Why are some people of the opinion that no dog should be around kids?

Question

I have noticed that alot of people on here say "no dog should be around kids, any dog can snap anytime" While it is true that any dog can be aggressive it is also true that any dog can be trained and socialized so that they are excellent with kids. I have been around dogs my entire life.. since I was a baby playing with my family dog on the floor, I have never been bitten and I have never been snapped at by any dog belonging to and trained by my family and friends. Siberian Husky, Bouvier, Springer Spaniel, Labs, Malamutes, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Mutts, Chows, American Bulldogs... the list goes on. I have lived with over 14 dogs in my life all of them around children all the time and not one of them ever hurt a child or an adult for that matter.. I just dont understand the attitude people have that all dogs will eventually attack children, its untrue and frankly idiotic. Keeping children and dogs apart increases the risk of a bite.. Kids need to learn about dogs and vice versa.

Why do some people think all dogs are just child attacks waiting to happen? It makes no sense to me.. I think every child should be raised with or around dogs because they gain knowledge and experience that is very important in life. Not to mention the more kids learn about dogs and how to live with them the more they decrease the risk of provoking a dog to bite through their behaviour.

Answer 1

I don't believe all dogs are child attacks waiting to happen. However, I do see the logic in telling people not to mix the two. A lot of the bites/attacks are caused by two things: 1) Parents do not watch their children interact with dogs so are unable to interceed when necessary. 2) Parents do not teach their children how to act around animals. The responsibility for both instances falls to the parent. I think it is much simpler, when you have no background to make an informed decision, to just say "Don't have dogs around children." It is very true that dogs are great with kids. I, too, was raised with pets my whole life. I just don't trust modern parents to behave responsibly when it comes to integrating pets into the home.

Answer 2

Dogs and children should not be left alone unsupervised.
Why? Because the majority of the people in this world have no common sense, and they can't train their kids to behave and mind, let alone a dog.

I was raised on a farm, had lots of dogs, and am a groomer now. I have only ever been bit once..and it was just a tiny nip on my finger. I was raised how to handle animals and how to read their body language.

My son grew up with 2 Rottweilers...not one incident. My dogs were very well trained, and my son was trained not to poke or pull at the dogs from day 1. BUT..I would still never leave the 2 unattended. I let them interact when I am there, but I wouldn't walk away and leave the 2 alone.
You really never know what can happen. Little kids (most of them at least) don't mean to hurt, but they like to pull at tails and ears and get right into a dogs face. Dogs take that as a threat and the only way they know to defend themselves is to bite.
Most attacks on children by dogs were provoked. I can't count how many times a little kid has just run up to my dog to pet him. My son on the other hand, will keep his distance, approach slowly and ask the dogs owner if it is ok to pet the dog.

Answer 3

I agree with you about children and dogs. We were raised with dogs, too, German Shepherds. None of them ever bit or snapped at anyone and they loved children.

We've had dogs the whole time our children were growing up, but people should be aware that some breeds are better than others. We had a Rottweiler/Doberman mix my husband's cousin gave us as a puppy. Our kids were 1 and 2 years old. He was a good dog and my son just loved him. When my son was 3 years old, he was sitting at the counter, had an Easter egg in his hand, jumped down from the chair, and the dog attacked him to get the egg. I was standing on the other side of the counter. He opened my son's head up and had 12 stitches in the emergency room. Never would have thought that dog would hurt my son, they were buddies. The dog was impounded by the county because it was reported by the hospital. We finally gave him to the police department, broke my heart, my son's, too, but it was the responsible thing to do.

After that heartbreak, we decided that Golden Retrievers were the best bet, we've had 2. Now we have a Golden Retriever and a Belgian Melanois, but I wouldn't have the Belgian if the kids were little. He's sweet, but can be temperamental around little ones, never mean, just nervous. So, I think it really depends on the dog.

Answer 4

I think a lot of people think this because of all of the media attention on vicious dogs. Some people discriminate against my dog also ( she's a saint Bernard). I think they also do this because of the dog's size and sometimes by how much they bark. I don't think there are bad pets just bad owners. My dog was a rescue dog and you have to be really careful when you spray water around her to even give her a bath. Its not her fault its the previous owners that either tormented her or allowed her to be tormented. A dog can turn just like a person can if provoked the right way. If the dog is in a loving household and they are treated good then the risk is minimal. I have had dogs snap at me before when they weren't feeling good. People have to understand that that is one of the only ways they can communicate to us that they don't want to be bothered. People actually do the same thing. I agree that having a dog around children is good because it teaches them things that they might not otherwise learn. To ban dogs around children is definately the wrong attitude to have.

Answer 5

Most people who are concerned about kids and dogs being together don't know much about dogs so they are expecting any dog to snap at any given moment for no apparent reason and become a threat to the child. However, there are dominance issues that sometimes arise between kids and animals because they are on the same eye level. In the animal kingdom, someone looking you right in the eye is sometimes perceived to be a challenge for dominance, and some dogs will instinctively feel the need to answer that challenge. (As was recently the case here with a 4 year old girl and a Rottweiler.)

