# Leaving Dog Alone w/Kids



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

I've been reading and looking at the board for the past few days (planning to get a GSD pup within a year) and I have a question about dogs and kids.

I see a lot of advice saying NEVER leave your dog alone with a child or baby, because it is risking the child's life. And I agree with this.

However... I see a lot of pictures of grown GSD's sleeping with little kids during naps, in their beds, playing outside with them in the yard, etc. So... if, say, your child is playing in the living room do you never walk away and leave them in there with the dog? Do you never leave them playing outside with the dog? And certainly if the dog sleeps with the child, you'd not sit there watching them the whole time. So I am wondering how you handle this.

Do you leave kids alone with your dog?

I don't have my dog yet, just trying to get a picture of how difficult it will be to make sure my dog is *never* alone with kids.


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## jennafetherolf (Jan 13, 2009)

I think a lot depends on the dog and the kid. I have a one year old GSD and an almost 3 yr old little girl. When the dog was a younger pup, no way were they ever alone for a minute. Now, that I see that Shelby is very good with my daughter and that my daughter is very good with him, i feel ok leaving them alone to be in the next room for a few minutes at a time. I am somewhat overprotective though. They are never alone together anytime that either one of them has food.
I personally would never leave an infant alone with any dog for any amount of time.


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## HAROLD M (Mar 10, 2009)

well in order to see pictres of kids and dogs someone has to be taking the photos i can assume its and adult probaly one of thier parents ,and depending on how old the kid ,and how old the dog, i say if the dog and kids are raised together their should be no problems taking the dog was socialized and is well behaved,strange kids and strange dogs no way..i always supervise my 12 month old puppy around by neices and nephews always ...always be on gaurd......


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I don't have kids, but I do have an almost 2 year old gsd who still acts like a puppy and I never leave her alone or unsupervised for more than a couple minutes at a time. Not only because of the destruction she may do to the house but for her own safety as well (I've got a very curious dog).

I know if I had small kids or a baby around that I'd never leave them unsupervised puppy or young dog.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: HAROLD Awell in order to see pictres of kids and dogs someone has to be taking the photos i can assume its and adult ...


Yes, but I doubt they sit in the bedroom all night long watching the dog and child in bed sleeping after they take the picture... or stay in the room for 2 hours while the child is napping. Or do they ALWAYS sit in the room with the child playing or out in the yard when the child is in the sandbox for 2 hours? That's my main question, for people who do leave their kids alone with dogs (or seem to).


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## gsdlove212 (Feb 3, 2006)

In my opinion and experience it depends largely on the kids and the dogs in question. I can leave Shadow with any of my skin kids reguardless of age, and she has always been this way. Duchess I can leave with all of them, but I wouldn't leave her unattended with the two smaller kids for more than a minute or two and I would want to remain in earshot. She would never intentionally hurt them mind you, but she isn't graceful and collisions do occur. Gianna I would not leave unattended with any of the kids (maybe the oldest two for very very short bursts (a minute or less) but never with the younger two). She can get going pretty easily and she hasn't got it mastered when too much is too much. She plays hard and can sometimes get too rough. The older boys are excellent in redirecting her to a toy and freezing in place if neccessary. Still I would not trust her completely unattended with them (she is high drives working lines and still under a year old).


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i have nieces, a nephew, tons of little cousins and a handful of friends with kids. some of the kids are dog savvy, and some aren't - so as one person mentioned - it depends on the kids and it depends on the dog... as well as the environment. either way, i'm always an eyeshot (if leaving the room for minutes) or earshot (if leaving the room for seconds) away. to protect the kids, yes... but also to protect my dogs from being injured or being accused of something that they didn't do.

my initial fear is not that my dogs will be aggressive towards the kids but that they can knock a child over or go to grab a ball and catch a kids hand. an accidental nip, a scratch in the eye, knocking into a kid causing them to fall or hit their head on a hard surface - are all accidents that can be just as serious if not worse than a dog bite.

i also realize that although you can tell a kid not to grab ears or tails or hit dogs - there are other things such as leaning on my HD girls hips or back which can cause pain to her that a child may not realize they're doing.

i can't say whether or not things will change once i have children myself... growing up i went out with the dogs whenever i pleased, locked the dogs up in my club house while dressing them up, walked the dogs myself with neighborhood kids (something i can't imagine my 8yr old nephew being mature enough to do)... and so on. my mom is not alive to ask her thought process behind it all but whether it be luck or blessings - i ended up okay.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I think it depends on the age of the kids and the dog.I didn't have my dogs while my kids were growing up so I can't speak for what I did.If Athena had grown up with a child a few years old and I felt she was no threat I wouldn't watch every minute but I would keep tabs on them.I would not feel comfortable leaving her with a baby at this point since she hasn't been around them and tends to fear everything.

