i have three girls aged 6,2, and nine months, from the time apup comes in our home on two of the feeds the two girls sit by the pup genle strocking pup and saying good girl/boy while pup is eating they put hands in the bowl and let the pup eat out of there hand, i myself have done this before i had children with g.s.d have never had a dog yet snap or gett funny over food or anything, i never leave my children and dog alone i trust the dogs ninty percent, i more worried incase my children did somthing to my dogs, two storys, eight year old g.s.d good loving family pet, child aged two left in room together for short time, dog bites the child, for what seems no apparent reason, family devistated by the child being bitten and that there gentle dog could of done this, dog put to sleep, a post mortem was carried out on the dog and they found a pencil pushed as far as it could go in to the dogs ear drum.
story no two, eight year old child given some responsability in caring for dog, was able to take it for a short walk around the block, allowed to groom it etc, child began to resent these tasks and when taking the dog outside started to kick it and beat it, dog eventualy groweled at child every time it came near it, dog rehomed more problems serfaced, fear of children after several homes was put to sleep regards tina

Hi Tina, Those stories are awful, they made my toes curl up, those poor poor dogs.:(

hi phillipa,
this is what happens time and time again, how do you teach people common sense, i so want to have a litter with my bitch she is doing very well for me in the ring, she has so much to offer the breed if i put her to the right stud dog as she is as close to the breed standard as far as size goes and that is what i want in a whippet bitch not these over sized rangey dogs, but i am getting myself in a state even thinking about finding loving homes for them, it scares me to death.regards tina

Hi again Tina, with one exception I have never homed any of our pups to families with children under five. This probably sounds very unfair, and I truly believe that a childhood is not complete without a much loved dog around, but I dont think children under five, that live with an average family ( not totally dog orientated like us) can be expected to be totally sensible around a young pup or dog. I think children who belong to folk like us are taught from the very beginning to respect and care for animals. However I feel that if a pup is bought into a "non doggy" household than problems will arise. I dont think any mum can keep an eye on the children for 24/7, and problems will arise, and normally its the poor old dog that gets the blame. I cant bear to think about the pain that dog must have suffered with a pencil in its ear drum!!!!!! If it really bothers you, best safe than sorry, and dont sell to anyone with young chjildren. I know exactly what you mean, it worries me a lot too, hence I havnt bred a litter of Wolfhounds for the last five years. All the best if you do decide to breed in the end. There is one solution however, keep all the pups yourself :D

I agree some children are very cruel Phillipa .
But Some even babies are just born dog lovers from the cot .
Kalem never pinched or pulled Berry
Lorraine was the same , Sharon was not so patient she bit the behind off our german shepherd for blocking her way out . poor thing he just yelped and she stood there two and a half years old with his hair in her mouth.
I was speaking very sternly to her for doing it and he just stood in front of her to protect her .
Another dog may have reacted.
So they are all different and so again do not let a child alone with a dog . for both of their safety

Hi Mari, I agree with you totally. Children that are brought up in real doggy families usually are really good with dogs and pups. I was thinking more along the lines of a child who had not been brought up in a animal enviroment from birth, and hadnt had respect for animals drilled into them by their parents.

Hi Phillipa I know exactly what you mean and I agree .
I recall my Dad saying to us saucy dogs get torn jackets and that meant us as well lol:)

Can I just defend 'non doggy' families a little:) We didn't have a dog as a family pet when I was growing up, but we were always taught respect of animals, and at a certain time in my life there were a fair few around:D
My kids have ALWAYS been taught respect of animals too, despite being classed I suppose as a non doggy family. DD came to us when my youngest was 15 months and it was the best thing I ever did:D OK he was an adult, but still please don't tar all us non doggy families with the same brush:) We all have to start somewhere you know;)

Oooooo Reefer, Im sorry, no offence was inteneded, and it was just a general comment. However, it still applies you see, because YOU were brought up to respect animals, and so have your children. Its more the " oh, lets get a dog shall we" kind of folk I was talking about. Sorry once again, didnt mean anything personal :(

