What kind of dog is safe for babies?

.... Sorry, starts to develop.

Friends recently got a King Charles spaniel from a rescue - they had had quite different breeds before. I have never known such an easy, gentle little dog, very good with their visiting young grandchildren, and always happy to be fussed over by strange children when out for a pub lunch etc.
Have since read that they are a very good dog to have with children.

I know a lot of other breeds are also good, especially. GRs, and the friends' previous flatcoat retrievers also had wonderful temperaments, but not everybody wants a big dog.

No dog is completely safe with babies or young children and they should never be left together unsupervised. Dogs are just that with intelligence to match. They're not humans and cannot be expected to reason or react like humans however placid and good they are. It only needs the cry of a baby or the over exuberance of a young child and the best tempered dog can be spooked with disastrous results. My 15 month old cocker spaniel is an absolute sweetly, loves my small grandson to bits, but I would NEVER leave them on their own without an adult present.

Labradors and German shepherds are very good with children especially babies.

no dog is safe ....My aunt had an alsation for years lovely family pet and one day it just turned on my cousin and injured him badly so the dog had to be put down....

I agree with nigglynellie and others, no dog is safe unsupervised with children. I am a dog lover and have three but grandchildren all grown up now. The best time to introduce an animal of any type is when the child is old enough to take on some responsibility for caring. Animal ownership teaches a sense of responsibility and caring attitude. New dogs and babies are not a good mix.

Having a new baby and a new dog would be too much to cope with. I made this mistake myself many years ago and had to find puppy a new home - very upsetting experience.

I would definitely say no dogs or cats around children until the littles ones are at least 3 yrs old. Dogs and cats are just animals, and unpredictable. I have a cat who is gentle and loving but who was so scared by my youngest granddaughter who was liable to get too close, that she used her claws. G'dr had only a tiny scratch but she is still, three years on, terrified of the cat.....and it could have been so much worse. Sharp claws near young eyes and tender-skinned faces doesn't bear thinking about. As for what a dog could do.......

Visit the following url
www.petmd.com/dog/top_tens/evr_dg_top_10_for_kids
It contains the list of dogs that are safe for babies.

Hate to be picky thshower but that's good with kids not necessarily 'safe' with kids as the OP asked.

Also I would totally disagree with a number of dogs on that list . Beagles are buggers --- with the right owner a fabulous dog but they need shed loads of exercise and a lot of attention if you don't want them to eat your house .

I love Newfoundland's and agree , very robust family dog but for a family with a new baby....??? Not in my mind . My girls grew up with Bernese Mountain Dogs and I can recommend them but again they're a giant breed with all that entails.

A Collie? With all that coat ? That's a no from me again . We have a cavalier currently and after the smallest grandchildren have visited and loved him A LOT we have to groom out the banana , lolly drippings and various other things from his coat. I cant imagine the mess the collie could be in at the end.

I think this list is one of those catch all's, there's some merit in it but its not even close to a good list in my opinion.

I have been a dog trainer for many years and in my opinion no dog is safe with babies, both for the dogs and the child's sake. No child should be left unsupervised with any dog and babies and small children see dogs as playthings. It is when they start pulling ears, climbing on dogs and poking eyes and noses that even the longest suffering dog may retaliate. It makes me cross to see pictures of children pulling dogs tails' and laying on them and the owners saying how the dog enjoys it. Dogs are not playthings, they have feelings, and if things get too much and they grumble or snap the owners say it is the dogs fault and get rid of it. Children must learn to respect dogs (and cats). My. children were taught from an early age that you do not do to a dog what you would not like someone doing to you. You would not,like someone sitting on your head or poking you in the eye.

I would never trust a dog with a baby. A dog could harm a baby for so many reasons, aggression, jealousy, playfulness, infection etc. Even the most even tempered dog can have it's off days.

I've read the list of dogs on that link and like NanandGrampy, I wouldn't put most of the dogs on that list as ideal with children. Of course, no dog should be left unsupervised with babies or small children but some of the dogs on that list would be a No for me. Beagles, very difficult to train, stubborn. Standard poodles, lovely, intelligent dogs but huge, could knock a toddler over without any ill intent. They were bred to work as hunting/water retrieving dogs, they mature very late and need a lot of exercise and mental challenge so only families who are proper dog people should even consider one. I won't go on through that list but I do hope no one looking to get a family pet is persuaded by it.
Train your dog and your children to tolerate and respect each other and be vigilant. My big dog wagged her tail happily just as our 15 month old grandchild toddler behind her. Tail hit child, child hit the deck. He picked himself up and toddled on. She's a big gentle girl, but she is big. So are labrador retrievers - what on earth are they doing on that list?

