There is no such thing as a safe breed of dog!

cynder

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Toddler-Joshua-Mann-From-Brockworth-Mauled-By-Familys-Collie-Dog-Gets-200-Stitches/Article/201009215724722?f=vg#none

Reading this brought tears to my eyes.

byhookorbycrook

Many pure breeds are overbred and highly strung. A collie is not a dog I would choose for a child anyhow.The only dog I have seen down the years to put with things is a Lab,but they are still animals so should be carefully watched around children.

Nevyn

The two year old may have been seen by the adults to be stroking the dog but who is to say the child when not being watched didnt try to pull the dog's ear off or stick the finger in the dog's eye.

Toddlers don't understand and should be strictly supervised with all animals.

smokie2008

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^+1

super_furry

Small children and dogs are always a risky mix. I certainly wouldn't have a dog in the same house as an infant.

Victor

Collies don't see the difference between a baby and a sheep and will try to herd them.

smelltheglove

A dog is an animal and needs to be watched, a child is unknowing and also needs to be watched. I was bitten as a child by a jack russel. I still like dogs and have been around many types. I've heard disastorus stories of labs with kids, this year I remeber reading a story on my sky news app about a lab either killing or seriously maiming a child in england.

wolfpawnat

Well anyone with half a knowledge of dog would know, Collies and children under 8-9 are a no no. And that goes for Lassie Collies too!

Dogs are living animals that do not make very many conscious decisions. We humanize them and want to believe they do but they don't! A toddler is a rough little thing and may have been too rough with the dogs ear. A dog will then defend itself, it does not mean it is a mean/bad animal, it is its natural response.

No animal is 100% safe with humans, and that includes other humans!!!! my son sticks his fingers into the gerbil cage and if they wanted they could sink their teeth clean into his finger (he is only allowed at the cage when I am with him to ensure this doesn't happen) cats bite and scratch and are an odd animal anyway,cats hate people coming over to them, the way to get a cat to like you is to ignore the thing! Children therefore are often very badly scratched nastily by them (I was as a child).

When a family is choosing a pet for a small child family, breed, temperment of parents, training, etc are all essential. But it is still a living creature and is not a robot.

lynski

it was not his dog. it was his grandparents dog, so this story has no bearing on a family having a dog with small children or not.
I grew up with dogs of many breeds, and we never had a problem with any of them (labs, setters, pointers, spaniels, german shepards, terriers, collies, mongrels) well trained, disciplined dogs and children are the answer.

cynder

I grew up with German shepherds and boarder collies, i love those dogs to bits. I was never bit by my own pets but i was bit by 2 collies (lassie dogs).

Regardless of breed i would never and will never trust a dog around my kids. My pets never bit me as a child (age 2 - 16) but my parents never trusted them around other kids and were always put out side or put into a different room.

D rog

Unfortunately some people just don't appreciate that there are strict rules that need to be applied if mixing dogs and children; a dog is not a toy or amusement

A dog is a pack animal and needs to know its place. This includes confined areas of the house, not being allowed on furniture and following rules and commands. The children for their part need to learn to treat the animal with kindness, respect and love. Both these things take time and constant attention, you can never be vigilant enough.

With ours, the dog has never been left alone with the children and they are only allowed to play with/pet her when supervised. She's a large animal, heavy and strong with large sharp teeth that could do terrible damage. As well as being a gorgeous cute companion to us all.

cynder

D rog wrote: »

With ours, the dog has never been left alone with the children and they are only allowed to play with/pet her when supervised. She's a large animal, heavy and strong with large sharp teeth that could do terrible damage. As well as being a gorgeous cute companion to us all.

My uncle had a bullmastiff and his 2 year old would hit it over the head with the telephone, the dog never reacted a year later the dog died from a brain tumor. I've also heard a story where the German shepherd had its ear bitten of by a toddler and that dog didn't react. There was another story a year ago where a puppy had bitten of the babies toes while the parents were upstairs asleep. They were only woken by the babies screams. (in that case im sure they thought the puppy ment no harm and was playing, (thats why you need an adult around))

Personally i think little dogs are more inclined to bite - the terrier breeds are very snappy.

belongtojazz

ANY dog unfortunatley can bite under the right(wrong) stimulus. I have 4 dogs and while they are brilliant and extremely soft I would never let children near them unless they were on a lead and I was controlling the greeting.

It is not fair on either the dog or the child.

iguana

D rog wrote: »

A dog is a pack animal and needs to know its place. This includes confined areas of the house, not being allowed on furniture and following rules and commands. The children for their part need to learn to treat the animal with kindness, respect and love. Both these things take time and constant attention, you can never be vigilant enough.