Morning Anita :) I did say some children were dog lovers from the cot not just mine .
I still say all children should never be allowed alone with a dog any dog .
it is way too dangerous for the child and the dog.
No offence intended to anyone who never had a dog, hand on heart :)
lol Mari

Philippa:)

No I know you didn't Philippa, oh dear wish I hadn't said anything now, I didn't take it personally and mine too was a general comment:D And yes you are right about the 'oo lets get a dog' brigade. Far to few children are taught respect for anything these days.
Marie, I agree whole heartedly never ever leave the child alone with the dog. Accidents take a second to happen.

:D :D for Reefer

I used to take my dogs to pick up the kids from primary school. One family had a little girl that was frightened of dogs, much to her parents sadness as they wanted to have a dog. It seems that theri neighbours owned Two very hyper Border collies that jumped and barked at the fence. This frightened her.

After about a year with Dad coaxing an fussing the dogs she got up the courage to pet my Elkhounds.

A few months later I saw them at the scxhool with their new puppy a Whippet. they had gone for a gentle breed, feeling that she would cope far beter. This little bitch totally won me over as she was so playful and fun (I though all Whippets were aloof and dignified, lol). About 18 months later they got another one, and I sometimes met them in the park. The obvious raport of dogs and child was so evident. I think they were good for each other, as the dogs were far more outgoing than many Whippets owned by older people with no children, and the little Girls confidence had really grown.

I think the trick is to get to know th3e children in the family, and if you have any doubts whatever then do not sell to families with young children, or for that matter resentful teens!

Some children are just wonderful with dogs, having a natural affinity.

I totally agree with the earlier post by Mick. It is so important to emphasise the pecking order in the family home, my guess would be that Rhum was just trying to emphasise his place. My 9yr old son is confident with handling the dogs and really good with them but they don't see him as top dog as they do to me and my other 18yr old son who works them. Infact, even I come lower down in the pecking order than "the master" and their reaction time to me is definitely slower. Start the process of enforcing pecking order now.

Yes jacky the pecking order to a dog is important. A dog without a pecking order or a set of rules is not usually happy as they become confused. I think the dog may be a bit unsure of his position. I still feel a ten year old is too young to be feeding the dog or controling/reprimanding the dog unsupervised. I still think this child may get bitten
When I am at home the dogs (even my freinds dogs) see me as the leader and always look at me first before carrying out a command given by someone else. When I am not there my wife becomes the leader. If neither of us are there the dogs are locked up. Only my 19 year old daughter is allowed to take them out then. My son now 15 is never allowed to take them out.
I always get the impression that a lot of dog owners forget that a dog is not a little person despite all there cute human quirks. They are animals with a totaly different train of thought to humans. I beleive that this is the reason for most dog behavioural problems.
Id much rather be strict/safe than sorry.

Cheers Mick.

I have 3 children (7 through to nearly 2) and Holly 9mth old Cocker. My oldest is very good with Holly and lets her out first thing in the morning as he's the first one to go downstairs. He comes into our room, stands on the bed to look out of the window to see if the gate is still locked then lets Holly out of her crate and into the garden.

Jonathon is really good with Holly and Holly is really good with him. He's not allowed to handle her food bowl, if she's got food in it and he doesn't do anything else with her until we come downstairs - unless it's raining then he gets her back inside and she goes straight into her crate.

Our youngest helps me feed Holly and sits on the floor next to Hollys crate and hand feeds her her dinner whilst I'm sitting with them and praising Holly for being a good dog.

Our middle child is awful, and isn't allowed anywhere near Holly if we're not in the room. I tell Holly to go in her pen if I have to leave the room as I can't trust my 4yr old not to start screaming that she's seen a spider or start jumping up and down because she's trying to dance to the music on the radio. All of this winds the puppy up and she just wants to play but Ellie is still a bit nervous of bouncy dogs and gets very upset.

