To think some dog breeds should never ever be around babies and children

[Redburnett]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-59953038
Such a sad case where the dogs had apparently never shown aggressive tendencies previously.

@CoffeeDay

YANBU. Since DD was a baby we had a rule of not letting any type of dog close to her, even those from friends. If we're outside or about to pass someone walking a dog someone will pick her up beforehand.

The few people we know who were bitten by dogs were all from their own or a befriended person's pet. Obviously circumstances made a huge difference, one case was a child trying to pet a sleeping dog who lashed out upon waking. But still, dogs are not people. Dogs are animals and humans can never 100% control an animal's behaviour. I think people who treat their pets like humans lose sight of that.

You are going to make her frightened of dogs. I appreciate you want to keep your child safe and of course she should never approach a dog bit that’s over the top

ALL dogs, not just some breeds. Extremely stupid and irresponsible, and yes, any attack on humans should mean the dog is destroyed immediately and the owner prosecuted. No exceptions.

@GoodnightGrandma

If you look at what a dog was bred for, that will tell you what’s in its DNA. I don’t care how long ago that breed was used for that thing, it’s in the core of the dog no matter how friendly and cuddly it is with you. No dog should be left with a baby/small child. I love dogs, but I didn’t have them until my youngest was at primary school for that reason.

Could you elaborate? What was it bred for?

Wasn’t a pit bull!

No dog should be near a baby or young child unless closely supervised. They are too unpredictable and it only takes a second.

@Isntitironic1

Wasn’t a pit bull!

In the United States the Stafford is commonly classified as a pit bull-type dog along with the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier

Potato, potato

@HacerSonarSusPasos American pit bulls are a different breed from Staff bull terriers.

[quote Shallwegoforawalk]@HacerSonarSusPasos American pit bulls are a different breed from Staff bull terriers. [/quote]
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffordshire_Bull_Terrier

Since breeds are more dangerous but I’m never keen on babies around any dogs. I say this as the very proud owner of a much loved cocker spaniel. We (dh and I wanted a dog) but didn’t consider it while dc were small. We finally got our boy when Dd1 was 12 and dtds were a week off turning 9. My parents also considered a rescue dog when they had their own business he could have gone with them to work but my dc were toddlers and they decided it wasn’t safe for their grandchildren and they’d not risk it. I’m genuinely touched they put my girls first (for context; my wider family has suffered a few tragic deaths of children and while none were dog related my parents did urge on the side of caution and I wouldn’t have been angry if they’d got a dog, just super vigilant when we visited). I do think some people are naïve when it comes to dog ownership.

Whilst the breed is, IMO hugely important re agression, (you hear no stories of a golden retriever savaging anyone) dogs should be kept away from babies and small children.

I have always had dogs and when my Dcs were babies we had a large gated playpen where they crawled, played and could be put whilst l cooked etc....my Weimaraner was desperate to be close to them and a very gentle dog, but a dog, none the less and was never allowed to touch them or their bassinett or be inside the playpen......we also had dog gates in every doorway, so l could walk through and put a baby down leaving Ddog in another room.
Simple common sense so lacking in some parents.

Parents are at fault 100%, but some dog breeds are far, far more likely to attack than others.

I would never leave any baby or young child alone with any dog, ever. That includes my parents' gentle spaniel who grew up with my children.

They're animals, it's the parents' responsibility to keep the children safe.

@Isntitironic1, take a wild guess...

After the introduction of legislation criminalising dogfighting in 1835 and again in 1911, the Stafford was more commonly kept as a companion dog. Its history as a fighting dog made it difficult for the breed to gain recognition by the British Kennel Club; it was eventually recognised in 1935.[2]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffordshire_Bull_Terrier

@NeedAHoliday2021

Since breeds are more dangerous but I’m never keen on babies around any dogs. I say this as the very proud owner of a much loved cocker spaniel. We (dh and I wanted a dog) but didn’t consider it while dc were small. We finally got our boy when Dd1 was 12 and dtds were a week off turning 9. My parents also considered a rescue dog when they had their own business he could have gone with them to work but my dc were toddlers and they decided it wasn’t safe for their grandchildren and they’d not risk it. I’m genuinely touched they put my girls first (for context; my wider family has suffered a few tragic deaths of children and while none were dog related my parents did urge on the side of caution and I wouldn’t have been angry if they’d got a dog, just super vigilant when we visited). I do think some people are naïve when it comes to dog ownership.

That’s lovely and exactly what I’d expect responsible grandparents to do.

The baby was on a child protection plan pre birth. Ruben died because of parental failures, as many children do. The dogs had to be destroyed because of ownership failures. I always had German Shepherds, you can keep any breed of dog and children, safely. However I do think that the XL bulldog etc should be avoided. Stafford aren't a particular risk, the baby could have been killed by any breed given the circumstances.

