Posted on 02/25/2014 11:47:21 PM PST by Dallas59
In case you haven’t heard, an Alaskan Malamute killed a 6 day old baby in Wales this week. The dad had brought the dog home from the pub several months earlier because someone said they were going to get rid of it.
This news makes me incredibly sad. It also makes me painfully aware that the breed may soon be as demonized as the Pit Bull.
But humans also carry some responsibility for this tragedy. What with your fanciful ideas about dogs and such.
So at the risk of upsetting some of my readers, let me state what should be obvious to each of you.
.
I don’t care how many dresses or bow ties or hats you put on them, dogs are not human children. You can call them your baby and refer to yourself as mommy or daddy, but they are dogs. And as a dog, they will act in ways that dogs do. Clothing does not transform behavior. Only training will do that.
(Excerpt) Read more at rumpydog.com ...
No matter how nice a dog is or how compliant they appear to be, you should not leave a dog alone with a baby. It does not matter the breed.
That’s not really true, I trust my dog more than most people. Long track record, and actually a sentient being. I saw her looking at the stars the other night when I was out in the jacuzzi.
Humans do carry some responsibility but, not always.
Dead dog no matter what...
No kidding?
Your dog bring you beer too?
Does he have a sister?
LOL
Never bring a dog into your family before you have children. Dogs understand pecking orders. If you get a dog before you have children, your children will be lower on the pecking order than the dog, and the dog will fight for position against the child. If you bring in the dog after the children are a few years old, it will understand the children are higher in the pecking order than they are.
Had a coworker who owned a Husky. He was a really big dog, an Alpha-type male.
She baby sat her sister’s daughter, just a toddler about 2-years old, and noticed her Husky checking out the child. Then he began to stalk her.
She quickly grabbed the little girl and put her in the house. She called her dog and put him in his dog run, giving him a treat as she did so.
She never baby sat her niece again until she found someone who would give her dog a good, loving home. That is when she decided that it was time to start a family.
I have the nicest dog in the world. It’s very people friendly and non-harmful. It really, really likes my cats, though they aren’t as reciprocative.
However, it is still a dog and will do doggy things. It will react in a dog-like way to the stimulus around it. That leaves the potential for unintended harm if it is around a child without constant supervision.
That does not mean a dog wants to harm a child, but its natural reactions leaves open that possibility when left to its own devices. Anybody who doesn’t recognize that simple fact leave themselves open to very unfortunate experiences, like that couple in Britain.
I don’t have a problem getting a dog before having kids. I can’t predict the future as to when I might have kids, after getting the dog.
But until the child is at least 4 or 5, I would never leave it alone with the dog. For both their protections.
I have a friend who cannot discipline his young son when his Doberman is around because the dog will attack him if he does. That dog loves and protects the young boy. It really is a unique relationship. The boy is 5.
Doggie ping
People do far worse things than dogs and unlike a dog they do it by choice.
I don’t believe this is always the case, though it often is.
Dogs are merely modified wolves. In most wolf packs only the alpha male and female will breed. The other wolves will help raise the cubs. This paradigm usually, though not always, carries over to the human/dog pack.
I suspect the safety of the children is often dependent on the extent to which the human alphas succeed in filling that role effectively in the minds of their dogs.
That very trait kept me from being molested by my uncle and arbitrarily whipped by my dad.
Dobermanns rule.
That secret is that their dog, too, has either attacked or bitten them or someone else at one time or other.
I think I would not be very nervous about leaving a Chihuahua with an infant...
But I would never leave a large dog unattended with a small child.
I think Dallas59 is right on this one.
Your friend needs to establish who’s is charge or bad things well happen.
A friend of the family had a husky that had been raised as a pup with numerous cats in the apartment. One day the dog grabbed one of the cats when it walked by and snapped its neck. It had never been aggressive before. I had a big female years after that, it would attack any animal. It chased horses one time when it got out of the yard. It easily got out of a 3’ chain link fence until I added charged wires top and bottom.
Huskies are prey driven. A friend baby sat the dog when we had to go on a trip. It got loose and killed a bunch of chickens and ducks. I’ll never have another.
I wouldn’t even leave my 5 lb maltie mutt alone with an infant. If he managed to get to it he would lovingly lick its face and smothered it with love. Dogs decision making processes are pretty limited to fierce protection of themselves and owners. You don’t leave an infant alone with a two-year old toddler, do you? Love and train my dog to be well behaved and loving, but he is not an adult human.
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