on walking my boxer i saw a girl who must of only been seven or eight being towed up the road by male rottie and a male staff,(the rottie was above her waist) i waited by a parked car so my boxer could'nt eye ball her dogs as she canat times pick a fight, i asked the girl if she could manage ok as she was heading towards a main A road she told me in no uncertain terms to **** off plus a load of other abuse that made vicky pollard sound like she had been to finishing school it was so foul for a young child. i was concerned as a mother at the imminent danger, i am all for children helping with dogs but they must be under adult supervision.

That is awfull!!!
My eldest son is 10 yrs old, he's a big lad for his age. He likes to 'help' me walk Buster, but even in a field with nobody else in sight he only ever gets to hold Busters standerd lead that's clipped to his collar, while I have the long line clipped to his harness. It's easy for a big dog to pull a child over and it would be far to easy for the child to end up with a broken arm from getting tangled in the lead & dragged along - let alone the horror of what would happen if the dog pulled the child out onto a road :(

What goes on in some people's heads??????

That is disgusting allowing a child to walk dogs alone, especially those breeds - I would be out of my mind with worry for my childs safety (from being dragged into a road etc..) and for my dogs reputation as they are not with a competant handler - the dogs could easily feel the need to protect the girl......

To top it off the girl had a foul mouth!!!!!

that annoys me too.  The thing is that you know fine that if she came across any aggro dogs she would be totally ineffective at splitting up the fight and tbh I wouldn't expect an 8 year old to get involved in splitting up a dog fight.  On the plus side at least the dogs were on a lead (where is that rolleyes smiley?)

There is a woman who lives near me who has a really barky black dog that is always noising up other dogs and she never has it on a lead.  It wee's and poo's in people's gardens and she doesn't pick up after it and doesn't appear to think there is anything wrong with it even when people challenge her.  Her dog ran at mine last week barking and growling and thankfully I had mine on a lead but she was snarling and ready to go for it.  The woman didn't even bother to retrieve her dog or apologise for setting mine off.  Grrr!

My younger children are 10, 8 and 6 and I wouldn't let any of them walk a dog unaided how ever big it was. Children are easily distracted an accidents happen.

One of the children who used to live next to us broke both an arm and leg when she was pulled in front of a pushbike on the road by the family dog,
The child in question was about 9 at the time and the dog was a westie.
Apparently she had been talking to her friends and not paying any attention to the dog who suddenly lunged at a cat catching her off balance.

The other children in the family were still allowed to take the dog out after the accident, even the youngest who was about 7. Their mother mother told us that she was a very safe dog normally and she was sure it wouldn't happen again. The outcome could have been so very different if it had been a car she slipped in front of and not a bike but she wasn't concerned at all, it's not a risk i would have taken.

I also regularly see a girl in my daughters class, so aged 5 or 6 walking a dog to school while her mum pushes the pushchair. Admitedly the dog is tiny but still......

I saw a boy of about 9 or ten the other day out walking a tiny staffy pup with no lead!! i often see adults out walking their dogs along roads with no leads and cant believe how stupid they are but to let your child out with a puppy unleaded is horrendous. about a year ago my mum saw a small boy of about 8 with a female dog on a lead in full tie with a stray/ escaped dog! she couldnt help as her own dog isnt good with other dogs and it would have made things worse, there wasnt much she could have done anyway, the poor child was mortified, the parents of these children should be strung up.

a problem only too common by the sounds of it :(

there is a young lad around our way that walks his, what looks like a whippit or whippit cross.  He is ALWAYS on his own and these days I think that is scary enough.  I have no-idea which part of town he lives but he always walks down our road which is a long enough road.

