Dogs and children.

I am afraid for the most part I think it is the second suggestion!

I'm not a dog lover and have been told a few times 'oh and I thought you were a nice person'. I would help if I saw any animal in distress but I don't understand the dog thing at all and I certainly don't think dogs and babies mix. There is a family near us who have a baby and this big sort of a mastiff dog with huge jaws. It worries me.

Too many people don’t understand dogs. Some dogs are perhaps more disposed to aggression but I have seen some lovely placid Rottweilers, and placid dogs such as labradors can be aggressive although not usually.

A dog can feel jealous or scared and too often we don’t recognise the signs.I could have trod on my dear old lab and she would never have retaliated. When my gd arrived we were careful and kept her on a lead until we were sure she knew and accepted gd. I can always remember my mother saying “don’t put your head near the dog’s face” after my brother was “attacked” by a so called friendly dog. So although I love dogs I would never leave one alone with a baby or toddler.

No dog is to be trusted around a baby, no matter what breed and the two should never ever be left in the same room unattended.
I didn't read details of the latest " horror " but if a dog was in the family first then a baby joins the equation it's a horrifying mixture. It's the sudden movement of a tiny baby which prompts the dog to pounce. It doesn't bear thinking.

When my DD was a baby and crawling, my parents’ dog, a Border collie snarled at her. Just the once. Whenever we visited afterwards he was muzzled. When she began to walk , the dog became her faithful companion. No problems from then on

It's the owners who are at fault
There should be more legislation in place to vet (excuse the pun) the owners. Compulsory classes maybe, at owners expense?

Whilst any dog can be mad or bad and kill or injure children, so do a percentage of humans, with disappointing regularity

I wonder which causes the most harm to children?

Can I say at the start that no dog should ever be allowed around children unsupervised and I would never ever allow a crawling baby to approach a dog.

Now can I ask a supplementary.

Dog owners are aware that in order to socialise puppies they are encouraged to spend time with adult dogs who discipline the puppies by snarling at them if the puppy gets out of order. The puppies learn manners and acceptable behaviour this way.

I’m am wondering if, when a dog snarls at a crawling baby it is behaving in the same way? I’m not advocating it?? but just an interesting theory.

'There are no bad dogs only bad owners' an old adage but true nonetheless

No way do, or should, dogs and young children mix.
I’m a tall adult, I don’t like dogs jumping up at me, I don’t care how much I’m assured by the owner they won’t hurt me, not interested, I don’t like it. For a small child it must be terrifying. Too many owners, particularly those whose lives revolve around their dogs don’t respect other adults, never mind small children.

Some years ago, a friend of ours owned a very placid, elderly Labrador. Our friend had a baby and when the child was 18 months old, our friend was hanging out washing when she heard a terrible scream. She ran in to find that the dog was attacking the child. Her face was badly scarred. It never occurred to our friend that this could happen.

I am appalled to see so many “cute” photographs published of babies and toddlers curled up with/cuddling dogs. This promotes the idea that it is ok to have dogs in close proximity to young children, supervised or not. I am a life long dog lover, but youngsters should not be allowed close to dogs until they are old enough to understand that a dog is not a plaything and the way to act with them.

We had the sweetest natured most loving dog years ago, who became a snarling beast as a result of a bad insect sting. When the problem was discovered and dealt with, he returned to his normal docile self, but it was a frightening experience. Dogs are not toys, and dogs are not humans.

Babies cannot ,and young children usually cannot, control the behaviour of dogs. It is amazing that dogs behave so kindly towards people considering so few people know how to train them.

We had been planning to get a new puppy.However due to the arrival of our baby grandson the plan is on hold.DD has been dog sitting for a friend this week and although the dog is very well behaved,he has growled at the baby a couple of times putting DD’s stress levels through the roof.We have helped with babysitting as has the other granny but the experience has made us all realise that now is not the time for any of us to have a new puppy.
Our younger daughter had to rehome her dog with her in-laws when DGS was born as he too growled at the baby.She said the risk was too much and how would you explain to your child if they were attacked by the dog so sorry for your scars but we loved the dog too much to let him live somewhere else.

A friend got a large rescue dog. DS and family went to visit and the dog went straight for GD's face. Fortunately she was unhurt. But the dog seems to have a tendency to dislike children for some reason and has bitten and bruised others.

When I visit the dog is totally daft and leans against my leg wanting to be fussed. He's the same with other adults.

Clearly he's a Jekyll and Hyde dog and I'm not surprised that other people have been mistaken in their dog's temperament.

