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....!!!

Yes of course risks involving dc need to be reduced but saying small children and dogs shouldn't live together is very OTT. The reason most families have retrievers or Labradors is that they are usually great family dogs. Of course, dog ownership, like parenting is a responsibility. If you can't walk your dog or it is snapping or showing aggression to a dc, it needs to be re-homed before an incident.

I agree with the op. It's a risk that I would rather not have in my home. Obviously there are bigger dangers but if you can reduce it dramatically you would.

Back That's a ridiculous attitude.

Some dog owners are terribly irresponsible, that's no lie.

But what about those who aren't? Does that mean that they shouldn't be in a families life?

Does that also mean my partners dog who is trained to help him should also not be in the house too?

I know some horrible things have happened but these are irresponsible people who don't know how to care for their breed or allow a toddler to pull chunks of it's hair out. Of course it's going to react eventually!

Oh and that thread is nowhere near recent. 6 months plus, at least...

small risk ok ok, but HUGE consequences - death of a child

So no matter how small the risk it is not worth it.

If it was a small risk and and the consequence was small, say a scratch or a nibble finger then fair enough but NO NO NO.

I agree OP. I would wait to have pets when the children are much older and would be able to handle them better to minimise risk of harm should the animal 'turn'

Really, the most likely outcome for a normal dog that got a bit cross is a warning bit of aggression. It's parents not picking up on these signs that causes problems. Judging people for having dogs and small dc, whatever next!

Yep. Lethal.*

We are on our fourth of this breed. When my two first Scotties were eight months we had our first baby and they used to lie by his pram in the garden, guarding him. They also lay beside him by his baby gym and rang the bells for him using their noses. For such feisty little dogs they were amazingly gentle. The current one is more highly wired and slightly more wary of babies, but loves small children. Our children have adored them all and I think they have acted as small, black, furry psychotherapists at times. Of course you have to be careful, but dogs are generally loving family members.

No better pet for a young child than a BIG dog.

There are 8-10 million dogs in the UK, and since 2005 there have been 12 deaths of children and 5 of adults because of a dog attack.

17 deaths in 9 years.

1,700 deaths per year are recorded on the roads. that's 15,300 since 2005. There are 28 million cars on the road.

It's sensational news when it happens, but the risk is tiny compared to other life events.

Well, in our case, the dog (Springer Spaniel) was here first.

And no, he really has never bitten anyone, not even uncle Fred or the postman.

I have never left him unsupervised with the kids, it's easy enough to shut him in the kitchen for a couple of minutes while I'm in the loo.

He's never been aggressive, he's very protective of the kids and they have a great relationship, we've never had a problem with him.

We had dogs when I was growing up, and was never bitten by any of them either

Guide - assistance dogs are kind of different in my view as they're more of a necessity and also get tons of professional training.

phantom - I said nothing about banning people with kids from having dogs, but am just wondering why you'd choose to have both, given the risk, albeit small.

Gordyslovesheep - I wonder why anyone with young kids has a pond in their garden too, the aesthetic benefits of a pond aside of course.

Laurie -What a useful contribution - thank you!! If you don't agree, fine, but I am not a dimwit nor is merely asking the question, ' fuckwittery'.

I know the risk is relatively small but that doesn't mean that asking the question is unreasonable.

Some research was done in the US on attacks by dogs, for those who are interested:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101109133233.htm

gimme you say you will leave your child alone in the room with the dog when she is 5 or 6....then go on to criticise other peoples 'terrible parenting'??

Thinking101

You can apply that to flying, or driving to a museum?
Do you decide to keep your child away from all risk or just that one?

It's a personal choice. One can train dogs and ensure that small children are not left with dogs or allowed to pull tails etc then the risk really is tiny.

My son is autistic and the value of having our dog was enormous. Then, when DD turned up, should the loving well behaved dog go?

Loads of things involve risk and for that one makes a sensible risk assessment and make sensible precautions.
Everything else is hysteria.

lougle - deaths might be rare but what about serious injuries?

Oh and that thread is nowhere near recent. 6 months plus, at least

But you remember it don't you. Something like that is hard to forget.

I don't expect you to agree, Gimme, and that is fair enough, but as the thread goes on keep reading and note the extreme reactions to any suggestion that there might be a danger. I can understand those saying "good point, but we take precautions" , but the ones who are sick with fury are another matter.

Safety issues aside, surely babies and small DCs cause enough work, mess and expense without adding a smelly, hairy, shit producing dog to the chaos.

**

Yep. Lethal.

It was a similar breed which attacked my baby and put him in hospital a few months ago.

We had a dog when DD was a baby because we had, had our dog for eleven and a half years and we wouldn't contemplate re-homing her. We made sure they weren't left alone together and our dog had somewhere to go to get away from DD. They loved each other. Whenever I got the pram out our dog got really excited because she always thought she was going for a walk with us. Our dog very sadly died six months ago today, when DD was nearly 18 months. As a result our DD isn't scared of dogs and if we show her a photo of our dog she says Moll Moll, which is what she called our dog.

We wouldn't get another dog or puppy now while she is still young, more because puppies are hardwork and dogs are tying.

I've put these images on here before, but worth doing it again I think.

Here is my DD aged 2 with Bob, her best friend in the whole world. He came into our home when DD was just 2, they were inseparable. DD will tell you misty eyed stories of cuddles when she was ill, long walks and generally a little dog who was her world.

Here is DD again, now aged 16 with Bob snoozing in his favourite spot on her shoulder. This photo was taken weeks before Bob passed away aged 14. He'd been her constant companion for 14 years. She held him as he passed. He was her best friend and her life. He taught her the responsibility of looking after an animal, he taught her compassion and unending faithfulness.

Bob was a well trained, pleasant little dog who was a pleasure to own for 14 years. So, OP, you wonder why some people choose to have a dog in their homes? Because we aren't all irresponsible.

Back - I'm inclined to agree. Those who seem to refuse to even acknowledge the risk make me worry.

star - I admit to thinking the same.

More US stats: www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/

About 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year.
Almost one in five of those who are bitten, about 885,000, require medical attention for dog bite-related injuries; half of these are children.
In 2012, more than 27,000 people underwent reconstructive surgery as a result of being bitten by dogs.

The research I posted up thread found that retrievers attack more commonly than other breeds, which surprised me. It also finds that 5 years old is the peak age for kids to be attacked by a dog.

Of course you can ask the question.

But it's such a ridiculous question given the odds of something awful happening you have to be prepared for a few curt answers.

The benefits to mental and physical a pet dog can bring with responsible ownership far outweigh the risk. lougle outlines this extremely clearly.

Troll on .

pag it's just not a risk I'd chose to take at the stage my family is at.

What sir to if museums do you goto pag

Sort of ffs this bloody iPad.

Having seen my sisters dog, who I had never even seen growl, go for my 18m old when they squealed I completely agree with you.

Large dogs with large jaws capable of killing small humans anyway - don't understand why you'd risk it. Smaller dogs or older kids, fair enough.

Honey - I'm sorry you lost a dearly loved family pet. I've been there, with a dog and many cats, so I do sympathise.