@piney07

I really don’t get this “owner not dog” argument - it is plainly clear that some dog breeds are more dangerous! It’s shown in the statistics and the only dogs in my area that have injured others are these breeds. I know that many of them are lovely lovely individual dogs but so are all dogs so I’m not convinced the added risk is worth it.

Because it’s less about the breed per se, and more about the type of person attracted to that breed for status / protection / image / aggression. As breed specific legislation has shown, all that happens when you ban a breed is that the people who would have originally owned that breed for those reasons either continue to do so illegally, or move on to another breed. Pit bulls were banned; Staffies, American Bulldogs and other bull breeds became their legal replacement. Ban Staffies and other breeds will become popular.

If you look at the data, particular models of car are implicated in the highest number of dangerous driving convictions and speeding offences and deaths and injuries to drivers and other road users. It isn’t because those models of car are inherently more prone to anything except being popular with a particular driver demographic.

I think you have a good point really, some breeds are capable of more damage than other breeds. However, we have a large, friendly dog and I think her size is a constant reminder to ensure we always stay cautious.

Not the nanny dog myth again

How long will it be before this rubbish dies a death.

Staffordshire bull terriers were bred for blood sport. Not babysitting.

Animals and children just don't mix.

I grew up with St Bernards and still have them now. My kids are dog savvy. My dog is docile as anything. Never would I leave the two unattended. It takes one wrong move by either party for absolute devastation. It isn't worth it.

@ShirleyPhallus

Of course some breeds are more predisposed to having higher prey drive, but I’m afraid that no parent should fall asleep with their baby in reach of any dog. No matter how docile, any dog is capable of doing serious damage to a child.

However, humans commit more assault and murder than dogs. Should we ban humans from being around babies and children too?

Most people are quite discerning about the types of humans they allow around their children.

Not a parent, but a dog owner. I have a border collie.

My dog is very friendly and chilled, and is good with children. But I'm realistic. She's a dog at the end of the day. When I go up the park,many of the local children like to play with her (she loves chasing bubbles, which results in loads of kids running round with her all chasing bubbles.)

Even small children (eg 9 months up) get excited when they see her. But a 9 month old doesn't understand ''don't pull her tail or poke her eyes'' can't read the situation, or move away. If a baby wants to say hello, I'm happy to allow this....but she's on a short leash my end, and I expect the parent(s) to do similar with the baby.

With older children who can understand I will still supervise closely together with the parents.

She has never shown any sign of aggression to a child, but I could never forgive myself if this changed and she did hurt a child.

@ComtesseDeSpair that is actually a really interesting perspective from a correlation vs causation analysis that I hadn’t considered!

We have had a Rottweiler and currently a Husky since dc were born. Never left unsupervised..
Ds 7 has been trained as much as ddogs about safety and pet respect.. He is still never alone with them.
As a baby ddogs were offered his feet for a sniff /lick. They absolutely accepted him but I do agree a crying newborn could mimmick squeals of an injured animal. Which is precisely why ddog toys have that sqeak. Keeps ddogs interested and who has a rare ddog that doesn't disembowel those toys?

I have a Dobermann - she loves children but any contact with babies is under strict supervision.
I was standing outside once and a child came to her and before I could react, the boy stuck his hand into her mouth. She didn't do anything except for waiting for the hand to leave.
She loves children and crying children make her uneasy, she gets agitated and wants to help them. I still wouldn't let her alone with a baby because she's very big and her idea of playing could cause a damage to the baby.
The article says that the parents were actually monitored by authorities before so it's not that a peaceful, loving and calm family suddenly suffered a horrible accident. Dogs get agitated when there's an argument, they can get bored or react in a wrong way if they don't get enough attention and training.
Usually it's always the owners, not the dogs. That also counts for poochies which mostly get fuck all training because they're small so people think they can't cause any damage, their owners spoil them, don't socialise them because they're afraid the dog will be attacked by bigger dogs and let them run around small children because hey, what's a little poochie gonna do?
I'd rather see a big breed where the owner invested into their training around children than any size and breed of a dog that wasn't properly trained and socialised around children.
Btw, a Yorkie, a sausage dog or a Jack Russell would be more predisposed to see a small baby as prey or get jealous and territorial.

I know people say that "Any dog can damage a child" and technically that's true, but there is a HUGE difference between a chihuahua bite and a Staffordshire bullterrier bite. The strength of these dogs is immense, as is the prey drive. Absolutely no reason to choose to keep them as pets. Even though people will come along and claim they are "nanny dogs". 🙄 But as a general rule, any dog can fatally hurt a newborn. We have a small extremely friendly pug, but we kept him on a leash indoors when we visited my in-laws because they have a toddler. Better to be safe

I would never have any dog that is able to lock its jaws, around children so for me that includes all 'bull' types, even Staffies. Even the loveliest dog can get a brain tumour and go mad.