Even an even tempered dog like a Labrador could turn on a child if provoked. Our GD used to give her GD's lab a biscuit, unfortunately she would not let go, so we had a frustrated lab with child's hand plus biscuit in her mouth. Never turned nasty luckily.

Terrible news about the 3 year old killed today by a dog near us.

Doesn't it make you despair? - that poor child.

I'm sure I read that top of the list for biting people is the Labrador; possibly because there are so many as family pets. I don't think my whippet would know how to bite; even when in pain and scared stiff at the vets she's never even growled. However, accidentally let her off the lead at the wrong time and she'd break a childs leg if she ran into one at speed. Why oh why do people have pit bull type dogs? What's the point?

Dreadful news indeed about that poor little 3 year old and hot on the heels of the adult man killed earlier this week by a dog. The dog that killed this little boy is reported by neighbours to have only been with the family for a week and is according to press reports, and American Bull dog. That breed isn't on the dangerous dogs list, neither are staffordshire bull terriers, which neighbours of the man killed suggest was the breed involved in that case. Before anyone leaps in to tell me that staffies are generally great family pets, yes I know that. They are however bull breeds, once they lose it and lock on, it's very difficult to get them to let go.

One of the problems is the status dog issue. So many staffies have been crossed with bigger bull dog breeds, particularly pit bulls. Again, pit bulls can be great dogs. We meet a huge one regularly in our local park. His owner tells everyone he's a staffie but when I asked, he confirmed its a pit bull and said the police told him it must be muzzled. It isn't.

Tegan, I think you're right about labrador's and biting. The fact they are often used as Guide Dogs encourages folks to see them as gentle, easily trained dogs. That isn't necessarily so. Guide Dogs have a very careful breeding programme , from which only a small proportion of Labs are thought suitable for training.

The Dangerous Dogs Act was a knee jerk reaction and names, I think, four breeds which were banned. We need to assess the dog, not the breed. The dog that killed the man earlier this week had been removed because the Dog Warden suspected it was a Pit Bull, i.e. a banned breed. It seems when that wasn't the case, it was returned to its owner and killed within a week. I don't know if the dog was assessed for dangerousness but it had already bitten once, so it should have been.

I'm a dog lover but I'm finding walking my dogs increasingly stressful because of the large numbers of badly trained dogs, with their dotty owners who shout at me "don't worry, they're really friendly". That's not the point, they ought to be under control, not running at other dogs.

A I've had several times is 'my dog only attacked your dog because your dog is on a lead...if it hadn't been on a lead my dog would have ignored it' . Never an apology.

Just had 2 instances of that this week with my dog, Tegan. She was on a lead both times because that was what was required in that area. The dogs that attacked her were both bull terriers and both off lead. Neither of the owners made much effort to control their dogs. I had to yell at the second one as he just strolled on. I told him if he didn't grab his dog I would give it a kicking, which seemed to work. Problem is that if my dog hadn't been on a lead, she could have escaped easily as she is a very fast runner. She and I both prefer finding places where she is able to run free. Much less stressful.

This thread was started back in January, although I appreciate that the more recent comments are relevant, but perhaps in light of recent events , it might be an idea to start a new one with a different title.

The person that started the thread didn't seem to beome a regular poster, iykwim.

Iam64absolutely agree with everything you say ,I also find it stressful whilst walking my dogs,they are German Shepherds,not small but still at threat from untrained,unleashed dogs,far too many "owners" haven't a bloody clue what responsible dog ownership is .

Labradors might bite mre people than other breeds but they don't seem to savage people in the same way these dogs who have been bred and trained to be seriously agressive.
This country has got to devise a better way of deciding which dogs are potentially really dangerous.

www.ukandspain.com/dangerous-dogs/
The post above has scary images.
www.animals24-7.org/2016/05/31/dog-attacks-surge-76-in-england-in-10-years-coinciding-with-exemption-of-staffordshire-pit-bulls-from-the-dangerous-dogs-act/

No dog is 'safe'until the child is old enough to realise the dog is not a toy and the dog has wised up to the fact that the child is not its responsibility to protect or care for. Dogs following instinctive, protective behaviour have resulted in tragic events.

Definitely no dogs with babies in my opinion the mixture just doesn't bode well a dog or cat can roll or sit on a baby with no intention to harm they lick their bits then lick the baby can't think of anything worse they need attention as does the baby and that's not even taking into account the fact that a dog however wonderful however kind can turn