Give him his due, when we first saw him about a year ago (around christmas time) we though to ourselves "how long will this last" thinking it might be a christmas present....Well we still see him most days and he was even out walking the dog christmas day....Hands up to him for being responsible, not so sure on the parents! ;)

My GSD was attacked at an agility club funday. This dog (collie x springer) is aggressive, the child was aged about 8yrs old. She couldn't hold it & it came at my dog & bit his eye, it left 3 puncture wounds. My dog retaliated (who's wouldn't?) I shouted very loudly 'leave it', it was over in seconds, everyone looks & they see only the GSD...........I was absolutely furious, if my dog had been handled by a child, all hell would have broken loose. If that child had been bitten during the fracas, I would have been the one in court, no doubt. I have worked damned hard with my dog, his behaviour at shows is testament to that. He ignores other dogs, but not when he is bitten badly. These irresponsible parents should put their brain into gear & think just what could/might happen.

My daughter is 14, is about 5 inches taller than me and I still won't let her take any of the dogs out on her own I just don't think she has the knowledge to react to another dog attacking the one she is holding. We have a GSD in our street (only 8 houses, and we are in the countryside ;-) ) that is known to be aggressive. I just wouldn't trust it enough near her. Even though I know the dog, and she is well enough behaved for me :-)

I dont like anyone else walking my dog, I dont let my 15 or 11 year olds walk him as they wouldnt know what to do if something went wrong, like a dog attack, two mornings a week my OH walks him, I dont like it but I have to work :-)

Things must have changed a lot. I used to walk our (fighter) of a labrador cross on my own when I was 8. I was told not to let him off the lead and was given a stout stick to break up any fights. Luckily I never had to use it, but I was given the confidence to know how to cope.

I let erin walk the dogs but we are lucky and have the use of an enclosed field near our house that only we get to use. at agility shows most of the kids walk their own dogs and more often than not are more careful and considerate than the adults.

But at agility shows the kids are different.  they are experianced dog handlers and have trained dogs and know alot more on how to read a dog then someone who just owns a pet.

You watch the kids at shows and they have a strong bond with their dogs...but if a dog was to be attacked they couldn't control the situation.  Infact I don't think I would be able to if two large breed males where to fight.  I've been there before, and been bitten as a result when I was about 16, situation happened between my own two male dogs who I had taken for a free run in the field, live together in the house just wonderfully, both off lead at the time and something sparked them off.  I don't know whay it happened and never will, by the time we walked home they where fine together again and lived happily together for many years to come but could an 8 year old have seperated these dogs?  Would they be able to get the dogs back on leads, and walked back to the house?  I had difficulty with one hand with a puncture wound while trying to call my younger brother (who was asleep) to meet me to help me get the dogs home and make sure the bitches who where at home, where out the way.

Never again have a free run two males together on my own.

Son 11, helps to walk the dogs with me, he has the oldest who can be a pain as she can be very bolshy, I have the younger two.  The way I see it, if he learns to control the bolshy one while I'm around, then he will have more control over any other dog ;)  He also goes to Ringcraft with the pup and shows her too ;)  and has no trouble keeping her attention ;)  If he doesn't get to have a go he won't learn anything ;)

I wouldn't allow him to walk any dog alone yet tho, he's far too inexperienced.

> But at agility shows the kids are different.  they are experianced dog handlers and have trained dogs and know alot more on how to read a dog then someone who just owns a pet

And there should be at least a few capable adult handlers to hand should anything happen - much more different than allowing an 8 year old girl out in the street by herslef with a Rottie (a lot to handle for an adult if anything were to happen) and a Staffie. Both of these breeds of dogs, individually, would not be recomeneded as a dog for a first time owner, let alone for an 8 year old in sole charge of one of each breed at the same time.

i worry about my strapping 6ft plus son taking the dogs out, especially the boston and my OH i would rather walk the dogs my self, i have seen the little girl before in the park when both the rottie and staff are of their leads with her just sat on the seat with no control over them, then on the other hand every afternoon on the downs i see this lad of about ten with his puppy springer, he is a credit, the puppy is constantly looking for him though so are most of the other dogs up there as he is always blowing his dog whistle, he is always very polite and takes great interest in other breeds he comes across and knows all the dogs names, his mum follows a little way behind as it is his dog to work, but is always there to supervise him.