Cats, too, can have changes of temperament. We had one very shy and gentle cat, but it sank its teeth into my hand a couple of times when I had clearly moved it in such a way as to aggravate its arthritis.

The story I read said that the couple left a 12 day old baby in a room alone with a dog. It said nothing about the dogs breed or anything else. Apparently the couple were arrested and ongoing investigation proceeding.

The other story that is bothering me is the baby that at two days old suffered life changing injuries and after being kept on a life support machine it was turned off a few days ago.
Both the parents have been under arrest but were bailed yesterday and investigation still going on.
It seems a strange case because apparently the baby did not leave hospital after it was born as it was unwell.

To me it is pure common sense that you do not leave a baby or even young child alone with a dog there should be adult supervision at all times. A friend of mine once left her jack russell with her 6 year old child and it bit the childs face luckily not badly.

In regard of the baby that was on the life support machine who knows what happened to it but it had bad injuries so I hope someone is caught for that because that is appalling.

I read that the dog was kept in a pen outside. I grew up with dogs and don't remember incidents like this when I was young. I think too many people get doga as a status symbol and don't understand how to train them properly.

Spot on tricia247uk.

How often do you see young mums, with a pram/pushchair, trailing another couple of kids to school, plus a dog (or two), dragging along on leads?

Just wonder how they manage, often in a small flat, no garden, probably not much money, how do they cope with all the extra expense a dog brings with it. I bet when they get the dog, little thought is given to expensive vet bills and suchlike.

Far too many people get a pet with no thought to how it will impact on their lives, now and in the future.

Here we go again the evil of dogs! More children are killed by their parents or, in this case, their parents neglect.

Many years ago we re-homed one of our cats. She was a Burmese and very nervous. She scratched my baby son so I was on the phone to a friend right away. She worked for a Cat Rescue place and that is where Bubbles went.

Oh dear two wrongs don’t make a right furret
Unfortunately you can’t euthanise child abusers
Neither is right, but one can be prevented with good sense the other is normally well hidden until it’s too late

No dog should be trusted around babies, or young children
I cannot bear it when I see cutie pictures of babies or toddlers climbing on big dogs or as bad having dogs kissing and slobbering around their toddlers face

I have worked with dogs for over 30 years, as a groomer, a trainer and a behaviourist.
Dogs and small children should NEVER be left together unsupervised. Until a couple of years ago, I had 6 border collies. My eldest DGD who was 3 at the time, begged me to let her come and help at feeding time, the dogs at that time were fed in the garage which was at the end of the garden. I walked up the garden holding onto her hand while the dogs walked around, sniffing and wondering who this little human was. After we got back to the house, I was horrified at what I had done and it never happened again, no matter how much the little girl begged to help. All it would have taken was for her to trip and fall or even give a high pitched giggle and the dogs, collies being inclined to be a bit nippy, could have turned on her. The thought of what could have happened still haunts me to this day as the pack instinct could have kicked in, there was food added to the equation etc.
4 of the dogs were elderly and sadly are no longer with me but now, having 4 GC, when they come to stay, the remaining 2 dogs stay quite happily in the garden and are only let in to socialise with the children under my very close supervision.
Many years ago, I read of a very sad case where a family with a small child found the child distressed having been bitten badly by the family dog. The dog was taken to the vet and put down. Lying dead on the vets table, an animal nurse noticed something strange about the dog's ear. Upon closer inspection, she found that a crayon 6 inches long had been rammed into the dog's ear canal.
NEVER leave a small child unsupervised with an animal until they are old enough to understand how to behave around them.
Dogs are not small, furry humans, they do not think like us and yes, as someone previously mentioned, they discipline their offspring by nipping them! Some dogs will find the high pitched voices and running around of children distressing if they are not used to them and unfortunately will respond with a bite.
DO NOT take that risk.
Alexa I couldn't agree more, having worked with dogs for so long, what constantly amazes me, is that there are not more cases of people being bitten.

Alexa - how very true! The majority of owners now seem to be taught that you do not discipline a dog. Such rubbish! If you do not correct a dog, child or horse how on earth will it know that certain behaviours are not acceptable. Every day when i go out i see dogs on extended leads walking well away from the owner. \if the dog decides to run into the road there is no way that the owner can stop it. In so many cases the owners are being pulled down the road by their charges. Old fashioned? common sense needs to be brought back into dog owning and handling.

I'm astounded at how easy it is to just buy 2 or 3 dogs, and keep them shut away for most of the time.
It's madness, to me.