# Do You Expect Your Dog To Accept Certain Behaviors From Kids?



## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I posted this on another forum, but wanted some opinions up here.There was a behaviorist on my local news today who was saying that a dog is not sound if they don't let a child hug them, pull on their tail or climb/jump all over them. I don't agree with this and think that it can lead to kids thinking that they can do this with every dog.

So do you expect your dogs to allow kids to do everything to them?


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## Diesel and Lace (Apr 15, 2013)

No way, any dog can have a bad reaction no matter how stable they are. The kids that are around my dog are told very clearly what they can do (pet, give treat, throw toy) and if they do anything other than that, the kid is not permitted to play with Diesel (which hurts his feelings more than theirs!)


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

No. I would expect my dog to not react other than walking away if a child does these things ONCE but I do not expect them to put up with it on a regular basis. And the child would be addressed and managed by me to avoid any issues.

All beings - dog, cat, human, etc - deserves respect of their personal space. Would you be mad at a person for being upset about being picked on and their space invaded by another person?


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I do not expect my dog to be OK with being physically hurt (pulling tails, poking eyes, jumping on the dogs back) or teased by a child or anyone. At the end of the day regardless of how well behaved he is around children he's still an animal and to a degree unpredictable. We do not have small children in the house but have guests that come over with their kids, the neighbors kids ask to come play ball with him in our yard sometimes and he's great, but I supervise, always. I have before said, no don't pull on him like that, etc. I give direction & stop behavior that I don't like to see. I hate to see some kids around animals.

My husbands buddy was over with his son who has a toddler. Rusty was laying on the floor and the little boy tripped and fell right on Rusty. Rusty yelped, jumped up and started circling the little boy licking him. I was pleased with his response. Sometimes if we have guests over with a lot of little ones running around I crate Rusty.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

gsdraven said:


> No. I would expect my dog to not react other than walking away if a child does these things ONCE but I do not expect them to put up with it on a regular basis. And the child would be addressed and managed by me to avoid any issues.
> 
> All beings - dog, cat, human, etc - deserves respect of their personal space. Would you be mad at a person for being upset about being picked on and their space invaded by another person?


This.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

No. I expect your child to have some manners.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

I expect my dogs to be able to walk politely past children at a five-foot distance, and as that is as close as _I_ ever intend to get to them, that's all I need from the mutt monsters.


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## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

gsdraven said:


> No. I would expect my dog to not react other than walking away if a child does these things ONCE but I do not expect them to put up with it on a regular basis. And the child would be addressed and managed by me to avoid any issues.
> 
> All beings - dog, cat, human, etc - deserves respect of their personal space. Would you be mad at a person for being upset about being picked on and their space invaded by another person?


this


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## RubyTuesday (Jan 20, 2008)

Nope, but I expect 'em to be supremely tolerant of children, especially the very young. Additionally, they must let me intervene with the children (or parents), & not take it on themselves to 'correct' a child.

One of the most important traits to me is a dog's ability to discern child from adult & act appropriately. Not all dogs have this but it's something I treasure & seek out. It should be, IMO, common to the GSD breed, much like genetic obedience. In many ways it lies at the very heart of what a GSD is.


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## Midnight12 (Jan 6, 2012)

RubyTuesday said:


> Nope, but I expect 'em to be supremely tolerant of children, especially the very young. Additionally, they must let me intervene with the children (or parents), & not take it on themselves to 'correct' a child.
> 
> One of the most important traits to me is a dog's ability to discern child from adult & act appropriately. Not all dogs have this but it's something I treasure & seek out. It should be, IMO, common to the GSD breed, much like genetic obedience. In many ways it lies at the very heart of what a GSD is.


 this


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

RubyTuesday said:


> Nope, but I expect 'em to be supremely tolerant of children, especially the very young. Additionally, they must let me intervene with the children (or parents), & not take it on themselves to 'correct' a child.
> 
> One of the most important traits to me is a dog's ability to discern child from adult & act appropriately. Not all dogs have this but it's something I treasure & seek out. It should be, IMO, common to the GSD breed, much like genetic obedience. In many ways it lies at the very heart of what a GSD is.


Very well said. Children should be taught manners. Something that is severely lacking in our society today. They should be taught to respect any animal.