Nicky, I think Erin is the 'one in a million' children that has a great bond with dogs. Hogan in particular would do anything for her. As Erin does obedience, agility, dancing to music, showing, etc it's not surprising they all listen to her, and the fact that you don't get many cars down your road helps ;-) But if you lived in a town would you still let her walk the dogs on her own? Knowing the mentality of the town kids...... ;-)

I left my 15yr old walk my lab, I let my 4 yr old granddaughter hold his lead (he walks to heel all the time) when we are alone, although I wouldn't let her if there was traffic or other dogs visible.  I'm not silly but I believe it teaches her good manners with the dog and I often hear her saying 'heel' but  whispering as she knows you don't need to tell him every two mins.

I just think of the time i got stopped my a man on a walk who lives near us. He said that he used to have a Leo who was 15stone and he at the time was 18 stone - he would never walk the Leo in the dark as he would of been pulled over by him trying to chase rabbits.

Also spoke to a force dog handler who was injured the other week. He is a 6ft burly man. I asked what he did to his knee and he replied by saying that his Springer drugs dog pulled on the lead when he wasn't expecting it and pulled him down. He has been signed off for months due to knee injury

So for a springer to do this injury to a fully grown male who is a handler, it doesn't bear thinking about as to what can happen to a young child on a walk. The young girl with the Rotti and Staff - that worries me. Rotti's are very strong when they choose to be, one yank and she is on the floor. Hope to god that nothing like that ever happens to her or any other young child walking larger, stronger dogs.
A child walking something like a Chi on a lead doesn't worry me too much and they are easier to move away or even pick up. - But its not knowing how other dogs are going to react to yours and how to deal with situations. Lets hope the parents have educated them.

Reading these posts make me realise how much we are influenced by things beyond our control. As a child my brothers and I took the dog out regularly we were about 11, 9 & 7 all day.
My son's took our dogs out for hours at around 11 to 13. What is the problem here, I realise an 8 year old with two powerful dogs is a no no, but a reasonable sized dog with a child (about 11 ish) is fine. Why are we wrapping our kids in cotton wool? we have kids that are chauffer driven, do not know how to use their legs, have no responsibility for them selves or a dog or anything else. When we do decide to allow kids out they go hyper.
Maybe its because Im country born and bred, but I have allowed my two freedom, at 11 they had to get on a bus and travel 8 miles to school and back how could I allow them to do that if I could not trust them to walk my dog around the block?
I think we should all stand back a bit and look at what we write on one hand we know there is a problem with society and youngsters and on the other hand we do not equip our kids to enjoy freedom, take a risk by crossing a road ect  or enjoy the freedom of a walk with the dog. I despair. I know this will lead to posts of how irresponsible I am, but am I really wanting my kids and now my grandchildren freedom and a bit of risk taking like climbing trees ect I want to and have bred confident young men and my OH young women not couch potatoes who when anything happens "its not my fault" and seeks someone else toi solve their problems. Let battle commence.

I dont think anyone has said that children shouldnt walk dogs but an 8 year old with a rottie and staff is a bit much.  As a kid I had a bichon who I was allowed to walk on my own and when out with my mum I could hold one of the Afghans.  By about 11 or 12 I was walking the 2 Afghans and the bichon on my own and one of the Afghans was very dog aggressive but by that age I was strong enough to hold onto them.  Often when I was a young teen it was a condition that if I went out at night I had to take one of the afghans so I wasnt walking home alone in the dark.

I was thinking about this the other day as im expecting, I was thinking if my child decides it is interested in the dogs and wants to start agility or showing then I would have to buy a smaller breed because although my boys will be 10 by the time it is old enough to show I still think they would be too strong if they decided to eyeball another dog in the ring or jump on a bitch. 

I wouldnt trust my OH to take my boys out, he wouldnt be sharp enough to know if a fight was brewing and wouldnt have a clue what to do if a fight started.

whistler, I don't know how old your children are but we definitely live in a more compensation and legislation driven culture now than when I was growing up. 

In my street, all the dogs roamed around and would lie in the middle of the road so cars had to toot them out of the way.  Children took dogs out for walks etc but all of this doggy freedom possibly accounted for the less fights that took place as dogs were socialised more. 

