# Do You Let Kids Walk Your Dogs Alone?



## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

For those of you who have kids around your dogs do you let them walk the dogs by themselves? I don't have kids of my own,but do have nieces and nephews who always want to help with the dogs. I don't really worry about the older ones (ages 14,15, and 17),but do supervise the youngest two(6 and 8). I have a neighbor with two huge Great Pyrenees and she lets her two daughters (8 and 9) walk the dogs around the neighborhood by themselves.The dogs are very well behaved,but I would still worry about something happening with kids that age walking such big dogs by themselves. I guess it really depends on the individual dogs though.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Absolutely not. No way they could handle him.

I don't even let other adults walk him. 
The other day my dad came over and took him out without even telling me. I ran outside and found them halfway down our street. Hans was walking my dad and sniffing everything he wanted. :/

Needless to say, I put a stop to that pronto.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

I don't think I would even if my dog was perfectly well behaved because if another dog attacked my dog, a child would be useless in separating them and could get severely injured.


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## Narny (Sep 8, 2010)

I wouldnt let my nephews (16 and 17) shoot I probably wont even let my husband walk LuLu lol. Its clear that she is my dog. If you are a stickler about training especially. Not to mention the other reasons such as dog fights etc. You really need to know whats going on with your dog.

If they want to help, let them help feed or play with the flirt pole, something like that. Just my 2 cents


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## dylano (Jul 6, 2012)

In my area its not safe to walk round after it gets dark - sometimes during the day let alone walk a dog! A couple weeks ago a blue staff was stolen of a women while she was taking it for a walk Me being 17 and my dad are the only one who can control kai. My brother (14) doesnt walk him as kai is to strong


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

My daughter (now 18 and in college) used to want to go out walking in the neighborhood every day. I wouldn't allow her to go without taking my previous male with her. I didn't allow her to take my bitch, because she was unpredictable and had attacked people. However, we discussed at length what to do if someone threatened her (drop the leash or take it off if she had time). My male wouldn't have run off or left her. He'd have protected her. He didn't have issues with other dogs, but she knew to cross the street if there was an oncoming dog etc. A younger kid? I don't think so. 

I had my teen son (15) walk Grim once. I was too sick, and he needed to go for a walk. He's been raised with shepherds since he could walk, though. He's well aware of what to do in an emergency, but still I only had him walk him once.


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> Absolutely not. No way they could handle him.
> 
> I don't even let other adults walk him.
> The other day my dad came over and took him out without even telling me. I ran outside and found them halfway down our street. Hans was walking my dad and sniffing everything he wanted. :/
> ...


This is why it's different now. Grim isn't the same as my other shepherds, and I'm training him right now. My wife lets him get away with murder, and he knows it!


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

i have had two great pyrenees, and it doesn't matter if your 8, 18 or 48 years of age, if the pyrs want to go some somewhere or do something, no one can stop them. but they do tend to protective of little ones so it really should be ok.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I don't have kids, but don't allow my nephews walk any of my dogs unless I am with them.

Example: Last year, I was walking Masi and my sister her two paps, in my mom's neighborhood, a neighbor kid was walking "their" neighbors aggressive dog, well the dog decided to make a beeline towards us, the kid, I gotta give her credit would notlet go, she fell, the dog just about dragged her, my sister threw me her leashes and intervened..

With my luck, one of my nephews would be walking one of 'my' dogs and have this happen to them..They wouldn't have a clue on what to do, and would probably result in a dog fight. So no, kids don't walk my dogs unless I'm with them


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

I agree with Diane. It's never a matter as to whether your dog is well behaved and non aggressive, it just takes one dog that is out by itself or an argressive dog that is not well handled by someone else.
I think any kid that is younger than a 14-15 year old should not be walking a dog unaccompanied.


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## KatsMuse (Jun 5, 2012)

No, not alone. 
My granddaughters are 12 and 6.
The 12 year old - soon to be 13 - is very good with the dogs and knows their training commands. She's tiny though and I doubt she could handle a true emergency situation. (Hold the dog, break up a fight, etc)
I can't and wouldn't risk it...for them or the dogs.

 Kat


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I let my cousins walk Pan when we're at the cottage, but they were 13 and 16 (I think?) and really responsible. They wanted to get ice cream and it was getting dark so I said take Pan along. Pan is the friendliest GSD, loves all dogs, people, kids, TOO friendly for a GSD, but being a dark sable people don't know that. 

For me it would depend on the kids and the dog. 

