Newborns and Pets

[sbde]

I just came across this story and wanted to post it here, mainly just to raise awareness that pets really need to be prepared before bringing a new baby home.

http://www.lilsugar.com/1826463

Unfortunately, this is a terribly tragic and very rare case - but if it happens even once, it''s one time too many.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

For some reason, babies in those moving swings seem to trigger a preditor instinct in dogs.

I was suprised the see it was a lab though, it is usually a pit bull.

 

[indypitty]

Date: 7/31/2008 5:46:55 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
For some reason, babies in those moving swings seem to trigger a preditor instinct in dogs.

I was suprised the see it was a lab though, it is usually a pit bull.

I wouldn''t go so far to say that it is "usually" a pit bull. That is what the media wants you to believe. Pit bulls are the current target for media sensationalism. It used to be German Shepherds, then Rottweillers, and Doberman Pinschers. The reason you hear about more pit bull attacks is because the media reports them more. Have there been fatalities involving pit bulls? Yes. Have there been fatalities involving many other breeds? Yes. Yes, even labs, jack russells, and even a pomeranian have mauled a baby to death. It is a huge tragedy and the bottom line is that owners need to be responsible, regardless of the breed.

PUNISH THE DEED, NOT THE BREED.

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

My friend was looking for a dog last year and asked me to look at the studies of dog breed safety for statistical analysis since that was a big part of my major. Pits were responsable for 22-41% of dog fatalities, depending on the study. I have not found a study where they were not one of the top five killers except in cases where they were banned in the area and it was therefore not applicable. If these stats are all biased, why is there not a study that shows anything else? The "study" at the link you provided is a controled situation where responsable owners provide their pets for breed analysis and therefore not terribly aplicable to the real world. I don''t have the link as it is through my school, but according to the Dutch Consumer Safety Institute, Pit bulls were 7 times more likely to bite than other purebreds.

I told my friend based on all that I read, avoid pits, chows, rotweilers, huskys and german shepards. I know the "its the owner''s fault" defense, but I also know someone with a rotweiler that bit off have a girl''s lip and that dog was extremely well raised and cared for, I had known it since it was a puppy. I knew another woman who runs a dog rescue who was nearly killed by a pit from a good home. No one knows how to handle dogs like Gladis, but a few inches lower and the dog would have killer her. Some dogs were specifically bred for violence and I wouldn''t want one.

(I don''t support the breed banning legislation though)

 

[VegasAngel]

I read about this yesterday, so sad.


In general you should not leave a child alone with any dog. No matter the breed, size or how friendly you think it is.

 

[Independent Gal]

My mother''s friend at the dog park has a chocolate lab that attacked her (my mother that is).

Mom has a Portuguese Water Dog which is gentle as anything, but when family friends brought their newborn over, he got jealous and upset, and basically dug out all the baby''s diapers and rolled in them all over my mom''s Persian carpet! So yeah, pets really do react to newborns.

 

[2Artists]

That is a horrible tragic story.

I am trying to remember the stories I have heard where dogs have saved babies lives.
It is just too upsetting.

Mrs.2Artists

 

[somethingshiny]

Although statistically speaking, Pits are a huge culprit, don''t be fooled.

I was attacked on the face by our dog who was half Shepherd and half Dachsund (yes, he was funny looking.) My brother was actually attacked by a coyote (which is probably not a huge concern for most PSers). One of my sis''s was attacked by a Chow and the other by a St. Bernard. Every one of the dogs, besides the coyote, was our dog or a dog we knew. We''ve always been raised around animals and have known to respect them. However, you can''t take decades if not centuries of fighting/hunting/predatory instinct out of a dog. All of us were bitten in the face and all of us (except my bro) were in a room or place with other people.

PLEASE don''t leave a child unattended with any dog no matter how perfect and friendly they seem.