There is always the fear that the police will come to the door citing the dangerous dogs act if my dog barks or growls and scares someone yet as a child I recall many dogs that I was scared to walk past as they were loose in the street and would run at people barking.

I certianly don't think that we should go back to having latchkey dogs but we live in a very different society now.  FWIW I grew up in a good area and everyone had labs and retrievers and mongrels.  I don't ever recall seeing a staffie until my late teens.  no chavs dogs allowed. ;)

> Reading these posts make me realise how much we are influenced by things beyond our control.

It is not beyond our control to ensure our dogs and children are not put at undue risk - allowing a child to walk a dog they can not control (be it through strength of the dog/lack of focus/knowledge of the child) is simply irresponsible. We expect our children to grow up to be drivers, yet we do not plonk them in a car at an early age and expect them to get on with it as they would be a danger to themselfs and other - much the same as an 8 year old girl in charge of a Rottie.

I have nothing against the breed, but they are natural guards - whos to say the dog won't percieve an old man tottering towards the girl as a threat - the girl would stand no chance of controlling the dog.

I was born & raised in the countryside, my & my sister would spend the day over the fields & in the woods with our 2 dogs, but we could handle them, allowing a child out in public with a dog she can not pysically control is, IMO, irresponsible as a parent, a dog owner and a member of society.

Things have changed since we were children, dogs scrapping/having scuffles is not somthing that many people are willing to acept as par for the course with owning a dog, the DDA also means there are serious consequences for dogs that are not under controll & are percieved as a threat - I would not risk my childs safety or my dogs safety from the DDa by allowing them to walk a large, powerefull dog that should be under proper control at all times.
What would any of us think if we met that girl (in sole charge of a Rottie) and it caused a nuisence with our dogs? - would any of us say "it's good she's got the chance to learn how to handle dogs on her own".
Powerfull dogs should not be walked by people that are not pysically able to control them and a responsible parent would not leave a child unantended with a large poweful dog - let alone allow her to walk it in public on her own. I'm sure the breed club would not be happy about this, they are all for getting the breed a better reputaion and as a member of the club one must adhere to ensuring thier Rottie is under EFFECTIVE control whilst out of the house, I doubt that would stretch to being walked by a child.

This makes me quite cross as I do all I can to ensure I am a responsible owner and that my large poewrfull dog never causes a problem for anybody else and is never percieved as a threat to anybody, his reputaion and the reputaion of all large powerfull dogs is important to me, I could not risk that reputaion, or my conscience by allowing a child to take him for a walk. I wish there was some way to stop irresponsible people from having these powerfull dogs, before thier actions means none of us can legally own one :(

Dog owners, especially pure-bred dog owners are not exactly in the publics favour at the moment. Things like children like this (in the OP) are not doing any of us any favours.

On the other hand, my neihgbour has an Akita, now he has matured he will take chase after 'any thing that moves'. The children are allowed to walk him, allthough the boy is 13 he's not a big lad, and this dog pulled the owner over, got loose and narrowly missed being road-kill after traffic-dodging. But maybe it does help the kids to be more responsible, after all, this womans children have allways had the freedom to go where they like, they are much more 'worldly' than my children, but then agian one of her children getting hit by a car twice in 1 month is a good way to learn some road sense!

I probably do go OTT with my boys when it comes to being responsible for my dog - I am trying to get the message accross to them that the responsibility of owning & caring for a dog is a serious thing, it's a pity more adults don't take dog ownership so seriously and then maybe there would be much better behaved, cared for and fullfilled dogs about - they are not toys. (that's not to say that children with proper guidence should not be involved in dog-ownership/training, but there should be sensible limitations).

No unsupervised children to walk my dogs - ever - end of.

It's not a matter of strength, size, level of training but simply that they cannot, and should not, be expected to deal with an unexpected (and potentially dangerous) situation out-with their control.

