to wonder why anyone with young children would have a dog as a pet or on their home?

[needtobediscreet]

In light of the many incidents of death and injury caused to young children by dogs, even those not previously considered a danger, I can't help but wonder WHY anyone would. The latest seems to involve a six day old baby in west Wales.

Don't get me wrong, I love animals. I grew up with cats and had a pet dog myself when I was in secondary school. But the nicest of dogs can 'turn' it seems and the results are a lot worse than when a cat gets a bit upset.

Clearly in the majority of cases the affected families weren't deliberately neglectful but why take the risk?

I'm prepared for lots of responses from dog owners....!!!

Let's just agree to disagree :0) I like dogs by the way, although I could never have one full-time.

Many things are a risk, and having a pet dog is one of the minutest risks of them all.

If you pick the right dog, do dog ownership properly, and aren't someone animals naturally think they're the boss of, there is almost no risk whatsoever.

Salem,

The Rescue I volunteer at has had 4 or 5 phone calls from people wanting to 'get rid' of their Mallies this week (and one Husky). Sadly we are full to bursting and finding a suitable foster would be nigh on impossible. It's such a bloody shame. The dogs will probably end up PTS (bloody irresponsible owners shouldn't have got them in the first place - but thats another thread)

Salemsparklys, I'm a Staffie owner... better get your hard hat on now because it's only going to get worse I think. I read somewhere that the idiots have abandoned Staffs as their 'hard' dog of choice, as they've realised that they're not really hard at all, and are now moving onto Malamutes and Huskies. Not that I'm suggesting they are 'hard' either, just that they're bigger I suppose. It's not the sort of reasoning I understand myself.

LtEveDallas,

I is heartbreaking isn't it, these dogs are fab family pets, they love with their whole being. Are you on FB? Quite a few rescues on there, might be able to help each other out x

salem that's really sad. In the area from where we've just moved we were seeing more and more sled dog breeds taking over the 'status symbol' role from Staffies. They're wonderful dogs but not for novice or uncommitted owners - well, no dog is but certain breeds are a little more forgiving of lack of exercise and mental stimulation. It's a worrying trend.

Sounds good to me NormalsDude :) No point in falling out over a difference of opinion is there.

Sorry, NormalishDude. Doh!

Ilovexmastime, what I am worried about is that there are people out there that will taking these mals/huskies and attempt to turn them into the next fighting dog. I love staffies, daft as brushes and just as loving as a moot, hate how a breed gets a bad name due to arsehole owners! Most mal/huskie people I know have had abuse while walking their dogs the last few days, disgusting!

Select, films like Twilight have a lot to do with sled dogs becoming the in dog. They are fab dogs but they do need someone with the time and commitment, just like any other dog, but these guys aren't going to care that there is 10 ft of snow, they will still want their walk x

I'm afraid that's what might be happening already Salem, it's just such a shame.

As an aside, I just found this: www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/20/chihauhau_menace/
which just goes to show that it's not necessarily the size of a dog that you need to worry about :)

Select - as a dog trainer of course I disagree with you but not about Cesar Milan, his methods are bollocks. But the principle is, I believe, correct - that dogs need to understand that they are of low rank in the home i.e. if a human tells them to do something, they do it. First time.

You are absolutely right though that any dog CAN turn. I was bitten by a neighbours collie as a child, I'd known it for 7 years but I bothered it one day when it was too hot and it bit my face quite badly. I adore and trust my dogs ... 99%. At the end of the day they are sentient beings with minds of their own so cannot be trusted 100%. Hence they are never alone with my (or anyone else's) child

I agree with instant obedience, but the "rank" element is bollocks a red herring. My dogs respond to my commands because they have been trained with positive reinforcement; every training scenario is set up as a "win" and the thing I want them to do is the most attractive option with the greatest reward. Nothing to do with them having to "know their place in the pack". They do what I want them to do because I have essentially trained them to want to do it too, because they got a high-value reward which varied from dog to dog depending on what motivates them most.

More children are killed by their parents each year than are killed by the family pet.

yes, but you can't realistically get rid of parents

No, but you could introduce compulsory training before parenthood, make breeding dependent on a good pass, improve monitoring of worrying situations, neuter the aggressive ones...

are you talking about parents or dogs?

Ohhhh Parents I think

I've known a number of children that could do with rehoming.