How do you politely ask friends to crate their dogs when your kids are there?!?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. I do trust my dog. I've had her sleep on the porch to watch the kids sleeping there. No one would come on the porch.

She sleeps with the baby. So does my cat. No big deal.

The only time she offered a threat was to my parents who wanted to take the baby away from her.

Having animals sleep with your baby is a terrible idea. And if your dog is showing aggression when others try to hold the baby, that is an issue.

No kidding. Your dog should not be possessive over the baby. You have a problem.

J

No. The dog did not know my parents well, if at all. They came into the baby's room when I wasn't there, and reached to take the baby from the crib. The dog stood between my parents and the baby and growled. They shrieked and I came in the room. When the dog saw that I was there, she moved aside and I picked the baby up. That is protection, which is in the breed standard. Not aggression , as she would not have done anything unless they ignored her warning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about teach your kids how to behave around dogs. Don't poke at them. Don't get in their face. Stay away from the food bowl.

There aren't many dogs out there that will go from loving animals to raging attackers without provocation.

Okay, thanks. I'll make sure my NEWBORN who was quietly sleeping in his car seat (being held by my DH) does all those things...b/c that really is the reason why my MIL's dog jumped up and tried tackling my husband to get to the baby. Of COURSE it was the child's fault.

Some dogs just haven't been properly trained. They jump up on everything. Maybe not maliciously, but big dogs can do a lot of harm to little kids without being malicious.

It is crazy to constantly blame kids. Granted, I don't necessarily blame the dogs, but their crazy owners who have decided not to properly train them to not jump on people, etc.

Amen.

[Anonymous]

A voice of reason. Many pet owners treat dogs as equals in the household, which is not normal pack behavior. Dogs act on instinct, and some will constantly push boundaries, as they would in a pack if they were testing the hierarchy. Responsible pet owners set boundaries, discipline, and reinforce training. Thinking that your pet would never cause harm is irresponsible.

I agree with this. I love dogs but really can't stand how many dog owners do not respect them as animals. My in-laws have a large older dog (140 lbs) with hearing issues. He gets startled very easily and you need to approach him from the front. MIL could not understand why I would not let my 2 year old run around in the same room with him unsupervised. Her dog also has never had any socialization or exposure to kids. We don't go over there because she will not accept that the smaller kids should not be hopping around her dog.

[Anonymous]

Our friends have 2 dogs, one of whom I would trust with my toddler's lives and the other who is a jumpy, food snatching small dog with sharp toe nails. My kids have a healthy fear of strange dogs because she kept gouging them with her toenails, trying to jump up and lick them and be friendly.
After a couple of visits and some squealing, our friends started putting the dogs in an upstairs bedroom whenever we couldn't give the dog/kid combo 100 percent attention (like, when we were talking or eating.)
There are many, many pitbulls who are darling dogs but they WERE bred for fighting and their bite is nearly impossible to pry open. Border collies like to herd, labs like to swim and retrieve. I would not be able to completely trust a pit bull or presa canario.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm bringing my dog to a friends house. How do I ask them to lock their kids in the room while I'm over there? Thanks!

Like.

Their house, their rules. If you accept an invitation to their house, you accept the way they live in their house.

Until they sue you because your stupid dog ripped their kid's face off.

[Anonymous]

OP, amidst all of the crazy comments, there's some really good advice in here. I am another dog owner who totally dotes on my two dogs, as well as my toddler, and would not be remotely offended if someone asked me to crate my dogs or keep them separated from their child. This would especially be true if they approached it in a "Nothing personally against your dogs, I'm just not comfortable with the interaction." And leaving it up to the doggie parents to decide HOW to separate them is an excellent idea.

My dogs are incredibly good with my DS, who crawls all over them, and are generally fantastically behaved dogs, but I would still never let them hang out with him unsupervised. At the end of the day, as much as they're part of my family, they are also dogs - and much like my toddler, have pretty control over their instincts in highly stressful situations. If my DS surprises them or hurts them unwittingly, a snap or startled reaction is not unreasonable, in my opinion, and even without malice a dog with sharp nails or claws can inadvertently hurt a little one.