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## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

I don't agree that every dog needs to accept everything, but every owner needs to fully understand their dogs limits and be responsible. My 10yo heeler/lab cross has put up with some extremely inappropriate behavior from children, God bless her, and while I strive to help her avoid it, I trust her completely. Both of our full heeler females were also trustworthy, but unlike the labx, would eventually get up and leave when they'd had enough, which was a sound decision on their part. Fortunately there weren't many of these situations but some parents are simply clueless. OTOH, as our female Golden aged, we trusted her less as she could be cranky and short-tempered when she was having an off day. 

My girls were raised knowing how to treat animals but sadly some children don't. My oldest daughter was bit by a Spaniel that, unbeknownst to us at the time, had been taped in a box during a birthday party and tortured as the parents laughed. The father was a police officer  So at the next home, my daughter at 4 was simply standing near the dog and got bit. I was right there, and it could have been much worse if I hadn't. Once I knew the dogs history, I made sure he wasn't penalized as long as he could be kept away from children.

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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I never take a chance with WD. We don't have small kids anymore and I don't know any little one he can "practice" with. So I have taught him "leave it" in the presence of kids. He was fine with the only kid that visited here when I asked this 4 year old boy if he wanted to throw balls for WD and they were instant friends. I manage it very carefully because WD has a good prey drive.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

I don't expect anyone, human or dog, to put up with ANYTHING. But I do want/expect my dog to be tolerant of children. My labs are. Heidi, not so much and that's why she is crated if there are children around that are not completely dog saavy. It hurts her feelings, but is better than having an incident.


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## Capone22 (Sep 16, 2012)

RubyTuesday said:


> Nope, but I expect 'em to be supremely tolerant of children, especially the very young. Additionally, they must let me intervene with the children (or parents), & not take it on themselves to 'correct' a child.
> 
> One of the most important traits to me is a dog's ability to discern child from adult & act appropriately. Not all dogs have this but it's something I treasure & seek out. It should be, IMO, common to the GSD breed, much like genetic obedience. In many ways it lies at the very heart of what a GSD is.


Yep. My kids are not allowed to purposely hurt or bug the dogs. But I absolutely expect my dogs to walk away or be tolerant if my little one falls or pulls some hair on accident. It's very rare any of my kids hurt the dogs, in fact I can't think of a time. Oh wait my 1 year old whacked rogue with a PVC pipe once, a small one considering he's only one and happened to grab it in the garbage. Not very hard and I was right there to grab it and intervene. Rogue just got up and walked away from him. She loves kids and is amazing with them. 


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I wanted to add that I think a certain level of 'roughing up' should be tolerated by kids if it's an accident, but people shouldn't allow their kids or any kids to constantly harass the dogs. I find that people with large dogs especially think that every one of them wants to be ridden like a pony, dressed up, or constantly climbed on. The dog may tolerate it, but they shouldn't have to IMO.


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

The idea that dogs should tolerate strange children performing behaviors that both humans AND dogs consider socially unacceptable doesn't make sense to me. It's great if you have a dog like that, but children need to be taught to respect an animal's space.

I expect Gypsy to sit quietly and accept petting, but that's it. She likes children a lot and would probably tolerate more, but just like I don't allow her to run up and jump on people's kids, parents shouldn't allow their kids to rush up to a dog uninvited and start hanging all over it. 


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

Many GSDs don't mind to play ball with children, don't mind being tossed, pushed, sit onto, fed and walked by children, but they hate being, what you call, "petted" when they want to sleep in particular. For many of them "petting"="pestering", some will bite just indicating "I'm not the one you can mess with". You dog should always have some place in the house to hide from children's noisy games. 
Many children surprise on hearing that the dog "might not like it" and refuse to believe you, they want to check it for themselves. Then, better to make sure that your words were understood. Explain, tell stories, lie if necessary.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Merciel said:


> I expect my dogs to be able to walk politely past children at a five-foot distance, and as that is as close as _I_ ever intend to get to them, that's all I need from the mutt monsters.


Yes this is my expectation. Instead of mutt monsters I think of them more as aliens though.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I only expect my animals (not just my dogs) to put up with so much. 

My 4 and 6 year old niece and nephew were out visiting for two weeks here recently. 

We didn't expect them to do any of the following, but we still made it clear that they were NOT to pull on the dogs' tails, ears, or fur, jump on them, step on them, etc. 
Obviously, they were never left unattended with any of the dogs. 

Sania (our old, grumpy lab) wasn't around them hardly at all. We don't really trust her in her older age because she gets very testy very easily. We know this, so we didn't take any chances with that. 

