# Boys are slow .



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Just kidding, but boys will be boys .Lots of good articles out this last while on Dog Bite Prevention Week. Thought I'd throw you a bone from our Canadian buddy, Dr. Stanley Coren. It's our responsibility to educate and protect children. The best site is Doggone Safe. But here's Stan's article. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...y-children-suffer-the-greatest-risk-dog-bites


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## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

I was bit in the face as a 2 year old by a shih tzu! I have always been terrified of small breeds and funny how I end up with a lil Hav . A couple of good small dogs have gotten me to grow out of being terrified. Anyhow, the article was really interesting! I can't believe that so few children could recognize expressions!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I don't think that parents teach their young children about pets soon enough or at all.
but knowing me, you had to believe that I would have agreed with your title without reading the article. lol


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

My kids were around animals from the day they were born. They learned very early how to be gentle (AND safe!) around them. Kids who don't know how to behave properly around horses get killed.


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

My guys are okay around dogs. They don't approach loose dogs, ask owners first and pet in the shoulder area. I remember teaching them as babies to pat the beasties using only the back of the hands. It prevented hair pulling.

I do remember a dog park incident. An Old English sheepdog puppy nipped at one of their butts. Ian was being a spaz. The owner was mortified and I yelled at Ian for running around the herding dogs. He knew better. It was only a soft-mouthed herding nip but it startled Ian because he didn't even notice the puppy behind him.

Kids and dogs aren't the safest mix.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

My neighbor rescued a shih tzu puppy. Her son, 3 years old, just got bit. She was shocked as to why the pup would bite her son. I have seen her son with this puppy. He is pretty rough and is always picking her up. The mother never says, be gentle or put her down.....It came as no surprise to me when she told me the dog bit her son,


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

lfung5 said:


> My neighbor rescued a shih tzu puppy. Her son, 3 years old, just got bit. She was shocked as to why the pup would bite her son. I have seen her son with this puppy. He is pretty rough and is always picking her up. The mother never says, be gentle or put her down.....It came as no surprise to me when she told me the dog bit her son,


I think many cats are very good at teaching kids good "animal manners". They typically give lots of warnings, or just get out of the kids' reach if they are getting too rough. And if the kid REALLY bothers them, they slap rather than bite in most instances. For some reason, parents are MUCH less upset about a cat scratching their kid than a dog biting their kid, even if both are caused by the kid's behavior.

The cat we had when our kids were very little would gently put her paw on the kids if they started to get too rough. If that didn't work, she would just BARELY extend her claws so that they poked, without doing any serious slashing or anything. They got the message to back off pretty quickly. Cats are also MUCh more capable of just getting out of reach than dogs are, so they can avoid annoying children better.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

lfung5 said:


> My neighbor rescued a shih tzu puppy. Her son, 3 years old, just got bit. She was shocked as to why the pup would bite her son. I have seen her son with this puppy. He is pretty rough and is always picking her up. The mother never says, be gentle or put her down.....It came as no surprise to me when she told me the dog bit her son,


yeah it doesn't help when the parents don't know the warning signs, or some common sense. Ignorance breeds ignorance. I'd bet 60 percent of adults with dogs don't know half the stress signs ie. warning signs. There still are WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE PUNISHING THEIR DOGS FOR GROWLING. :frusty:


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

It's all about how well the parents are able to educate their children and have good dog handling skills. Parents should be able to read basic dog body postures, even if they don't own a dog. I was waiting in line at my vet a few months ago when a shih tzu mix dog and owner were walking by. The dog suddenly b-lined towards us (attracted to my dog, I assumed). Since I have multiple little creatures to care for I've developed fabulous periferal vision and I spotted the dog, who was barking loudly and wagging his tail. I gathered everyone to me and the owner yelled out, Don't worry, he's friendly, he won't bite! If this dog were in the salon I would not approach it, let alone let my 4 year old boys and my puppy. 

I started teaching my boys how to treat animals by practicing on stuffed animals first. When they no longer bopped it on the head is when I knew they were ready to move on to the real thing!

I always say you can usually (not always) tell a person's leadership skills by how well their dog and kids behave.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

So true.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> yeah it doesn't help when the parents don't know the warning signs, or some common sense. Ignorance breeds ignorance. I'd bet 60 percent of adults with dogs don't know half the stress signs ie. warning signs. There still are WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE PUNISHING THEIR DOGS FOR GROWLING. :frusty:


A friend just sent me this

http://mysmartpuppy.com/wanna-see-stressed-dog-look-catalog-cover


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Karen that' similar to this one a couple of months age at DSD. http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/dont-hug-your-dog-day It's bad when we have to go after advertising to stop the bad examples.


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