One evening my OH was taking a couple of ours out and a firework exploded unexpectedly- one of the Cavs bolted and in the dark he couldn't find her. Panic set in and when at last he saw her, he says his first thought was " Thank doG I dont have to be the one to tell her that something has happened to her little Dude".  A heavy responsibility indeed :-(

>It is not beyond our control to ensure our dogs and children are not put at undue risk

It's not 'undue risk' if they're taught how to do it.

>We expect our children to grow up to be drivers, yet we do not plonk them in a car at an early age and expect them to get on with it as they would be a danger to themselfs and other

No, we teach them how to drive. If we're lucky enough to have access to suitable private land we teach them how to handle a car as soon as they're tall enough to reach the pedals and see over the steering-wheel, which can be as young as 9 or 10 years old. In the same way we teach (or should teach) our young children the sensible way to walk a dog.

I am having a tough time with my daugther (9) who does junior handling and agility with Connor as she wants to walk him / train with him at the local park - I have explained that it isn't her and isn't Connor its the other factors that could cause a problem!  So far she has listened.

Claire - whilst Em/Jess can't handle Max / Angus or Charlie if they decided to go I have ensured that from a pup Connor was trained by Jess so they could have that bond and she could use him for junior handling and agility.  So he has been trained by her so that he stays with her - he has never tried to pull her out the ring thankfully (think he doesn't know he could if he really wanted to) and she has full control of him.

Emily handles a pointer and also handles Jill (archiebongo's) Gordon - he is a real softy with her.  So it is possible for a 'bigger' dog to be handled by a child it just depends on the dog.

I would never let children walk my dogs, even my OH, a 6ft ex marine cant cope with them!! lol
I know what there like with me, and I can tell what there about to do or run after something, and they take the total mick out of anybody else.
So definately No, even my Rottie who is  a docile lump, he would plod beside you, or anybody ,but what about some elses dog attacking him etc..
How could you stop or seperate a Rottie and some other dog.

> No, we teach them how to drive. If we're lucky enough to have access to suitable private land we teach them how to handle a car as soon as they're tall enough to reach the pedals and see over the steering-wheel, which can be as young as 9 or 10 years old

I thought the thread was about unsupervised children walking dogs.
Surely unsupervised children shouldn't be put behind the wheel of a car.

>Surely unsupervised children shouldn't be put behind the wheel of a car.

You've not worked on a farm then. Unsupervised children drive cars or pick-ups or tractors on their own land, once they've been taught how to by an adult, of course. The same with unsupervised children walking dogs, or taking themselves to school. They're taught the right way to do it and then trusted to do it properly.

I commented an 8 year old with two powerful dogs was a no no.

My children are 21 & 23 and between myself and OH we have 7 under 6 years old (Grand children & great nieces and nephews) I still think we are so PC ect that we are doing our children a great dis-service.

Again at 13 you should be able to walk a dog Im sorry at 16 you can get killed for your country, at 13 you can father a baby or have one, and at 13 you can decide to kill!? (Bulger case)  you should be ok walking a dog. I think we are missing a point here my niece at 5 walks her staffie with Mum in tow as he is trained to walk on a lead!!!! you know if a huge dog is going to take off at a run, its not trained for a child to handle, the concensus that I am reading is no child can walk a dog unsupervised no matter the breed. As I said a child with a powerful dog is a non no but at 13 you are a teenager. You can choose your options at school that can influence your future life, you have had sex education for years but you cant walk a dog??

>at 16 you can get killed for your country, at 13 you can father a baby or have one,

Exactly. At 16 you can marry, you can joined the armed forces (although you can't vote for the government that sends you to war!), you can have a fulltime job - if you're not fully capable of taking a dog for a walk by then you're going to be very out of your depth in the world!

An eight year old with two strong dogs is pushing it - but an eight year old with one small dog should be fine.

> No unsupervised children to walk my dogs - ever

I did specify MY dogs..what others chose is their business, I just couldn't put a kid or my dogs in that position - especially as it couldn't be my 'kid'..he's 25.