Plus that anyone who has dogs before they have children needs to always be thinking about the future point when they introduce children to the household and train the dogs with that in mind, ensuring the dog understands that all humans are higher in "rank" than dogs. That includes older adults who will possibly become grandparents in their dog's lifetime.

D rog

iguana wrote: »

Plus that anyone who has dogs before they have children needs to always be thinking about the future point when they introduce children to the household and train the dogs with that in mind, ensuring the dog understands that all humans are higher in "rank" than dogs. That includes older adults who will possibly become grandparents in their dog's lifetime.

We were particularly worried about this which is why we were so strict with the dog. It felt terrible by times, but it had to be done, on the understanding that if we didn't we could be making problems for the future.

wolfpawnat

I had a cocker spaniel that was an absolute pet, I trained him myself not to move if children lifted him onto his two hind legs to "dance" with him, or if the pulled hard on his lovely long inviting ears. But he adored life with my other dog.............. a Yorkshire terrier!!! She was my princess and spoilt absolutely rotten, she slept on my bed and lived at my side, but she is a killer! Rats, Mice, Kittens, Guinea Pigs, anything smaller than her, simply because that is her heritage. She was engineered over generations to do exactly that and she is top of her breed!

I have an 19 month old son, they had to go. They now live with my mother and they have no contact with my son. It kills me, and I cry still for the Yorkie, but my son is my priority and I know it would never work with the dog.

You have to be an adult and think, children and animals depend on us! People have to remember a dog is an animal that lives life on primal instinct 95% of the time. Threats they feel should be destroyed, if an adult cannot show they are on top of a situation, the dog will take charge, and that is when these attacks usually occur!

Casey_81

I strongly believe that there is no such thing as a bad dog, but there are plenty of bad owners!!

Its your job as the parent to teach children that dogs are not teddy-bears, and as dog-owners you need to make sure that your dog knows its place in the pecking order.

Saying that there is no way on earth that I would ever leave any child unsupervised in the same room as my dogs..

Jinxi

I just want to reiterate that although I agree with constant supervision where dogs are concerned, again you cannot decided to tar one particular breed with the same brush. My collie lives happily with two rabbits and a cat. She know where she stands in the pecking order and is never babied or treated as a human.
My family have always had collies. When the youngest of my siblings was just walking(1yr/18months) one day my dad(who was THE pack leader as far as the collie was concerned) began a chasing game with her. The collie got in between my dad and my sister and began growling at him(while shaking with terror) because my dad looked liked he was threathening the baby.
All dogs can be a wonderful addition to a family if they are treated as DOGS, with kindness and discipline.
The main issues I have seen with dogs are people who owned their dogs first, treated them as their offspring spoiling them, and then had children.

ReanneD

When my son was 2 we bought him a boxer dog. My son is now 4 and a half and as our boxer was trained how 2 act with and around our son he sees my son as top dog and obeys every command given by my son. My son also helped train our dog so the dog always knows his place when it comes to being around our child and I would also trust our dog around any child, but he would have to be supervised around children as no dog should EVER be left for even a short period of time alone with any child, whether they be or toddler or even a young teenager. My son has been taught to never go near any dog that he does not know or own and I believe all adults should should have the common sense to never let a child been on their own with any dog.

metrovelvet

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Well anyone with half a knowledge of dog would know, Collies and children under 8-9 are a no no. And that goes for Lassie Collies too!

Dogs are living animals that do not make very many conscious decisions. We humanize them and want to believe they do but they don't! A toddler is a rough little thing and may have been too rough with the dogs ear. A dog will then defend itself, it does not mean it is a mean/bad animal, it is its natural response.

No animal is 100% safe with humans, and that includes other humans!!!! my son sticks his fingers into the gerbil cage and if they wanted they could sink their teeth clean into his finger (he is only allowed at the cage when I am with him to ensure this doesn't happen) cats bite and scratch and are an odd animal anyway,cats hate people coming over to them, the way to get a cat to like you is to ignore the thing! Children therefore are often very badly scratched nastily by them (I was as a child).

When a family is choosing a pet for a small child family, breed, temperment of parents, training, etc are all essential. But it is still a living creature and is not a robot.

Cats make it clear that they want nothing to do with toddlers. They run away. They make it known.

But dogs can show so much patience with a toddler that the toddler doesnt know that one more poke and the dog can snap.

Yes I do think that kids have to be supervised around dogs. However, I also expect people to keep their dogs on a lead, which a lot don't do. There are neighborhood dogs who come wandering around, and my son might be in the front garden and I mightn't know that a dog has come wandering around.

I find dog poo in my front garden at times. I dont know whose dog has been let loose but I think they should be fined for not having their dogs on a lead especially on an estate with small kids.