When I was a kid I grew up in a terrible neighborhood. There was a girl my age next door and we were best friends. We always got jeered at and hassled when we were outside playing. Her family moved away but her dad rented the house and would come over to do yardwork. He got a huge mastiff dog (think Sandlot!) and we used to walk that dog around and all the people who would yell insults at us would run and hide, hehe. The dog was so huge he would just lumber around, never threatened to pull us over.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Sunflowers said:


> Absolutely not. No way they could handle him.
> 
> I don't even let other adults walk him.
> The other day my dad came over and took him out without even telling me. I ran outside and found them halfway down our street. Hans was walking my dad and sniffing everything he wanted. :/
> ...




LOL thats too funny 


NO but i will not let anyone walk my dog, shes protection trained so its just not something that is smart even if she is very stable and safe and never aggressive. I would let anyone take my old gsd out that was strong enough that i trusted though.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

dylano said:


> In my area its not safe to walk round after it gets dark - sometimes during the day let alone walk a dog! A couple weeks ago a blue staff was stolen of a women while she was taking it for a walk Me being 17 and my dad are the only one who can control kai. My brother (14) doesnt walk him as kai is to strong



how did they steal the staff while the woman was walking it wow thats a first? thats crazy! Love to see someone try that with my dog tho lol Thats just cray to hear about.


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## sashadog (Sep 2, 2011)

I have a hard time even letting my 26 year old boyfriend walk the dogs much less a child! You really have to be proactive and one step ahead of them when walking them or they'll do completely their own thing... even my boyfriend gets stressed walking them because it's not fun unless you know what you're doing and feel confident about it. Now my easy older dogs, anyone can walk because they're awesome


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I use to let my oldest daughter (12 @ the time) walk our Malamute. She'd take him out on roller blade sometimes. He was fairly large, about 115lbs, but one of the most gentle, easy going dogs I've ever known. She did have boundaries on how far they could go.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i walk our dog and my GF walks our dog. i wouldn't allow
kids or adults to walk our dog. i think you have to be
a speacial kind of stupid to let an 8 yr old and a 9 yr old
walk 2 Great Pyrenees.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I don't let anyone walk my dogs. Well, actually I don't have anyone offer to, but if I did I would have to decline.


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## Midnight12 (Jan 6, 2012)

I don't let my grandkids walk my dog without me. Sometimes they will run ahead with her at the park which she loves because they are much faster than me Once thou my 17 year old grandson was running with her at the park and ran towards the geese, I was yelling to go the other way and she thougt it was great that they were chasing geese together and then my big football player slipped ended up on the ground, so I think I need to be in charge, He now knows not to run towards geese lol.


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

We let our 13 yr old walk our dogs. She is the one that has trained them.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

No because she is 2... 

I did not let my step-daughter from my previous marriages walk our dogs, but that had to do with her being used to very small dogs. 

Growing up, it was our responsibility to walk the dogs. My mother always told us a dog needed to have at least a daily walk to prevent gas - I'm thinking a wives tale about bloat, but yes, as early at 12 or 13 we were walking our dogs, now we only had beagles at that time. At 10 I started around the horses, I could fully harness and hook the check by 11, started jogging horses at 11, turned and went my first mile by 12 - I got a stop watch for my birthday. I was also tall and very athletic. I could control an animal better than say my own mother who was a city girl through and through and at 5'5" and 130lbs, didn't have the physical strength or animal sense. 
For me it will be dependent on the child. To me, as a teen, standing in a 100 degree haymow, slinging bales on a pitchfork, working alongside men, making $2/hour ($20/day) I was in better shape than most of the adults in town LOL and having been raised around dogs, and livestock, had enough sense to handle most situations.

That's not saying at 5 I am sending my daughter out to walk our Saint around the block, or even Ozzy for that matter. However if I trust her by say 12 or 13 to handle her own horse and she learns about our dogs and gains a decent animal sense and I do not believe there to be an issue with off-lead dogs, or wild animals within town, yes she will walk the dogs. I'll go with her at first to ensure she can handle it, but yes, she will walk the dogs. I do not have issues with my dogs on lead. It was a long road and I mean figuratively as well as physically because I logged many miles with Oz to take him from a 6 month old with no leash manners to almost 3 before I was happy with him and graduated him off the prong. Both my dogs know what it means to walk until they are falling down exhausted if that is what it takes to learn the command ignore. I don't physically punish my dogs persey, but I will exhaust them to train them. Having said that, my 13 year old step-son, now way, not ever and if he keeps going the way he is, it's unlikely he would have the stamina to walk my dogs farther than to the neighbors.
To me it is dependent on so many factors, the child, the dogs - mine are just pets, don't crap or pee in my house, sit when I tell you, get off the couch when I say, not a big deal, and we do not have an issue with off-lead dogs in this neighborhood.


