Renee Premaza
06-16-2005, 10:26 PM
Hi Everybody!
I was really disappointed tonight when I came over to this topic to see what threads I could read. There's so little going on here and it's extremely important for people to know how to keep dogs safe with kids and how to keep kids safe with dogs.
For all of you parents out there, please click on this link to get very important and helpful information about safety issues with dogs and kids:
www.doggonesafe.com
Once you get to this fabulous website, get your printer ready and copy everything so that you and your family can read and re-read the information that's posted there.
How many parents out there don't realize how important it is to supervise young children when they're with their dogs at all times? Do any of you take your dogs and pups for granted and just let the dogs and kids play when they're alone in the livingroom? If that's what is happening in your home, please, please change this asap! Supervise, supervise, supervise if you have kids younger than 13 years old.
Did you know that statistics show that more kids get bitten in the face by their own family pet? And... the most common age of a child that gets bitten is 12 years old. The majority of children that do get bitten are 12 year old boys!
Another point I want to bring across is the importance of not letting your young children lie down on the floor when your puppies or adult dogs are in the same room. Why? Because when kids are down on the floor, dogs get very excited. When kids are playing on the floor, dogs view those children as their littermates. Wanna know how littermates play together? They play by biting each other on the faces. Young children should play with their canine pals by sitting on a chair or standing. Older, taller children can kneel while playing. Most importantly, a child should never be at the same facial level as the dog!
Are you allowing your kids to pull the dogs tail or ears? If the answer to this is, "yes," think twice before allowing a child to do this to any dog! Your dog might tolerate it, but be assured, he doesn't like it. So many of us think a dog should accept this childish behavior. But... why should we expect that? How would you like it if someone pulled your ears or your hair, or if someone sat on top of you when you were sleeping? I was called last week about an Akita who suddenly bit one of the children in the household. The Akita is 8 years old. The grandmother exclaimed that the kids could always do anything to the dog, and the dog never reacted like that before. I asked if the dog had ever growled at the children when they pulled his tail or sat on him. The answer was, "oh yes, all the time." So, the dog had been warning the kids for years! The boy that did get bitten agitated the dog one too many times. This dog is now 8 years old. The dog may be suffering from arthritis. As dogs get older, they get a bit crankier, as we humans get crankier too with age. It's completely inappropriate for humans to expect dogs to behave without expressing their feelings that they don't like something we're doing. Unfortunately, this dog may lose his life because of this bite.
How many of you listers out there have had a dog living with you for over 2 years, and now you're expecting a child? Are any of you preparing your dog for the arrival of your baby? Have you given any thought to how your dog will adjust to no longer being the "only child" in the house. Hopefully, within the next day or so, I will be posting some articles under a new topic of Kids and Dogs for you all to read. One of those articles will deal with teaching a dog to accept a new baby in the house.
If anyone would like to talk about this topic or if you have any questions, I'll make sure to revisit this forum often. If you have children and dogs and have experienced any aggression problems with your dog toward your children, please come over to the defensive dog forum and we can answer those questions for you there.
Thanks for reading this post.
I was really disappointed tonight when I came over to this topic to see what threads I could read. There's so little going on here and it's extremely important for people to know how to keep dogs safe with kids and how to keep kids safe with dogs.
For all of you parents out there, please click on this link to get very important and helpful information about safety issues with dogs and kids:
www.doggonesafe.com
Once you get to this fabulous website, get your printer ready and copy everything so that you and your family can read and re-read the information that's posted there.
How many parents out there don't realize how important it is to supervise young children when they're with their dogs at all times? Do any of you take your dogs and pups for granted and just let the dogs and kids play when they're alone in the livingroom? If that's what is happening in your home, please, please change this asap! Supervise, supervise, supervise if you have kids younger than 13 years old.
Did you know that statistics show that more kids get bitten in the face by their own family pet? And... the most common age of a child that gets bitten is 12 years old. The majority of children that do get bitten are 12 year old boys!
Another point I want to bring across is the importance of not letting your young children lie down on the floor when your puppies or adult dogs are in the same room. Why? Because when kids are down on the floor, dogs get very excited. When kids are playing on the floor, dogs view those children as their littermates. Wanna know how littermates play together? They play by biting each other on the faces. Young children should play with their canine pals by sitting on a chair or standing. Older, taller children can kneel while playing. Most importantly, a child should never be at the same facial level as the dog!
Are you allowing your kids to pull the dogs tail or ears? If the answer to this is, "yes," think twice before allowing a child to do this to any dog! Your dog might tolerate it, but be assured, he doesn't like it. So many of us think a dog should accept this childish behavior. But... why should we expect that? How would you like it if someone pulled your ears or your hair, or if someone sat on top of you when you were sleeping? I was called last week about an Akita who suddenly bit one of the children in the household. The Akita is 8 years old. The grandmother exclaimed that the kids could always do anything to the dog, and the dog never reacted like that before. I asked if the dog had ever growled at the children when they pulled his tail or sat on him. The answer was, "oh yes, all the time." So, the dog had been warning the kids for years! The boy that did get bitten agitated the dog one too many times. This dog is now 8 years old. The dog may be suffering from arthritis. As dogs get older, they get a bit crankier, as we humans get crankier too with age. It's completely inappropriate for humans to expect dogs to behave without expressing their feelings that they don't like something we're doing. Unfortunately, this dog may lose his life because of this bite.
How many of you listers out there have had a dog living with you for over 2 years, and now you're expecting a child? Are any of you preparing your dog for the arrival of your baby? Have you given any thought to how your dog will adjust to no longer being the "only child" in the house. Hopefully, within the next day or so, I will be posting some articles under a new topic of Kids and Dogs for you all to read. One of those articles will deal with teaching a dog to accept a new baby in the house.
If anyone would like to talk about this topic or if you have any questions, I'll make sure to revisit this forum often. If you have children and dogs and have experienced any aggression problems with your dog toward your children, please come over to the defensive dog forum and we can answer those questions for you there.
Thanks for reading this post.