I wont take the risk of 2 staff/type (or similar) dogs running up on my dogs without me there to fend them off...common occurence I'm afraid.
Cavs will get shredded and Boxers will pitch in...so absolute no  no
 

I really think we have got so pc and so worried about things. The fear that we have as parents is beyond the risk, I would lay down my life for my kids still, but I also bear a responsibility for their "education" in life skills.
The statistics still say most children are abused by people they know, most car accidents involved with pedestrians are teenage children because we do not allow them to learn to cross a road alone. ROSPA comment that you cannot toptally eliminate risk and they we should allow children to be able to evaluate risk, you cannot also legislate out risk.
I think we should all take a deep breath and allow kids out of the centrally heated, cosseted jail we have made for them and occassionally allow them some freedom. To build a den, walk down the road to a mates and stop this "someone must be to blame culture". Or are we saying anyone under 5'2" is unsafe to have a dog bigger than a yorkie!!!!

>I think we should all take a deep breath and allow kids out of the centrally heated, cosseted jail we have made for them and occassionally allow them some freedom. To build a den, walk down the road to a mates and stop this "someone must be to blame culture". Or are we saying anyone under 5'2" is unsafe to have a dog bigger than a yorkie!!!!

Absolutely. RoSPA have found that children who aren't allowed to take risks are more fearful and less well able to accurately judge risk (therefore are more likely to have an accident) than those whose parents allow them to learn.

> I think we should all take a deep breath and allow kids out of the centrally heated, cosseted jail we have made for them and occassionally allow them some freedom. To build a den, walk down the road to a mates and stop this "someone must be to blame culture".

My boys are allowed out of the house by thierselfs, but I will not put the responsibility of being in charge of another living being (ie, my dog) in thier hands (even if my dog wasn't a huge lump). Whilst they need to grow and learn about the world, there are some things they don't have to do yet, I still think they need a chance to be kids, to be able to swing on the rope swing without worrying what the dog is doing (and yes, they do fall off, get hurt & get back on), to be able to play on thier bikes and make friends with other kids in the street.
As well as caring for my childrens safety, I also care for my dogs safety. I want my dog to always be as safe as possible, putting his safety in the hands of children IMO is not in his best interests either.

I apprecate your view but at 13 I would expect a teenager to keep their bedroom clean, tidy their room, and have certain chores to do and that would include walking the dog, its just a different point of view Im giving not saying anyones is right or wrong. But I have a spaniel not a mastiff so different senerio. Dogs we had usually "belonged" to the kids more than the adults. But thats because Dad didnt like dogs and with my two as a single parent for a while they needed to "own" the dog if they wanted us to have one (or in our case two) I could not work and sort out a dog and two boys.

Whilst growing up me & my sister had a dog each (I was 11 when we got them as pups). We had to feed them, train them & walk them. They were mutts, but quite high-energy so thier walking schedule included getting up before school to take them out for a couple of miles, coming back home at lunch time to take them out for 30 mins, and walk them for a couple of more miles in the evening (Dad would come with us when it was dark).

But we lived out in the country, you had to go for miles (in the opposite direction to where we walked the dogs) before you got to a road busy enough to see a car on!

Where I live now I am on the edge of town, busy roads in all directions, police sirens more prominent than the wildlife noises, it's just not safe for the dog or kids to be out with the dog and to have the freedom I had as a youngster :(

> I really think we have got so pc and so worried about things

I'm the least PC person you'll likely ever meet.

Rather than call me PC - call me arrogant -  I can live with that but there are very few people I would trust to walk my dogs so why compound the risk with a smaller person? I'm not entirely easy with my 6ft5in husband with them but at least he was able to lift one of mine above his head when it was being attacked by a pit/type.
I still watch him from the window letting them off lead too early, pulling, letting them jump up, etc etc etc.......

Control freak....yes I admit it but...... PC ......never. And certainly not with my son...a less cosseted, cotton wool cradled child you will seldom meet. Up and out to play was my method...cycle to school and go climb trees, swim in the sea ......................................................in fact I recall going all through this in a previous thread. :-)

Edited because my O on my keyboard isn't working very well :-(

> RoSPA have found that children who aren't allowed to take risks are more fearful and less well able to accurately judge risk

Haven't we just had a thread on this stuff - kid -risk -breeds a fearful society etc?

