To think dogs and kids should never be left alone together.

[Helendee]

I have just been on a social media thread on the above subject which turned rather interesting!
I firmly believe that all dogs can, given the right circumstances or provocation, turn and attack and I would never leave a child alone with one. However, the majority of people were less than impressed with my opinion .

I agree with you OP. I would say it just isn't worth the risk!

I agree. We’re a dog owning family but wouldn’t ever leave them

100% agree. I didn’t know this was a controversial opinion? I thought all dog owners ensured kids wpwere never left alone with their dogs?

I have two small dogs, I love them both dearly and they have NEVER given me cause to think they would harm my children. I still will not leave them if I am not in the room. In fact, I don’t allow them to sit together unless I’m on the floor with DS (14 months).

Until he’s old enough to be respectful to them this will not change. I do not understand why anyone would take the risk. We are so risk averse with children today, yet people leave their kids alone with an animal. An animal that kills or maims children regularly.

If I pop out briefly I leave DS and dd alone with the dog but they are 9 and 13 and dd is dogs “person”. I wouldn’t leave a younger child alone with a dog and for that reason didn’t get one until the DS weren’t so little
Even so they aren’t allowed to bother him when he’s in his bed and if they want a cuddle they call him to them rather than approach him. He’s pretty placid but any dog could bite if frightened or hurt

4 ddogs here, lots of dc. To protect both they are always supervised!!
The people who say their dc crawl /sit /jump on their ddogs and it's fine are neglectful dps imo.
One day ddog will have had enough and retaliate - resulting in scarred dc and pts ddog.

Thanks for the replies, I have never owned a dog so I admit I don't know a huge amount about them but I have always been aware of the safety issues, seems like common sense to me.
I received a flaming though from dog lovers and owners who told me their dogs were incapable of harming a fly, it scares me to think these people are allowing their children to sleep with unsupervised dogs.

Grandmaswagsbag I wish that were true. I’m regularly tagged on clips of ‘protective’ Alsatians licking the faces of tiny babies. Or dogs who growl at anyone who touches the baby. This is a thing, and some people think it’s a positive thing

All my lovely children have gone through a phase of subtle one-up manship over the very saintly dog when left alone with her. They have all received a 'yip' and felt very sorry for themselves. At that point, I feel sorry for the dog and realise children should not be left alone with the dog in case they turn on her.

All that to say, I agree but not for the reasons you suggest :)

I agree, too many people say ‘oh they won’t hurt them!’ I’ve had to tell my DN off sharply sometimes as she loves dogs; we were in a cafe that allowed them and she was enchanted looking at a bichon (I think) and went put her hand through the railings (the dog and owner were up a small step) to stroke it. It’s back was turned and I managed to snatch her hand away and told her she must always ask a) whoever she’s with and b) the dogs owner first.

My parents had an Afghan hound who was about 7/8 when I was born, he didn’t like children as he wasn’t used to them. If friends of my parents visited the dog would be taken into the kitchen or garden and they were careful to not leave me alone with him.

I would say the same of cats - with little ones, not when they’re older.

Any dog will harm given enough provocation. They may be nice and soppy and happy to let little kids pull ears and climb over them but everyone has a breaking point and that doesn’t exclude dogs.

Toddlers are good at testing patience, and small enough to be hurt badly even by a tiny or young dog. I do think however, that many dogs that are talked about as harmless are far from being that, just not tested to their limits yet.

it depends on the age of the child and how well they know the dog. My son is 14 and has had his own dog since he was ten and spends hours alone with the dog,walking it etc. I have to stop it sleeping in his bed!. Obviously little children definitely not, but a child that has grown up with a dog, knows how to respect it and treat it and a dog that is used to that child is fair enough. I do t think a child should be left alone with a strangers dog ever, even a so called "friendly" dog. Many of the horror stories of dogs biting are grand parents or relatives dogs and it's supposedly "out of character". Any dog can bite if it feels threatened, especially children who being closer to eye level and more likely to pester a dog.

