poodle as a child !

I know that I'm biased because my father bred German Shepherds and I was brought up surrounded by dogs.
They were all well trained and I never came to any harm whatsoever.
I believe that when I was really small, i was never left unattended.
I've always had dogs too, with children!

For me the whole issue is a mix of bad breeding and people not being aware of the time and effort required to properly socialise and train their dogs.
I've also said this before too that it's also important to teach children how to behave around animals as they get a little older and more aware.
I had a beautiful Rottweiler...he was huge. Walking him in the park one day, I sat down on a bench, he was sitting quietly by my side.
A little girl of around 5/6 came running over and tried to grab him for a cuddle, now he was totally fine but what if he wasn't?
I'd have been blamed and he'd have suffered a potential loss of life.
When I challenged her mother, she couldn't or wouldn't acknowledge the potential risk of her child behaving like that.

Thinking about it, my only encounters with dogs have been negative which has coloured my view.

Going to collect a puppy with my brother. He was driving so I had the pup on my lap as he hadn't brought anything to put it in. It vomited all over me
Going to lunch at a friend's with a dog hovering looking for food. I was holding a cup of coffee. The dog nudged the cup, hot coffee all over me.
Out walking one day. A teenage girl was coming towards me with a Rottweiler. I didn't give it a thought. As I passed it leapt up and got its teeth into my sleeve. The girl couldn't prise it off.
Out on a wet day I passed a lady with a Labrador which leapt up to it's full height with both muddy paws on my chest. I was so shocked I couldn't speak. It's claws had made a hole in my coat. The lady laughed and told the dog it was naughty.
Then a couple of years ago I was very near having to go to court, regarding a dog that had got loose and was running around the streets terrorising people. It went for my face when I tried to help those trying to pacify it. A police officer told me if it had got my face its jaws would have locked.
What's to like?

Oh dear Kate1949 you have had some unfortunate experiences with dogs. I feel for the poor puppy who vomited, he was probably scared out of his wits.
Sadly there are a lot of thoughtless owners who do not train or keep their dogs under control. The owners should bear the blame not the dogs.

Puppies are invariably sick in the car on the way to their new home. The breeder should have warned you about that. If you have a guest in your house you shouldn’t let your dog run around in an uncontrolled way. A young girl shouldn’t be out walking alone with a dog as powerful as a Rottweiler. When walking your dog it should be under control at all times and the owner shouldn’t let it run up to people. A dog shouldn’t be running round the streets loose. All of these cases are the fault of the humans, not dogs. I’m sick of people letting their dogs run up to my on lead dog because all of my dogs have been attacked over the years so, as a dog lover I’m as appalled by dog owners as non dog lovers are and I do sympathise because we panic when a dog runs towards us. My SIL and grandson have a dog of their own now but are still scared of other dogs. I do think there should be some kind of dog ownership education programme. Maybe children should have the occasional lesson in schools on how to behave around dogs. I do think however (I know I’m biased) that dogs, under the right circumstances and with the right owners, are the most amazing creatures and they contribute greatly to society. Sniffer dogs, police dogs, guide dogs, companion dogs. Our dog has been our world throughout the pandemic and, as a terrible worrier, just having her sit next to me and stroking her relaxes me. And we speak to fellow dog owners when out walking that we would never normally have conversations with.

I think it's time that animals were treated with the respect they deserve, rather than as accessories.
I can't think why a rescue would let a dog go to a home with a toddler, or why someone with a toddler would want to risk taking on a dog at that time.

Saying that, I have known someone rehome a dog, and lie about their set up.
A few years down the line the dog had to be put to sleep as dangerous.

It really winds me up.

I also know a very unstable couple with multiple pets that they don't look after properly, and they have the police and rspca running around, fetching the animals back to them after each crisis.

Yes sodapop it was probably scared
My brother should have brought a carrier along.

The rescue kennels I have obtained dogs from have insisted on seeing my home as well as asking detailed questions. It would be difficult to pretend I didn’t have a young child, the evidence would be there.
It’s a shame you have had such negative experiences with dogs Kate. Properly trained and looked after, you couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Germanshepherdsmum

The rescue kennels I have obtained dogs from have insisted on seeing my home as well as asking detailed questions. It would be difficult to pretend I didn’t have a young child, the evidence would be there.
It’s a shame you have had such negative experiences with dogs Kate. Properly trained and looked after, you couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Absolutely, GSM. I actually feel sorry for kids who will never know the joy of growing up with a dog. But it all comes down to owners being responsible and training the dog properly - and children being taught how to behave around animals too. Far too often you see kids being allowed to pull a dog's ear or tail - 'oh, they're only playing' - then when the dog's patience finally wears thin, it's the poor animal which gets the blame. Dogs enrich our lives, they can teach children so much about responsibility, caring for another living creature etc etc - give me dogs over people any day of the week. And hand on heart, if I had to choose between any dog and a human (outwith my immediate family), then I'd choose the dog every time.

