The Truth About Kids And Dogs
Posted: June 29, 2010 by Jack at Drills & Tactics | General | Law | Problem Solving | SocializationYou are here
I’m asked frequently, “Will my Personal Protection Dog be ‘Ok’ alone with my kids?” This is a topic that all dog owners have an opinion on. This is my opinion, if you disagree then click away.
The short answer is NO!
When I say kids I mean people less than 16 years of age. I know there are exceptions but I want to be clear here when I say I’m not talking about the exceptions. My opinion is based on fully understanding the capabilities of a dog to kill. Leaving a child unsupervised in the company of a dog in my opinion is negligent. If you have a small child and your dog rips your little girl’s face off because you gave it the opportunity then don’t blame anyone but yourself. It’s entirely your fault. I know this sounds very harsh but I have little time for people that gamble. I’m not a gambler and I don’t understand how people gamble with their kids.
A full grown dog mind is comparable to a 3 year old human mind. Anyone who has ever tried to reason with a 3 year old child will know it is a futile exercise. In fact, a human child does not develop the mental ability to comprehend consequence, until they are over 4 years old. A dog will never understand consequence or feel remorse. It acts and forgets. It’s that simple.
Children’s skin tears like tissue paper when scratched or exposed to dog teeth. The super tough enamel in dog teeth is designed to rip and tear meat and crush bone with ease. If in your mind you still think that this kind of creature is ‘Ok’ alone around your kids, then we are in disagreement.
Anyone that has ever seen the show ‘Funniest Home Videos’ would have seen hundreds of dogs running into kids, knocking them over or running them down. You would have seen kids being dragged by the leash by big dogs and kids smashing into dogs with their toys. Oh it’s very funny. I will never allow this to happen because when the dogs are out the kids are not. The dogs are trained not to approach my children. In fact, if my child walks towards my dog, my dog will get up and move away – run away if it has too. However, let me explain that this is a trained response and not done out of fear. My dogs will quite happily approach my children and take food from them when commanded to do so. And I command this regularly to nurture the bond between them.
In summary – Leaving a dog of any size, age, or breed, alone with a child is a risk I will never take with my own kids. But if you want to gamble with your kids go ahead. I can’t care about your kids more than you do. If you don’t care about them – neither do I.
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