Our pit bull knows the difference between kids and adults. She'll bulldoze an adult and flatten you in no time flat. She sees a little kid and she is the most gentle thing you'd ever seen. I don't doubt for a moment that she'd put up with tail/ear pulling, but that doesn't mean we'd allow the kids to do it.


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## wdkiser (May 7, 2013)

I voted YES, but I voted on what the thread said in the forum list: 

- Do you expect your dog to accept certain behaviors from kids

I didn't reread the poll when I voted, but now it says: 

- Do You Expect Your Dogs To Allow Kids _*To Do Anything*_ To Them?

I don't expect my dog to allow them to do anything, but I do expect my dog to accept certain behaviors from my grand kids. I also expect my grand kids to have certain manners around the dog as well.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

I expect no aggressive behaviors whatsoever unless the dog is being injured and can't run anyway. Anything else, yes, I expect my dog to put up with it or leave the area.


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## battleborn (Jan 23, 2013)

I do expect my dog to remain calm around kids. I also expect the kids (and tell them if necessary) to treat the dog with respect. It's a two-way street.


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## wdkiser (May 7, 2013)

I just wanted to add that I expect to be able to trust my dogs around my grand kids... and I do. Right now my puppy is too young and my grand kids are too young to be left unsupervised with each other. When they are both older, I expect them to play together. My personal opinion is that if I can't trust my dogs, then I shouldn't have them.


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

So which is it......"anything" to a dog OR the things listed by the behaviorist in the OP.....BIG difference 

It is not so clear cut as yes or no. Do I expect my dogs to tolerate MY children doing the 3 things mentioned ABSOLUTELY. Do I expect them to tolerate it from ANY child....probably not so the dogs are put away if constant supervision is not practical.
If my dog growled or nipped my child for pulling a bit of fur or climbing on him he would not be here.

Poking dogs with sticks and things....well my kids just don't do that as they have been taught not to hurt our animals.
Our 14 month old is a work in progress as he has little understanding of whats too rough but in all honesty there is really not much he can do to my 100lb GSD that would be painful enough to warrant any type of response.

If you don't have kids around your dog all the time the answer to this question will be different to someone who is raising kids with dogs.
I didn't answer the poll cause it is just too generalized.

I agree with Syaoransbear......it would have to be a pretty major indiscretion on the kids part for me to forgive ANY signs of aggression towards a child.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

gsdraven said:


> No. I would expect my dog to not react other than walking away if a child does these things ONCE but I do not expect them to put up with it on a regular basis. And the child would be addressed and managed by me to avoid any issues.
> 
> All beings - dog, cat, human, etc - deserves respect of their personal space. Would you be mad at a person for being upset about being picked on and their space invaded by another person?


This is how I think also.....The reaction I expect from my dogs is to remove themselves from the situation. My granddaughter is almost 2, and is always monitored with the dogs. She is not allowed to pull,step on,play near their food or mistreat the dogs in any other way,but kids fall, and other incidents can always happen. I can't imagine having a dog that would do other than walk away or ignore the random encroachment.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Oh, I didn't realize that was you.  I'll give the same answer I gave on the other forum. My personal dogs need to be ungodly tolerant, because they live with autistic kids. However, I certainly don't expect all dogs to accept what they do.

Also, I don't expect my dogs to tolerate other kids. My mutt, for example, puts up with a _lot_ from my son, but does NOT like other children any more. As a result, I don't let other children near her. 

And I do NOT allow my son to bother other people's dogs. As a matter of fact, I try to avoid him interacting with any animals other than mine.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I expect them to allow most anything, if it starts getting to the point where the dog is uncomfortable, then I expect the dog to walk away. All of my dogs will allow anything with kids, but that doesn't mean that I allow the kids to do stuff to the dogs that would irritate them. All of mine have always been around kids, they adore kids. I prefer it this way, because if I'm out and about and a kid comes running out of nowhere and gets in any of my dogs faces, I know that its okay. It has happened and the kid gets big kisses. I don't think I could have a dog that didn't like kids or couldn't at the very least tolerate them. I do not like when people think its okay for kids to jump on the dogs, pull their ears or tails, but I can't control other people.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My dogs have pleasantly surprised me when their have been encounters with children that I would have prevented if I had realized what was going to happen -- the kid in the line who ran up behind me and hugged the dog while I was paying. 

But I would never encourage any child to do this sort of thing with an unknown dog. 