I absolutely agree OP.

We never leave the dogs alone with small children & and they have never given us any cause for concern.

A relative of my BiL's was attacked by a dog, a family pet, trusted & totally unprovoked while parents were supervising. The baby has had 2 lots of reconstructive surgery and will be scarred for life.

Amazed people are so stupid agree op.

We have a small dog angelic dog and a frankly vile cat never ever do I let them b alone with my grand babies or any child under maybe 8/9 or any age until they understand animal needs, wants and care.

I agree that any animal has the propensity to turn on someone/something else. Humans are no different, in that respect, but we tend to be better at reading the signals of our own species (naturally).

But I have to admit that I have left my children alone with my dogs for short, sporadic periods of time, and, honestly, will continue to do so. I accept that a lot of people will consider that negligent parenting, but that's life.

I wouldn’t have thought this was a controversial view? It’s just being sensible/good parenting surely.

The most placid dog could easily turn if provoked for long enough, and as dogs get older they’re more likely to develop issues which make them less inhibited and more likely to lash out.

It’s not safe to leave a child alone with a dog, no.

I have a spaniel and when my DD was a baby I felt the same and never left them alone. My daughter is now 4 and I'm a bit more lax on it in the sense that I feel ok leaving a room or going upstairs if both of them are downstairs. The dog rarely chooses to be left alone with DD to be honest and will follow me out of the room etc. I'm very very strict on my DD not winding the dog up or doing things to annoy her and she gets in big trouble if I catch her trying to irritate the dog. That being said, occasionally at night the dog will go and sleep at the end of Dds bed or she will go in in the morning and lick her face to wake her up. I love hearing them playing together and my DD laughing when she wakes up to the dog. I'll probably get flamed for this no doubt. I agree that any dog can be provoked into reacting negatively, but I also know what makes my dog react and how she will show she's unhappy. We had the dog when she was 8 weeks old and my DD was 12 weeks so they've grown up together. I feel like I know her temperament and her boundaries.

Any age child or v young? I have a Chihuahua and I leave him on his own with my ds 4 all the time,tbh he couldn't hurt him if he tried as obviously v small teeth but then I used to leave my soft and gentle Staffy alone with my son when he was v small.

I'm very much a 'judge the behaviour not the breed' person but no way do dogs & kids get left together here. I have had several dogs i would describe as 'bombproof' but still never left them...my usual reasoning is i trust my dog but i don't trust my child!!! Kids can be irritating little wotsits & a tail or ear pull can invoke a reaction in even the sweetest of dogs

I have an 18 month old child and 8 year old German shepherd here. Not a chance are they ever left alone. The dog is insanely tolerant of her giving him "cups of tea" and taking his toys off him to throw but she also tries to use him as a step to get up on the sofa, he has hip dysplasia so she could easily hurt him and leaving them together would be a really stupid move. We also don't let her anywhere near him when he's eating.

My dog spends lots of time on his own with the kids. He can be found most mornings curled up on the end of dd's bed. We have him 5 years and I have no worries at all with him and the kids being alone. On the other hand if I leave the two younger kids on their own there would be killings. The cat will scratch if they annoy him so they don't tend to want to be left alone with him. My dog is a staffy and my younger kids are 10 and 9.

Yanbu. I agree 100% with you.

I know you're not supposed to, but I do. I also let the dogs sleep on the kids bed. So far so good.

Queen please don't be daft enough to think a small dog can't inflict serious injury.

This is the problem with anthropomorphising animals and the vomit inducing term "furbaby". They're not human. They don't think or behave like humans. They're dogs and they think and behave like dogs. They all, every single one of them, have the potential to revert to innate aggressive behaviours. In some the drive is stronger than others but it's there in all of them. It's simple good ownership to exercise sensible precautions with any animal you own. Respect them, give them their own "out of bounds to people" space and instill rules of behaviour in them and your children and everyone should be fine. You have to keep watching though.