I came entirely from the angle that I dont want risks to be taken with MY dogs and how ready the person is to take the responsibility of not bringing my dog back safely.

but my husband has been saying recently it's all about me me me :-(

I was babysitting at about 14 and responsible for 4 kids, my sons have babysat at about 15 responsible for another life. I feel now a days  we have all decided our kids have to be cossteted and not allowed to get on with life. How old before you let them out on a bus to town shopping, to the cinema?
We seem to have taken responsibility for them until there finished college and Uni yet my Mum was married at 17 and a Mum at 19.
We have got it all screwed up now and I do not know where we changed track?

> We have got it all screwed up now

We?

> I'm not entirely easy with my 6ft5in husband with them

LOL toolz, I wont let my husband walk Buster - he's not much taller than me, he's definately much stronger than me - but I don't think he's 'on the ball' enough, in so much as he wouldn't think to distract & get his attention before Buster got exited if an off-lead dog were to run up to him (regular occurance), or if a passer by seemed very exiting (Buster seems to LOVE women, especially if they are 'dolled up' with long dark hair - I think he associates the look of them with my sister who he loves to bits!) etc..

> kids have to be cossteted and not allowed to get on with life. How old before you let them out on a bus to town shopping, to the cinema?

This sept. my eldest will be going to secondry school (he'll be 11 then), it's in town so he will be walking there & back (1 mile) every day on his own and I'm sure he will join the other kids in mooching around town during lunch break but he isn't into shopping, there's not much point in me letting them go to the cinema as they wouldn't be old enough to get in to see any films they would deem worth watching!

> he wouldn't think to distract & get his attention before Buster got exited if an off-lead dog were to run up to him (regular occurance),

Oh I know...mine treats my dogs like he did with the GSDs he had when he was a kid...throws the ball until one drops dead
with exhaustion :-(  (not really but seems like it to me - the control freak!) 
Lets them run up to large slavering beasts with no disernable owners in sight :-( "Oh I thought they were playing" ( probably were but I worry)
Lets the Cavs run through bramble, bracken, stinking mud etc etc :-( ( I keep them clean)

But then he hasn't just paid out over a hundred pounds to enter the hairy lot for Crufts :-( :-(

I suspect we stike a pretty good balance between the two of us and the dogs get a good life and my toy dogs have muscles.

Hi Rachel

I used to handle the Afghans when I was a kid, the same, they were capable of dragging me out of the ring but they never did (well once I had the lead ripped out of my hand after a particularly long junior handling class - he just wanted to get back to my mum)  I suppose I will need to wait and see what they are like, they might be really soft - cant see it though !!

Society we not we meaning you and me. Im being general here I hate this atmosphere of fear that "some " parents are bringing up their kids in. Im village born and bred, we wandered around all day, I allowed my boys to sleep over, bus to school ( no choice there no secondary school in our village).
I cannot understrand why "some" parents allow their kids tro watch violent films, shoot them up games and not walk the dog. I know Im old (53) but certain things like if the dog pulls, pull it back, watch out for cats prowling around and get a grip. I know you disagree and I appreciate your responses I just do not agree and I love my dogs and kids I just trust them with each other.

>I hate this atmosphere of fear that "some " parents are bringing up their kids in

The thing is, the fact I wont let my children walk my dog (even if he wasn't a huge lump - I wouldn't let them walk my oldie when he was with us), is not so much about how I am raising my kids, it's about how I am with my dog.

> is not so much about how I am raising my kids, it's about how I am with my dog.

Hehe,

You've just summed up in one sentence, what I've managed to ramble over several posts!! :-)

My ten year old cousin has been allowed to walk my aunt & uncles new pup.
I dont feel very happy with the situation at all. First and foremost because i dont think it is safe for a youngster to be out walking the streets on their own, regardless of whether they are walking a dog or not. And secondly, kids dont "train" the dog as such. Whats the point of teaching a dog to walk to heal if a child is just going to let it run anywhere on the lead. Also, the risk of an altercation with a nother dog is not suitable for a young child to be involved in.