I’m with you 100% there Blondiescot.

Sorry to hear you had such negative experiences Kate.
But it really is down to the owners. Our home was inspected before we were allowed to have each of our dogs and rightly so. I live on quite a large estate with a dog walking enclosed area, a park and big green areas. However we still have dogs running loose, children walking German shepherd's, huskies, staffies and border collies. My friend and l are often have to re route our walks just to keep out of their way.
One man in particular refuses to keep his 2 pitbulls on a lead, this has been going since before lockdown. He insists they are friendly, they are not, they have attacked 2 other dogs.
I know the council have sent him numerous letters threatening court but he ignores them. I worked for the council before recent retirement and repeatedly reported him.

There are often pictures on Facebook of small babies lying next to huge dogs and it makes my blood run cold.

Blondiescot

Germanshepherdsmum

The rescue kennels I have obtained dogs from have insisted on seeing my home as well as asking detailed questions. It would be difficult to pretend I didn’t have a young child, the evidence would be there.
It’s a shame you have had such negative experiences with dogs Kate. Properly trained and looked after, you couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Absolutely, GSM. I actually feel sorry for kids who will never know the joy of growing up with a dog. But it all comes down to owners being responsible and training the dog properly - and children being taught how to behave around animals too. Far too often you see kids being allowed to pull a dog's ear or tail - 'oh, they're only playing' - then when the dog's patience finally wears thin, it's the poor animal which gets the blame. Dogs enrich our lives, they can teach children so much about responsibility, caring for another living creature etc etc - give me dogs over people any day of the week. And hand on heart, if I had to choose between any dog and a human (outwith my immediate family), then I'd choose the dog every time.

Yes to these posts .
Our rescues came from shelters that visited our home, met the children and interviewed us, asked to see photographs of previous dogs
The breed charity I volunteer for has a policy of not placing adult dogs in homes with young children. Some of our dogs are very big so the rule of thumb is children over 8. Gardens have to be high fenced as agility is a feature. All surrendered dogs go to experienced foster carers for assessment then matching. We find many are aged 7-18 months, the cuddly pup is a teenager. Many of the problems identified by owners are simply training, exercise, diet needs.

I do see a lot of complaints on Facebook from people who have tried to adopt a rescue dog and been turned down because they have children, so reputable rescue centres are careful about where they rehome dogs.

Deedaa

I do see a lot of complaints on Facebook from people who have tried to adopt a rescue dog and been turned down because they have children, so reputable rescue centres are careful about where they rehome dogs.

This is very true. When we lost our old dog almost two years ago, we did look into rehoming a rescue dog, but we didn't meet the criteria because our grandson, then aged 2, was living with us at the time. And I totally understood why they had these criteria in place.

My daughters dog went to a terrier rescue, where the staff were terrier mad!
They openly said that a lot of terriers wouldn't pass the rehoming tests, as they can be snappy and mad.

I worried terribly that she may end up in the wrong home and blot her copy book, but thankfully, she went to a marvellous couple who were fully aware of her strange ways.

I’ve seen lots of complaints on Facebook and mumsnet. British dog rescues are accused of being too picky in expecting garden fencing, no young children, no owners who work full time and so on.
There are good reasons for these expectations. There’s an influx of street dogs or puppies imported from other parts of Europe. The puppies lack the care and socialisation they need in those first important 12 weeks. Many of the older street dogs find it stressful, don’t take well to living inside. They often run at any opportunity, our local Facebook group has regular requests to help find a dog like this, don’t approach, s/he is terrified and will run, photograph and contact x.
Yes, these dogs are also arriving in dog shelters .

Recently me and my husband witnessed a lurcher type dog kill a really big deer and it was actually quite frightening.

I think there should be a ban on importing stray/ street dogs from overseas. There are already full dog shelters and we seem to be adding to the numbers when prospective owners realise they are unprepared manage a former stray/ feral dog from Romania, Cyprus etc etc. .