How much do you trust your dog?

[Kaleigh]

In our old neighborhood, a little girl was mauled by a dog that was taken to her school for show and tell. The child was showing off his pet, he was on a leash. The teacher said does anyone want to pet him?? My neighbor''s kid said yes, went right to the head, and it jumped up into her face.


She had to have over 300 stiches, and numerous plastic surgeries.

They moved away. Have no clue how the little girl is doing, but know that is was sooooo traumatic.

Do I trust my dogs??

With me, yes, but not with anyone else.

Casper is very old now, and jumps down Callie''s throat for next to nothing.

Callie is shy, she doesn''t want strangers petting her. She goes all rigid, her body language is kinda funny.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Our dogs go to one of three parks every day--one is a dog park where the daytime goers are all regulars who are fantastic dog owners and the other two are regular parks that are very dog-friendly, but not dog parks. There are often children at all of these parks and I am always amazed at how many parents allow their children to run up to dogs without any regard. While my dogs are extremely friendly and great with kids, I still fear that they may knock a child over if startled by a screaming child running towards them.

I trust my dogs not to snap at a child--they''ve been poked, prodded and ridden by many children before their parents can run over and tell them to stop. But I definitely worry about our 130 lb. 1-year-old puppy becoming overly exhuberant by a very excited child and knocking him/her over. It hasn''t happened yet, but it''s certainly in the realm of possibility.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 3/8/2010 1:46:10 PM
Author: princesss
You can never be 100% sure about what an animal will do. I trust my dog, and I''ve never seen him show an ounce of aggression towards a person, but under the right circumstances it could happen.

If he knows his dog is unpredictable, he should have warned you. Yes, it was your responsibility to check, but it''s also his responsibility as a pet owner to warn people away from petting his animal if it''s unpredictable.

This - about all dogs being inherently unpredictable. Any dog, even the sweetest, most mild-mannered, good-tempered sweet dog, can still be provoked by something. That said, in this case the dog''s issues were clearly far beyond that stage. I am sorry to hear about what happened - it must have been very scary for you and your son.

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 3/10/2010 3:41:43 PM
Author: Maisie
I''m really glad that there have been so many thoughtful and sensitive posts in this thread. I have read each one with interest. I understand now that in order to keep my son safe I must educate him (and my other children) how to behave around all animals, but in particular dogs. If he wants to pet a dog he can pet our own dogs. He doesn''t need to stroke any random dog that crosses his path. I will teach him that not all dogs like to be touched. Some might be unfriendly, but some might also be scared or in pain or nervous. I don''t want him to fear strange dogs, but I do want him to respect them and give them their space.

thanks maisie this automatically puts you into the ''great parent re dog safety'' category for me as a dog owner.

 

[trillionaire]

yes, Maisie and other parents. We love our dogs just like people love their kids, but just like kids can have a melt down, so can dogs. They are much more attune to their surroundings, and to the energy being projected by people. A child charging at a dog can seem like aggression to a dog, like a direct challenge. I can''t predict who my dog will dislike, but I CAN read her body language and immediately remove her from the situation if she is going to be uncomfortable. For example, for a long time, my dog didn''t like tall light skinned men with beards. Very odd, but she would growl at them and back away every time. It took me a while to realize that she had a type, and it was really hiurtful for my dad, who fits the description, to have the dog running from him and growling. He loves dogs, and it''s his only ''grandbaby''. She was so uncomfortable that she was dripping urine as she ran from him. I''ve never seen her do that before, ever! Over time, she gained her comfort, but it really taught me a lot about how she percieves things differently than I do, and that I can''t control that. However, when she is scared, I don''t baby her, I just remove her from the situation. I think that is good for children too. If they have a bad encounter with a dog, don''t blow it out of proportion and cultivate a fear of dogs... it''s good for them to be able to roll with the punches and learn animal safety.

 

[ursulawrite]

I have a Boston terrier and a Pug and I trust them both 100%. The Pug is the most docile, dozy dog you could ever wish to meet. Nothing troubles him. Dogs can snarl in his face, and he''ll keep on wagging that little curly tail.