However, if I raised my dog in a household with children, then I would expect the dog to put up with hugging by a child, any child, have their ears or tail pulled or petted, and be solid if a child leaned on them or even pulled themselves up using the dog. If the child climbed on top of the dog or jumped on the dog, I'm sorry, but that's just too much to ask of a dog. 

My mom said that the GSD she had when she was young would hide behind the couch when the kids got to be too much, but he would not bite a small child. 

One of my four year olds is being raised by a retired couple. I took my sister's girls out there Sunday with a couple of six month old puppies. The girls are good with dogs though they do not live with dogs, I bring a dog often on Sunday and I use them as a training tool both dogs and kids. But the kids did run a bit, with this dog that lives without kids. He did fine, and it was good for the puppies too. Children run and scream, and a solid dog needs to not react to that by chasing and nipping.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

sparra said:


> So which is it......"anything" to a dog OR the things listed by the behaviorist in the OP.....BIG difference
> 
> It is not so clear cut as yes or no. Do I expect my dogs to tolerate MY children doing the 3 things mentioned ABSOLUTELY. Do I expect them to tolerate it from ANY child....probably not so the dogs are put away if constant supervision is not practical.
> If my dog growled or nipped my child for pulling a bit of fur or climbing on him he would not be here.
> ...


A fourteen month old kid can jump on a 100 pound dog, and if the 100 pound dog has painful hips or elbows, or is sound asleep, it can hurt the dog. Cujo twice snapped at 2 year olds that jumped right on him. He did not connect with them, but he let them know that they cannot jump on his back or legs -- that just isn't fair to the dog, especially if it's sleeping. We should have been quicker and stopped the kids -- two separate incidents, and that dog was wonderful with babies, toddlers, small children -- no problems with toys, treats, food, running, playing with the ears and tail, etc. But if they landed heavily on him, he would object.


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## OUbrat79 (Jan 21, 2013)

I expect Ammo to be ok with my 19 month old hitting him, that is how she pets. We are working on her being gentle with her pets but when he gets up by her she gets excited. I also expect him to be ok with her sticking her hand in his mouth or pulling him to her. However with my older 2 kids I don't expect him to take the same kind of treatment. They are both old enough to know how to act around a dog. 


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

2 different issues, what a dog should allow and how children
should act around dogs.

1>>>>> i think a child should be able to hug a dog, pull their
tail. i don't think a child should climb or jump on a dog but
if they do the dog shouldn't react.

2>>>>> you have to teach your children what's acceptable 
behaviour when they're around dogs.

3>>>>> i expect "my dog" to allow a lot when around children.
do i expect my dog to allow anything, no. i'll remove my dog or 
the child if it's to much for "my dog".



Gharrissc said:


> I posted this on another forum, but wanted some opinions up here.
> 
> 1 >>>>> There was a behaviorist on my local news today who was saying that a dog is not sound if they don't let a child hug them, pull on their tail or climb/jump all over them.<<<<<
> 
> ...


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

selzer said:


> A fourteen month old kid can jump on a 100 pound dog, and if the 100 pound dog has painful hips or elbows, or is sound asleep, it can hurt the dog. Cujo twice snapped at 2 year olds that jumped right on him. He did not connect with them, but he let them know that they cannot jump on his back or legs -- that just isn't fair to the dog, especially if it's sleeping. We should have been quicker and stopped the kids -- two separate incidents, and that dog was wonderful with babies, toddlers, small children -- no problems with toys, treats, food, running, playing with the ears and tail, etc. But if they landed heavily on him, he would object.


True....which is why supervision of this age group an absolute must BUT i have seen my two dogs play and they are ROUGH....they don't get aggressive with each other even when they are at their roughest.....they put up with a lot from each other. A baby is not going to "hurt" my dog anymore than rough play. If my dog so much as growled at my baby for tripping and falling on him he would be out.....no questions asked.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

sparra said:


> True....which is why supervision of this age group an absolute must BUT i have seen my two dogs play and they are ROUGH....they don't get aggressive with each other even when they are at their roughest.....they put up with a lot from each other. A baby is not going to "hurt" my dog anymore than rough play. If my dog so much as growled at my baby for tripping and falling on him he would be out.....no questions asked.


Well, I am considering a dog that is raised by a couple of old retired people who don't have kids. The dog was not around babies at all until he was two. And the kids actually jumped on him. They can hurt a dog when they land on them. 

When dog's play, even roughly, the dogs are expecting it and engaging in it. If a dog is simply minding his own business and another dog runs up and body slams him, the other dog might object as well. Dogs know how to tell the other dog that they have had enough -- if they ever do. My parents' dog never did play with other dogs, not after he went to them at about 14 weeks old. 