We always control the situation when Holly and the children are together and we'd never let the oldest take Holly out for a walk, my 10yr old neice isn't allowed to either, but everyday over the school holidays we've had some neighbourhood children (6 and 5) ask if my eldest is coming out with Holly because they're taking their Springer pup for a walk. :( As my mum always says - if they're not old enough to babysit they're not old enough to be responsible for a dog.

The neighbours think I'm mean because I put Holly in her crate when we have strange children in the house, but I'm not prepared to take the chance of a problem between an excitable dog and non-dog sensible children.

Fiona
x x x

Good for you Fiona. Mari:)

Shirley,

I think the last paragraph of your Post suggests where the problem lies - with yourself! - You say he can be 'protective' of his bones and space, and you feel this is probably normal behaviour for a dog, and therefore obviously accept it as such. (This is only 'normal' when a dog does not clearly understand his role in the Pack, and problems such as this then occur)! I know I will not be alone in saying that I cannot even begin to imagine any of my past or present dogs indicating any displeasure of my presence in their 'space' or feeding area, it simply is NEVER allowed to cross their minds!!

You also add that you feel you should respect his space and feeding area if that is what 'he' wants you to do!! - Your dog should not be demanding anything of you - YOU set the rules and code of behaviour, then YOU guide and train the dog to comply to those rules!

Unfortunately, (be it unwittingly) you are giving your dog areas of control that should not be allowed. This can lead to furthering his perspective of his powers of control over the 'pack' environment on a wider scale and in other ways too!

Dogs are dogs and people are people. Equality is not required by dogs, but they do have a compulsive need to know their place in the Pack. Trying to give a dog human emotions and responses is sadly not doing the dog justice.

You need to get back in the 'drivers seat', and make it clear to your dog that you are the Boss, and no allowances for any disagreeable attitude will be allowed or tolerated.

Regards,
Denise.

Well put Denise

Mick

Absolutely Denise you have it in a nutshell
Mari

Sorry to disagree, but I feel that is is important for a dog to have it's own space, especially when there are kids in the house. As with Fiona and the crate, my dogs have always had there own corner where the kids where not allowed, if a dog retreated there it meant it wanted some time out and the kids knew to leave it alone. This doesn't mean it has to be protective, just know that it has a safe haven to get some peace and quiet. Ingrid

Hello Ingrid,

You may have mis-understood the essence of the dog's area of space/bed. A dog having a place to retreat and rest is good and fine, but a dog 'protecting' that area is NOT. (Shirley was indicating that her dog was 'protecting' his space)!

Parents have a responsibility to teach children to respect a dog who is resting, and not pull or poke or generally be a nuisance. I often hear people say "My dog is so good with the children, they can do anything with him". To which I always reply "I hope equally the children are good with the dog"!!

A dog should not CONTROL the area surrounding his/her place of rest. He should simply learn to recognise that he can rest without being 'teased'. A dog showing any form of 'control' over the human pack is indicating a lack of control and training by the Owner. This situation very rarely remains focussed on the one issue, the dog often progresses his control and the situation begins to escalate, (be it very subtly at first)!

To help understand how this can escalate, I have been called to people who have a problem where the dog is fed. They place the bowl down, and then retreat, leaving the dog to eat privately. However, before long, when someone happens to move too close to the feeding bowl the dog warns them off. Before long, no member of that family can even enter the room when the dog is feeding because he has now extended his control!

Both dogs and children need to be trained to learn a healthy respect for one another.

Regards,
Denise.

Denise, I am perhaps now beginning to understand why a behaviourist friend says I would be a nightmare to work with if I had problem dogs!!!
I probably break just about every rule in the book, feed the dogs and walk out of the room unless I am working there, let them have a their own small space, go out doors first (well who wants to walk out in front on a cold wet winter day), and luckily I haven't had problems where myself or members of the family have been challenged. I have my own trick for making them part with things, doesn't involve hitting, shouting or bribery, and always works first time, they rarely refuse a 2nd. Ingrid