SS Cressa Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 The parents line of thought is if the dog bite you, you most likely deserve it. When they were visiting the kids got in trouble for playing/running in the dog room if the dogs were put away. Letting the kids play with the safe dogs (Troy and Conner). Gave me a new respect for kid friendly dogs. The kids randomly just pounce on the dogs, squeal while running away/or toward the dogs, randomly do cartwheels or somersaults, jumping, jumping and squealing, and they would chase the dogs or try to catch the dogs. Even with the safe dogs I routinely had to give them breaks because I didn't want to over stress them or over stimulate them. Give me a puppy any day over a kid. Cressa, I am worry about because: 1 They stress her, 2 They excite her prey drive(almost by existing). LOL She is able to exists with cat but she has to get reminded weekly not to nip cats for running/ or sharpening their claws on furniture but she was raised with cats. -Yes we plan on having a contract with them and having a long sit down talk about acceptable behavior and how to discipline our dogs correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Cressa Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 OK, let me get this straight. You don't like kids. Your dog doesn't like kids. With you so far - neither Faith nor I have much use for them either. So - Why might you and your dog have to put up with three small children living in your house for a year? We are the only one with a big enough place for them... I hope it doesn't go thru though. Also we have more job prospect in our area then their. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap-n-Jo Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 We don't have kids that live with us. However, we have two grandkids (2 and 4 yrs old), and we have young neices and nephews who occasionally come to town to stay with us. Our dogs are gentle, but they're not used to living with kids, and I don't want to stress them out when kids are in the house. I recently purchased the children's book, "Don't Lick the Dog -- Making Friends with Dogs" by Wendy Wahman. Sometime during the first hour the kids are in the house, I read the book to them and go over our dog rules, e.g., no chasing the dogs, no "accidentally" feeding them people food, how they can tell if our dogs are afraid or stressed or need a break, etc. The kids love the book -- it rhymes, has cute pictures, and tells children simply how to behave around dogs. It's a fun way to introduce the dog rules to the kids, and I'm sure it translates to other situations outside the home where they encounter strange dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Just wanted to chime in again and say that I don't like kids either. That said, I have three (ages 10, 12 & 13). I like MY kids. My kids are pretty cool. I don't like other kids and I definitely don't want to hold anyone's babies! I love my kids and my FOUR dogs, HEHEHEHEHE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Something I've found that does help with very brief kid interactions: I ask the kid to give Buddy a treat and make him sit/lie down/crawl, etc.. If there's nothing else to do, the kids naturally want to love all over a dog - but if I have treats and they can help "train" the dog, that's actually much more interesting, it seems. Even letting a dog take a treat from their hands is a novelty for most kids I meet, and they do like to feel powerful with the commands. My neighbor has a dog who's GREAT with kids. They could ride on her, pulling her ears, and she wouldn't grimace. (She seems to have a desperate need for physical contact - she doesn't want to be hugged, but rather wants to be squeezed against you as close as possible.) The unfortunate flip side is that the kids believe you can go wild around dogs. My neighbor actually kind of wishes her dog was a little less tolerant, so her kids would be a little more savvy in the world. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 1 word "Fetch". kids LOVE to play fetch with dogs..BCs love to play fetch. thats how it worked for my girls! they went from "OMG kids are evil!" to "OMG kids are non stop toy throwing machines!". they still dont like to be touched by kids or anything, but they dont see kids as a threat anymore, intsead they get exited and happy at the sight of em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Cressa Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Just thought I share. This weekend we, my friend and I, were taking our dogs to the river to cool off after an agility show. We had one kid run towards our dogs from behind. I stop and made sure I was between Cressa and the kid. Cressa glance at the kid then ingored it while the kid pet Troy and my friends dog. Then when we got to the river their was a kid that came down to play in the water and being a kid she had to investagate the dogs. Cressa glance at her then ingored her. At couple of times she look at little too interested in the girl and a firm Cressa got her focus back on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Ignoring a child while having fun and focused on an activity like fetch or swimming and tolerating a child living in the house who may be trying to pet or hug the dog are 2 totally different things. You can teach a dog to get along with a child with a great deal of patience, play and good experiences, but only if the child is also willing to learn how to act around dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Cressa Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Ignoring