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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

My 13 year old brother does. He pretty good with her


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## dogsnkiddos (Jul 22, 2008)

My children walk WITH me and the dogs. Anything that happens on a walk is my legal responsibility...so I am going to exercise control to help mitigate any negatives. I walk the dogs.


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

There's actually very few adults I would let walk my dogs, forget about kids. Just too risky, so many things can go wrong -- things that I would have a hard time handling myself, let alone a child.

Absolutely not.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

My kids are 13, 14 and 17 (wow---my oldest just turned 17 yesterday--feels weird typing that!). Rocket doesn't require a prong for walking, but if they walk him they use it, just to help if they needed more control, since he weighs barely less than they do. They are all extremely dog-savvy and I feel that they would keep him safe, and I'm pretty sure, based on neighbor's reports, no one in their right mind would approach them based on the fact that Rocket "looks mean!" LOL


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I've seen numerous kids around here walking dogs with prong collars,but they don't know how to use it. I'm thinking that has a lot to do with the parents not knowing how to use the collar themselves.


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## Daisy (Jan 4, 2009)

No, she is strong and dog reactive. Once in a while a dog will approach us when walking and sometimes it gets ugly. I can handle, they couldn't.


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## peachypan (Nov 14, 2012)

Right now Rusty outweighs my kids (ages 7, 5, and 2) so that's a big no-no. Lol, he'd be walking them or would take of into the woods to chase a squirrel. Maybe once the kids are about 16 I'd let them walk the dog.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

I let my nephew (he's almost 6) walk Kyleigh with me. I wouldn't let them walk alone (for obvious reasons!) but I do take my nephew with me for walks with Ky and he has the leash in his hands and she's good as gold!


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

another school of thought. i have let my own children walk our gsd since age 9 and 10. they walked our great pryraneese since ages 6 and seven, with supervision. if i couldn't let let them learn what is involved with taking care of a dog and letting them enjoy having a dog, what is the point of a owning a pet.


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## RowdyDogs (Nov 12, 2012)

In my current neighborhood, I would not. There is too much of a problem with loose and dog-aggressive dogs and I would not want to put a child in a situation where they might have to deal with a dog threatening or attacking my dog. I would not let an adult who didn't know dogs walk mine around here either, though.

I also don't let younger kids or dog newbies walk my GSD or other dogs I have in serious (or very basic) training alone, because as good as kids try to be, most of them don't have the timing or awareness to reinforce behaviors appropriately. It's not a knock on kids, I love them and I regularly teach them to ride horses and to train dogs, but it goes with the territory. Doesn't mean they can't be good handlers, but I want to be there to refocus them if necessary. However, in a safer neighborhood and with a well-trained dog, I would let them walk alone.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

huntergreen said:


> another school of thought. i have let my own children walk our gsd since age 9 and 10. they walked our great pryraneese since ages 6 and seven, with supervision. if i couldn't let let them learn what is involved with taking care of a dog and letting them enjoy having a dog, what is the point of a owning a pet.


I agree. My daughter has always walked our dogs. When she was too young to walk alone, I'd supervise her. If I had a dog she could not control, then all of us would head back to the trainer.


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## Anitsisqua (Mar 25, 2012)

I remember from the time I was 11 or so, I was allowed to take our dog out by myself. I was very proud of being able to do so.

...Of course, he was a sheltie, so there wasn't any way he could overpower little me or anything.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

If I had children I would never ever let them walk Chrono alone unless they were teenagers. He's incredibly powerful, he wouldn't even feel a smaller child even if he had a pinch collar on. It's unsafe for them and especially him.

I saw a kid walking a boxer a few months ago. I think he was like 9 or so. Chrono and the boxer sniffed each other, and then the boxer started growling and lunged out, attempting to bite Chrono, but I caught the bad body language soon enough and was able to pull Chrono away in time. But the boxer kept dragging the kid toward us, completely ignoring its pinch collar. We ended up walking back the way we came, because we encountered the boxer on a street corner and it would have dragged the kid out onto the street after us if we decided to cross.

Another reason I wouldn't let kids walk my dog is I don't really trust kids to actually pick up poop when they are supposed to if I'm not there. I've been asked, "OHH CAN I WALK HIM." by my little cousins and the second I mention 'poop bag' the excitement is over.


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