Answer 6

I agree with you that separating all dogs from children is a huge overreaction. A well-socialized, friendly dog can be a great companion for children and teaches kids about animals and responsibility.

But it also amazes me how many people underestimate the risk to their kids when they have a dog that exhibits aggressive behavior, and is not properly socialized or trained. There was a post today from a person who was considering adopting a dog from a shelter that the shelter staff said was not good with kids. She was engaged and planning on having kids in a few years and still wanted to adopt this dog and many people were supporting this decision. I was frankly amazed. Another person had adopted an abused 9-month old dog that was beginning to exhibit serious aggressive behavior toward her and her cats and she was six months pregnant. I feel she is setting herself up for a potential problem.

Children, especially boys, are bitten more than adults - there is a lot of statistical evidence of this and it relates to kids not understanding dog behavior and warnign signs of an impending bite. Ths does not mean kids should not have dogs, but it does mean that people should choose or raise stable, well-trained and socialized dogs around children and not pick dogs with histories of aggression as pets. Likewise, children should be taught to handle dogs with respect and should be supervised when in the presence of the dog. To do otherwise is irresponsible to both dog and child.

Answer 7

Some responses I have seen here regarding dogs and children are sometimes more focused on the children's behavior/treatment of a dog, rather than a dog attacking a child. That young children should never be around dogs at all, as it's bad for the dog.

In some cases, I can agree with this statement, to a degree. Our neighbors have gotten a "new puppy" every year now for 3 years. When it gets to be a year, they get rid of it and get a new one for the kids. They let the kids run a muck with the puppies, allowing them off lead and "chasing" the pup to catch it in the neighborhood. In this case, the children are not monitored as to their behavior and treatment and care of the puppy. This, IMO, is unacceptable and yes, I agree some homes shouldn't have a dog when the families are this careless.

But in our home, we have a 4 yr old and 5 yr old child. Our 3 dogs are 12 yrs, 8 yrs, and almost 1 yr (the pup being a Border Collie even--discouraged to have with families with young children). We all do just fine. Our children have learned proper behavior around dogs and pups. Our dogs have learned to adjust to children, there by reducing the risk of a bite incident, as they are acclimated to having kids around.

We are committed to ensuring our dogs and children get along well, that our children learn proper behavior around the dogs and the dogs learn the same about children. Only in cases, and yes there are many, such as my neighbors do I feel it's inappropriate for children and dogs to be in the same home, and this is for the sake of the dog, rather than the children.

Answer 8

not all dogs will attack but you aren't inside the mind of dog when it perceives a threat; it only takes once; any dog is an animal and subject to defend itself at anytime. Will kids learn if they get a bite and the local authorities take the dog and put it down?? An adult is to safeguard both; to not do so is a lack of accountability and responsibility for having children and animals; the difference between the two is that adult is suppose to have common sense and acquired some wisdom by the time you have either pet or child. I would much rather be cautious to protect the ones that I love; so if I pull a dog's tail and get bite and the dog gets taken away , all is justified; not to the pet whose life is gone; I was walking down the street when I was 10 to get my brother for dinner, I didn't do anything but a German Shepard thought I was a threat for whatever reason, there was no comments by me other than calling my brother's name; the dog broke his chain , jumped over the fence and chased me down the street , knocking me to the ground and biting me. Here in Connecticut , a puppy was sleeping , a child startled it and the puppy bit him; they took the puppy away ; locked it in a kennel for several months pending appeals and then put the dog down.

Answer 9

I think all of the other posters have given great answers, but there is one other reason why people are cautioned about kids and dogs -- lawsuits.

In this country EVERYTHING is a lawsuit waiting to happen. So when anyone is giving advice, they tend to be overly cautious. Instead of saying "Use common sense" they will just say "Don't do it."

Sadly, common sense IS becoming rare. And for whatever reason, it seems to have gone out of favor to actually teach kids how to BEHAVE. So perhaps it is wise to never leave a dog and young child ALONE together.

But I totally agree -- growing up with pets is awesome and should not be missed!

Answer 10

I am a big believer in "There are no bad dogs, only bad owners." (This is, of course, excepting dogs with mental illnesses--they can get them just like people--and they are not "bad," just sick and untrainabile.)

I can see where some people are coming from, especially if they, themselves, were attacked as children. Other than that, people simply need to know what breeds to get and how to train them. There are certain dogs that are naturally GREAT with kids (i.e. Great Danes, believe it or not!), and certain dogs that naturally are not good with kids (this includes most herding breeds, since kids are about the right size to be herded--Heelers are especially unsuitable for kids). All dogs, if they are going to be around kids especially, should be taken to obedience school.

I plan on my kids having dogs and cats. How else are they supposed to learn to respect them?