A dog that is lying down next to its owner and not engaging in anything, and suddenly a kid comes out of nowhere and lands on them, well, it's only a dog. I think it was darn good of the dog to let the toddler know without connecting. If the dog is actively playing with the children and a kid toddles onto the dog, that's really not what I am talking about.


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

selzer said:


> Well, I am considering a dog that is raised by a couple of old retired people who don't have kids. The dog was not around babies at all until he was two. And the kids actually jumped on him. They can hurt a dog when they land on them.
> 
> When dog's play, even roughly, the dogs are expecting it and engaging in it. If a dog is simply minding his own business and another dog runs up and body slams him, the other dog might object as well. Dogs know how to tell the other dog that they have had enough -- if they ever do. My parents' dog never did play with other dogs, not after he went to them at about 14 weeks old.
> 
> A dog that is lying down next to its owner and not engaging in anything, and suddenly a kid comes out of nowhere and lands on them, well, it's only a dog. I think it was darn good of the dog to let the toddler know without connecting. If the dog is actively playing with the children and a kid toddles onto the dog, that's really not what I am talking about.


Agreed.....I guess i was talking more with my dog in mind rather than Cujo.
As i said above it kind of depends on if you have kids around all the time or not. My dog is used to the kids being noisy, bumping into him etc as he has been around them since 8 weeks old.....it is normal for him. He doesn't know a life any different than a noisy, rowdy household of boys. 
Having said that our kids are not allowed to "jump" on our dogs but just the other evening our 14month old fell on him as he is still unsteady with his walking.....Luther took the opportunity to lick him and have a snuggle.....and that is what a expect of him:wub:


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## redandgold (Jul 2, 2013)

No, no and a big fat NO. My dog is a being in her own right. She is no more obliged to let people hurt or unwantedly touch her than I am. I will quite happily yell at a kid if they try anything.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I guess we can only predict and guess what children, toddlers, and babies will do, only to a point. And as strongly and vigilently as we might protect them, if there are human youngsters around, the chances are pretty great that an indescretion on the part of the human will probably happen at some point. 

We really cannot walk through life with the attitude that a baby deserved what they got. And this is why people try and breeders try to socialize puppies to babies and children. Once that pup goes to the new home, the new owners should also make it a point to get the young puppy around the typical noise and hubub of human youngsters. 

Because in the end, you will feel terrible if a child runs up to hug your beloved pet, and your dog turns and nails the child. At that point, you will either have to put the dog down, or wear a muzzle on the dog whenever you take it anywhere. 

A dog with good temperament really should not need a ton of socialization to manage in the world. But exposing them while they are young to children can be the difference for many dogs without excellent character. And for pups that have very weak nerves, it will give you that information too, and you will be able to adjust how you manage such a dog to keep him safe from all the children around him. 

A dog that barks, growls, snarls, and even snaps is better than a dog that goes right for the home-run. It gives us an opportunity to manage the situation better for the dog. And prevent problems. In those times where a dog that has always been wonderful with kids, suddenly starts growling or snapping at them, it may do so because of some physical problem, where the dog is hurting, and a little human catapult might be injurious. It just seems better all around to not allow children to maul dogs. 

One thinks they can always be in control of every situation when it comes to their dogs or their kids. Sunday when I had the kids out with the pups, and the dog that I did not raise, we introduced them, and let the pups go, and stayed out with them. But soon, the dog and pups and one of the six year olds was a good 40 yards away. Had the adult dog wanted to attack that kid, I would have flown to protect her, but was really far enough away that she would have been nailed, and maybe more than once, maybe really badly.

I guess the point is, that you really want a dog that has a high tolerance for what kids might do, but that doesn't mean we allow the children to do whatever they are capable of to the dog. I am not willing to say I would out any dog that ever showed any sign of aggression toward a child, but if the dog lived with those children, children come first, and if their wasn't a really good reason for whatever occurred, it would definitely be decision time.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Yes, I expect my dogs to accept certain behaviors from kids, and personally I prefer a dog that is tolerant of kids.
No, I don't expect every dog to be tolerant of children although I have had dogs who would let people do anything to them pretty much, and all my dogs were more tolerant of kids than adults doing the same thing to them.

If they go in public I feel they should be tolerant of children because it only takes a second for a kid to run up and do something strange to the dog, and if the dog reacts badly it could be a death sentence.


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