Stupid ***** strikes again...that didn't come from "Every Child Needs a Pet". It came from here:
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Dogs & Kids – When It Isn’t Cute
Far too often, when a dog bites a child, it is not the fault of the dog. Certainly there are dogs that have not been socialized well with children or who have had bad experiences with children but even THEN is it really the fault of the dog? Some will absolutely blame the child, and with older kids this can be true and with younger kids, partially true. The fact is that kids are not born knowing how to act around and with dogs. Teaching them what is appropriate and what isn’t is the job of parents and other adults – a job that they often fail at.
Dog owners love to tell people how ‘wonderful’ their dog is with children. They will regale people with tales of how children can do
anything to their dog. They go into detail as to how any child can pull their dog’s tail, ears, sit on them, smack them, climb on them – do any manner of things to them – and their dog will not react. “He’s SO GOOD with kids!”. What our first question should be – why on
earth do you allow any child, or indeed any person, treat your dog that way? Kudos to the dogs in this world that will put up with such treatment – it truly IS a testament to their temperament – but what happens when they have had enough? While people are so incredibly proud that their dog will put up with so much, they should, in reality, be embarrassed that they allow such shenanigans to go on, and when their dog has finally put up with all of the abuse that they are going to, they should be certain to put the blame where blame belongs – on themselves.
There is no such thing as a dog who doesn’t bite. All dogs have the ability and the capacity to bite. Even dogs who don’t have a tooth in their heads can still ‘bite’. This doesn’t mean that dogs are inherently unstable, have poor temperaments or are dangerous – it means that they are
dogs. Sure, many dogs will put up with many things. It doesn’t mean that they should have to. Chances are, that eventually, your dog won’t take it any longer. Perhaps the children who have been allowed to do as they will to him, will take it a step too far. Even the most stable of animals, when in pain or pushed beyond their considerable comfort level, will react. In most cases, this reaction will automatically be blamed on the dog. This can result in many outcomes – not the least of which is a dead dog.
Teaching a child that a dog is not a step stool should be automatic for a parent. While this dog is sleeping, a tiny heel dug into the wrong place could easily elicit a startled reaction from a soundly sleeping dog who is suddenly in pain. Why take the chance? Spend the $20 and invest in a stool. It costs less than reconstructive surgery in the end.
While all dogs deserve protection from children, people in general, other dogs and the like, it is also imperative that parents and other guardians teach the children in their charge how to act around dogs. Perhaps your dog, no matter how put upon, will not ever react to the stress your child puts on him, but what happens when your child does the same to a dog with whom they don’t live? By allowing a child to have free reign at home with the family dog or dogs, it follows that they will treat all dogs in a like manner. While your dog may be a saint in putting up with the abuse, the dog that lives at Aunt Sally’s house, may not be. When not taught how to properly behave around dogs and animals in general, your child not only endangers him or herself, but they endanger the pets of others as well. While your dog might stand and take it when your four year old grabs and twists his ear, a dog unused to such treatment may feel that pain and react. This reaction might be just a growl initially, but your child has never been taught what that means, so they keep on going. Eventually, most dogs, will escalate from there – perhaps a snap, maybe culminating in a bite. Its hard lesson for a toddler to learn and can be a costly one for the dog who certainly didn’t ask to be treated like a stuffed animal.
I swear...are you the only living abortion in the world?