 

[Deelight]

Date: 7/31/2008 6:35:49 PM
Author: indypitty

Date: 7/31/2008 5:46:55 PM

Author: brazen_irish_hussy

For some reason, babies in those moving swings seem to trigger a preditor instinct in dogs.


I was suprised the see it was a lab though, it is usually a pit bull.

I wouldn''t go so far to say that it is ''usually'' a pit bull. That is what the media wants you to believe. Pit bulls are the current target for media sensationalism. It used to be German Shepherds, then Rottweillers, and Doberman Pinschers. The reason you hear about more pit bull attacks is because the media reports them more. Have there been fatalities involving pit bulls? Yes. Have there been fatalities involving many other breeds? Yes. Yes, even labs, jack russells, and even a pomeranian have mauled a baby to death. It is a huge tragedy and the bottom line is that owners need to be responsible, regardless of the breed.


PUNISH THE DEED, NOT THE BREED.


http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

Ditto

Pit bulls are very human orientated dogs and are fantastic with children unfortunately due to people being complete a*holes they do get a bad rap because of the tough guy image and you end up with the wrong type of people owing the wrong type of dog, media sensation also doesn''t help. Where I live they have gone so far here as to put down any dogs that they think might look like a pit bull irrespective of the dogs temprement without the owners consent, which is just heartbreaking. I have seen numerous reports on the news about pitties attacking children and what not but when they show the dog numerous times the dog has been a complete other breed, but saying it is a pit bull sells more headlines so many people have problems even identifying what a pit bull is. I am not saying pit bulls will not attack, any dog has the ability to but don''t blanket statement that the breed is bad there are good and bad in every breed. People need to take responsibility for their animals and use common sense when it comes to children and animals no matter the breed, heck on the Gold Coast there is a Maltese on the dangerous dogs list.

Animals and children should never ever under any circumstances be left alone.

 

[indypitty]

Date: 7/31/2008 10:36:45 PM
Author: Deelight

Date: 7/31/2008 6:35:49 PM
Author: indypitty

Date: 7/31/2008 5:46:55 PM

Author: brazen_irish_hussy

For some reason, babies in those moving swings seem to trigger a preditor instinct in dogs.


I was suprised the see it was a lab though, it is usually a pit bull.

I wouldn''t go so far to say that it is ''usually'' a pit bull. That is what the media wants you to believe. Pit bulls are the current target for media sensationalism. It used to be German Shepherds, then Rottweillers, and Doberman Pinschers. The reason you hear about more pit bull attacks is because the media reports them more. Have there been fatalities involving pit bulls? Yes. Have there been fatalities involving many other breeds? Yes. Yes, even labs, jack russells, and even a pomeranian have mauled a baby to death. It is a huge tragedy and the bottom line is that owners need to be responsible, regardless of the breed.


PUNISH THE DEED, NOT THE BREED.


http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

Ditto

Pit bulls are very human orientated dogs and are fantastic with children unfortunately due to people being complete a*holes they do get a bad rap because of the tough guy image and you end up with the wrong type of people owing the wrong type of dog, media sensation also doesn''t help. Where I live they have gone so far here as to put down any dogs that they think might look like a pit bull irrespective of the dogs temprement without the owners consent, which is just heartbreaking. I have seen numerous reports on the news about pitties attacking children and what not but when they show the dog numerous times the dog has been a complete other breed, but saying it is a pit bull sells more headlines so many people have problems even identifying what a pit bull is. I am not saying pit bulls will not attack, any dog has the ability to but don''t blanket statement that the breed is bad there are good and bad in every breed. People need to take responsibility for their animals and use common sense when it comes to children and animals no matter the breed, heck on the Gold Coast there is a Maltese on the dangerous dogs list.

Animals and children should never ever under any circumstances be left alone.

Thanks for bringing this point up, Deelight. Unfortunately, dogs are often mislabled as pits in the aftermath of a biting incident. Here is an interesting link exposing some of the media bias against pit bulls:

http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/media1.asp