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If a dog that doesn't show aggression will, suddenly, turn on it's owners, one should get rid of one that is showing aggression.
This occurrence is actually relatively rare, even in households where people have not trained the dog properly. Of course if it happens it gets a lot of publicity and sensationalizing.
If a dog shows aggression, it means the owners have no idea how to handle the dog, and in many cases, where they are not willing to learn, or do not have the time, it is wiser to remove the dog from the household.
Because pets are part of people's family and attacks are very rare. Plus children should have experience with pets under the guidance of knowledgeable and competent adults if at all possible for life experience.
I grew up in a household with dogs, cats, etc. We never had a mauling incident. The vast majority of American households with pets don't. I am happy my family gave me the privilege of having pets and I have upheld the tradition of having pets in my own household.
I grew up in a household with cats and dogs. But some animals instincts just kick in. Yes attacks are rare in comparison to other things in life but at the end of it all which is more important the life of your child or your pet?
Do not get me wrong, I love my dog to no end. She has had countless doggie birthday parties, clothes, trips, and what not. At the end of the day the minute she shows aggression to my child, she is corrected and if continued correction is not working then she must go.
ETA since she was a pup she was trained and now in her adult years. I believe some dogs do not like children at all and will exert their dominance which ever way they can to prove their point.
I have pets but I wouldn't have a dog around small children. I might be inclined to get a dog after I had kids but I think animal instincts kick in when they sense the family dynamics changing. The baby doesn't play by the rules. It doesn't come in as a junior member of the pack. In fact, it comes in above the dog.
That is true but the dog, unfortunately, needs to have that pointed out to it.
To a dog a child is initially deemed "less than" an adult human because a child is small, has a high-pitched sound, and smells differently (absence of adult hormones).
The pack leaders (adults) in the household have to show the dog that the child is above it in terms of status.
I grew up in a household with cats and dogs. But some animals instincts just kick in. Yes attacks are rare in comparison to other things in life but at the end of it all which is more important the life of your child or your pet?
Do not get me wrong, I love my dog to no end. She has had countless doggie birthday parties, clothes, trips, and what not. At the end of the day the minute she shows aggression to my child, she is corrected and if continued correction is not working then she must go.
ETA since she was a pup she was trained and now in her adult years. I believe some dogs do not like children at all and will exert their dominance which ever way they can to prove their point.
I know you love her, but since you have someone willing to take her and you are nervous having her around your children, this is the best thing to do.
I don't know if it's that they "do not like" children or are jealous of the child's status and are acting out. Whatever it is, there is a disconnect in the household and the children should not be endangered when it happens.
That is true but the dog, unfortunately, needs to have that pointed out to it.
To a dog a child is initially deemed "less than" an adult human because a child is small, has a high-pitched sound, and smells differently (absence of adult hormones).
The pack leaders (adults) in the household have to show the dog that the child is above it in terms of status.
I also want to mention not everything is the dog's fault as well. Children need to be taught how to respect any animal for that matter. No pulling of the tails, riding like a horse or roughhousing. Sometimes these things can and will exacerbate the dog to no end creating a bigger problem. An unhappy dog can lead to an unhappy family.
Yes the original post is about a 9 week old baby, but a two year old can be taught not to do those things to a dog.
That's not a APBT, that's a mutt they are pawning off as a "pit bull". They call them American Bullies, but they are registered under APBT by less than reputable kennel clubs.
THESE are American Pit Bull Terriers.
THESE are100lb mixed breed mutts of questionable parentage they are calling APBT.
Maybe the dog that killed the child in Texas wasn't a pitbull.
I realize that under the wrong circumstances any dog can become aggressive and super care is essential when baby and dog are combined.
Still, there's enough evidence out there for me to believe that particular breeds are more Potentially dangerous than others. Maybe it's territoriality, protectiveness, size, or simply how it bites.
If I'm walking in the woods and see a pitbull, rottie, and chow to the east and a lab, beagle, and golden to the west, call me prejudiced, but I'm Not going east.
I am sadded that everyone is blaming the pit bull breed and calling them dangerous and vicious dogs! of course they are going to look like these savage beasts because everytime a dog attack is on the news it is a pit! However, any dog can attack but you NEVER hear about the lab or shepard or any other breed that attacks a person! My dogs have never shown aggression or showed any signs of turning on us! It is all in how you raise them and how they are bred! I have used some of my pits as therapy dogs and also as compainions in nursing homes and with young kids...do you really think if the whole breed was dangerous they would have passed the personality tests to be able to do that? I have the "bullie" breed they are short stocky and wide...
This occurrence is actually relatively rare, even in households where people have not trained the dog properly. Of course if it happens it gets a lot of publicity and sensationalizing.
If a dog shows aggression, it means the owners have no idea how to handle the dog, and in many cases, where they are not willing to learn, or do not have the time, it is wiser to remove the dog from the household.
Seriously, I have no interest in a "pet" I have to know how to handle. That's not a pet. An animal you have to learn to handle is something best left in the wild.
I am sadded that everyone is blaming the pit bull breed and calling them dangerous and vicious dogs! of course they are going to look like these savage beasts because everytime a dog attack is on the news it is a pit! However, any dog can attack but you NEVER hear about the lab or shepard or any other breed that attacks a person! My dogs have never shown aggression or showed any signs of turning on us! It is all in how you raise them and how they are bred! I have used some of my pits as therapy dogs and also as compainions in nursing homes and with young kids...do you really think if the whole breed was dangerous they would have passed the personality tests to be able to do that? I have the "bullie" breed they are short stocky and wide...
The problem is, they attacked a baby. The baby, obviously, didn't provoke the attack. That leaves the dogs to blame. Obviously, these breeds will attack babies. If the breed doesn't, they wouldn't have.
WOW! I just googled "Dog attacks baby". There is story after story. "Cat attacks baby" yeilded one story from 1910 and a bunch of "cute" videos.
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