a child while having fun and focused on an activity like fetch or swimming and tolerating a child living in the house who may be trying to pet or hug the dog are 2 totally different things. You can teach a dog to get along with a child with a great deal of patience, play and good experiences, but only if the child is also willing to learn how to act around dogs. Your right!... but Cressa normally would have already started getting ready to charge. This kid was at the rocky edge of the river splashing water toward the dogs about 10 feet away. At the time we had two bumpers for 5 dogs. So it was playtime but not really playtime for her and Cressa didn't really want to swim it was to much of an abrupt edge. Don't worry I DON'T trust her around kids but it was nice to see her choosing to ingore them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 I begin by teaching the child how to approach a dog without invoking a fear response. Then, I hold Annie while the child approaches her. Once Annie has interfaced with a particular child, there is no further cause for concern; she remembers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickeyDogs Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Wow! Such anti kid sentiment! I think the OP said tolerate not like. No, not every dog needs to like everyone but certainly in today's litigation-prone society dogs should tolerate children. If it's between a dog and a kid, guess who wins - it ain't the dog, no matter the circumstances. Education for the kids and parents is key (great suggestion - the children's book, "Don't Lick the Dog -- Making Friends with Dogs"!! Gonna go online and buy that one!). Kids don't come "knowing" how to behave around dogs, in fact, they naturally do things that can arouse dogs. We, the dog owners, need to teach them, not the parents - most parents don't know how to behave around dogs either unless they're dog lovers and even then it's iffy. Heck, most unknowing parents buy into that Lassie myth that dogs and kids naturally go together and love is all around!!! Next is helping the dogs feel as relaxed and comfortable around children as much as possible. Dogs don’t come “knowing” how to behave around kids. We need to help them. Unless you want to keep your dogs in a bubble, they are sooner or later gonna meet up with kids. I'd rather have my dog first experience with kids be when I can control the situation so they can later handle the unexpected. Having the older kids throw a ball (under your supervision) is a great way for the dog to view the kids as fun and I like the idea of having the children "train" the dogs. That gives the kids a sense of responsibility and helps them realize the dogs are not stuffed toys but living creatures with feelings. NEVER let the kids and dog alone together, no matter how bomb proof the dog - no matter how dog savvy the kid. ALWAYS supervise their interactions and always be with them when they are together. Be sure to establish "it's time to let the dog alone" rules. It will be your responsibility to enforce these - the parents probably won't. Can you expose your dogs to children before your company comes? Can you find a playground and at first keep your distance so the kids aren't tempted to come over but the dogs can observe the kids playing? Just to get the dogs use to little people that move quickly. Talk with the parents before they come and explain your plan of action on how the kids & dogs can live together in harmony during their stay. Get the parents on board and in agreement with you before they arrive. This experience can either be an unpleasant visit or a chance to develop new, responsible, if young, dog lovers. It's all how you go at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanty Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I just wanted to add to the discussion about children learning to behave around dogs. My first dog was 11 or 12 when she moved back in with me and my daughter who was a year old at the time and we also had a 15 month old several days a week for babysitting. While the dog never did 'play' with the kids they did learn to leave her alone so they co-existed peacefully. Just saying that depending on how serious you are about teaching the children, you CAN teach even young children to leave the dog alone. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I had a dog during high school who grew up in a house full of teenagers and young adults. The neighbors had a small child who used to come visit with his older siblings, our friends. I remember so clearly looking out into the backyard and seeing Nicholas (a toddler then) running crazily through the grass - and then watching Dusty take off after him in full prey-hunting mode. I screamed "DUSTY! NO!" as loudly as I could, and thank heavens she froze in her tracks! She wasn't being vicious - she honestly thought that the kid was like a squirrel or a groundhog or something! What a scary moment. So, be sure the dog has a bit of training with little running things, too, to avoid that scenario! Dusty never did learn to like toddlers, but she learned very solidly that she wasn't allowed to growl or nip at them, so she used to go away when they came over - she'd camp out under an end table, and if the kids still dared to be in the room wtih her, she'd go upstairs to one of the bedrooms to avoid contact. That was her M.O. for fourteen years, and she never had to interact with a toddler if she didn't want to. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.