lurchergrrl 1,441 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) My opinion, for what it's worth .... a dog isn't born with the knowledge that kids are above them. When it's living kennelled out it has limted experience with them. It's not instinct for a dog to see a small, fast moving, squeaky person and think about said squeaky person's position in the grand scheme of things. When the dog isn't living with the kids he can't have experience to know the difference. A growl is a warning. The dog gave a warning because he didn't really know what the score was. He did not bare his teeth and snarl and try to eat her. I have three small kids under five, so I don't take things like this lightly but, at the same time, it doesn't seem such a big deal to me. One has to consider the circumstances before passing judgement and flippantly saying they'd pts. In this case I can understand why Tewkes decided to rehome. Dogs don't come out of a box with all the worldy knowledge they require - it's up to us to give them that. Edited February 5, 2009 by lurchergrrl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Simoman 110 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Maybe i'm biased, I love my dogs, but that is NOTHING compared to how I feel for my two daughters and many years ago my sister crawled on my nans Beardie as a kid and spent a long time in hospital having her nose and eyelid stiched back on in a two second snap so I'd er on the side of caution. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurchergrrl 1,441 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Maybe i'm biased, I love my dogs, but that is NOTHING compared to how I feel for my two daughters and many years ago my sister crawled on my nans Beardie as a kid and spent a long time in hospital having her nose and eyelid stiched back on in a two second snap so I'd er on the side of caution. And that's why little kids need to be supervised around dogs and taught to respect them - not to disturb them when they're sleeping or bother them when they're eating etc. And if the Beardie had given a growl as a warning, things would've been avoidable. If, if, if .... every circumstance is different. But an experience like you're describing Simo would've stuck with me as well. I love my kids more than anything, and my family as a whole, which for me includes my dog. Last week my lurcher gave a playful growl while playing ball with one of my girls. No menace it in whatsoever, it was one of those 'come on let's PLAY' growls. Nonetheless, I corrected her as she can't get carried away with them like she can when she's playing with another dog and had to be taught the difference. Am I worried about it? Not even a little bit. She's grown up in the house with the kids and knows the score. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Simoman 110 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yep, your right, supervision for the safety of both child and dog is essential, last night my kids were sat watching tele with a Patterdale sat next to them and one of my Shepherds laying at their feet, I trust these dogs as much as any other but i don't leave them unsupervised anyway Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hannah4181 260 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 In my opinion, dogs that are brought up around children, who are well trained and taught how to behave around a dog, should be fine. However there are always exception to the rule. As a responsible dog owner, if this situation was to arise, after ruling out illness i'd make an educated decision on the dogs future and place within the family. If i felt that having the dog PTS was the best option, i would do it no matter how upsetting it would be. There is a lot worse things that can happen to a dog than having it pts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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