My BT, I trust with all people. She is utterly fantastic with children. And cats. On leash, she can be dominant with about 10% of dogs that she meets (the ones that come bounding in her face usually) so I take the necessary precautions on the street, but she is fine off-leash at the park and on hiking trails
.
We live in a busy part of downtown Manhattan, and people--kids, homeless, elderly women, dog nuts--are always saying hi to my dogs without asking permission, so we''re well used to the element of surprise. I do wish parents would exercise more common sense, though. Last week I had a boy of about five get down on his knees and start kissing my Boston because he has a Boston and a Frenchie at home; while BTs are great kid dogs, why did his mother not bother checking first?

 

[Karl_K]

I do not have a dog at this time :{

Did I trust tiger sure he was a sweety but I did not trust the public to treat him right.
It was my job to protect him from them.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 3/11/2010 8:35:01 AM
Author: ursulawrite
I have a Boston terrier and a Pug and I trust them both 100%. The Pug is the most docile, dozy dog you could ever wish to meet. Nothing troubles him. Dogs can snarl in his face, and he''ll keep on wagging that little curly tail.

My BT, I trust with all people. She is utterly fantastic with children. And cats. On leash, she can be dominant with about 10% of dogs that she meets (the ones that come bounding in her face usually) so I take the necessary precautions on the street, but she is fine off-leash at the park and on hiking trails
.
We live in a busy part of downtown Manhattan, and people--kids, homeless, elderly women, dog nuts--are always saying hi to my dogs without asking permission, so we''re well used to the element of surprise. I do wish parents would exercise more common sense, though. Last week I had a boy of about five get down on his knees and start kissing my Boston because he has a Boston and a Frenchie at home; while BTs are great kid dogs, why did his mother not bother checking first?

Eeek that wasn''t good! Its a good thing your dog is friendly and trustworthy. I honestly make that mistake all the time though. Just because I have a silly big softie labrador doesn''t mean every lab I see will have the same temperament. I need to start looking at how I treat strange dogs too.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 3/11/2010 10:24:26 AM
Author: Karl_K
I do not have a dog at this time :{

Did I trust tiger sure he was a sweety but I did not trust the public to treat him right.
It was my job to protect him from them.

I can understand where you are coming from Karl. I have learned a lesson here.

 

[scarleta]

Interesting topic:
not your fault Maisie:
You did not know, but you have learned for the next time.
The man should have told you not to approach ( unless it never happened before?) The man should have not even brought this dog to the store if this happened before?
The store manager should be notified so no other child or person gets hurt.
This man should not ever bring this dog to the store .He is not equipped to deal properly with his dog. Kind of sad.

Personally I would tell the children how to behave around strange dogs ( again I know your child knows) ,
but sometimes its the children that can''t be trusted around dogs.
So generally the combination of children and dogs is not a good idea, because if the dog is a bit fearful and his owner "can''t read it properly" the dog can interpret any sudden unexpected move from a child (even like putting the hand on top of the dog''s head to pet it) can be threatening to some under-socialized and fearful dogs.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 3/13/2010 12:59:53 PM
Author: scarleta
Interesting topic:
not your fault Maisie:
You did not know, but you have learned for the next time.
The man should have told you not to approach ( unless it never happened before?) The man should have not even brought this dog to the store if this happened before?
The store manager should be notified so no other child or person gets hurt.
This man should not ever bring this dog to the store .He is not equipped to deal properly with his dog. Kind of sad.

Personally I would tell the children how to behave around strange dogs ( again I know your child knows) ,
but sometimes its the children that can''t be trusted around dogs.
So generally the combination of children and dogs is not a good idea, because if the dog is a bit fearful and his owner ''can''t read it properly'' the dog can interpret any sudden unexpected move from a child (even like putting the hand on top of the dog''s head to pet it) can be threatening to some under-socialized and fearful dogs.

I totally agree with all of your comments Scarleta. I had a good chat with all of my children, including the older ones. I don''t want anything like this to happen to any of us again. All animals deserve respect and to be allowed to be left alone if they are nervous or simply don''t like being touched by strangers.