How old are your children and have they been around animals?


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Most of my kids are teens and older, so no worries there. My daughter is 4, and she is excellent with animals. If I have a dog in a year or so, I can imagine her being 6 or 7 and having her friends over to play and I guess I will have to keep a very close eye on the dog then. My main concern is when I do have grandchildren and bring babies/toddlers over in the future.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Morgan was 2 when DS#1 was born. She went from a teenage terrorist to zen dog meditating over that baby. 

DS#1 was almost 5 and my twins were 3 when Otto was 8 weeks old. I actually trust 18 month old Otto more with them than I do Morgan becuase 

1. he has never tried to herd them or tackle them when they're running too fast. 

2. he thinks he's one of the children.

If the kids are in the yard playing, I don't have a problem walking inside to make lunch. If they're watching TV, the dogs can hang out with them but they never do, the dogs are usually with me.

If they have a friend over or are playing on the swingset, the dogs are coming with me.

When it's bed time, the dogs are in my room, I don't let them sleep in the kids rooms. I do let Otto lay on Jackie's bed when she's not sleeping, he adores her.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I think it's something that will need to be played by ear.If it were me I would do as much socializing as possible especially with kids of all ages.If the dog ends up being solid as steel with it's nerves I wouldn't be super paranoid with it.I think common sense will go a long way.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

> Originally Posted By: cassadee7I can imagine her being 6 or 7 and having her friends over to play and I guess I will have to keep a very close eye on the dog then.


The friend issue is a big one. Morgan LOVES children and we had an incident where I was watching her closely when my son had a friend over. The friend was dog savy - had a lab mutt - Morgan went in to give the friend a kiss on the cheek, the friend turned to look at Morgan. One of Morgan's canines made contact. It was a kiss where a tooth got in the way. I felt really bad becuase the friend cried and Morgan seemed quite ashamed.


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## Jacobysma (Jun 17, 2009)

I have 2 girls 9 & 5 along with 2 10yr old mutts and my 11mos old gsd Jacoby. My 10yr olds are perfectly fine with both girls & I could leave them alone all day with no issue, food included. We do not let the girls eat in the same room as Jacoby, he is too big 85 lbs+ and does not respect others when it comes to food, he is a baby. My 5 yr old is very petite approx 35lbs so he easily overtakes her when food is involved. He is not being malicious he is simply being a dog who sees a weaker member of the pack with food he'd like to eat. Are we working on correcting his behavior, you bet. Would I leave him unattended with my 5 year old no. Friends of my girls? Absolutely not, I don't know 100% how he will act nor do I know what the child will do. I've seen "innocent" looking children terrorize my older patient dogs to the point of making them cry and they (my dogs) did not react towards the child because they know better. Jacoby would not know better. Just a fact. Responsibility/Respect is a two way street when it comes to both dogs and kids.
It comes down to common sense and who you're dealing with. Every person/dog is different







Good luck & have fun!


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## pamela berger (Jun 19, 2008)

No matter how loving/gentle a dog may be, it is still an animal with teeth and can react unpredictably; animals ans children should not be left alone.


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## HAROLD M (Mar 10, 2009)

in my last post this is what i was trying to say exactly ...still an animal .....


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

I woulnt leave a BABY alone with a GSD. Maybe 10 & up (assuming the child knows how to behave around a dog....)
How can you be 100 percent sure YOUR DOG wont bite/kill/hurt a child?
Dont leave them alone with one. (maybe thats a bit much???)
Better safe than sorry.
Heres some statistics I found....most deaths occur with children & the elderly.
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html


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## jake (Sep 11, 2004)

Another point of view-I was raised by dogs my parents were very busy elsewhere.A mutt was my best companion from 5 years old .When I was 8 found stray GSD with a badly lacerated paw.He let me wash and bandage it-was good with my other dog-parents and sister.About 6 months after he came into the house my father who sometimes had a bad temper shouted at me and popped me in the head with his fist.The dog growled at him.He was gone the next day when I came home from school-I still think of him-he LOVED ME.Sometimes generalizations don't work.


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## onyxena (Oct 24, 2007)

My daughter is four and she does great with all three of our dogs for the most part. She is usually good at not pushing them too much. They will come to me if she bothers them and I remind her how to behave. She is never left totally unsupervised, but often I am in the kitchen and she will play with them in th otgher rooms. Most of the time I just let Sasha our GSD girl out to play with my daughter while the other two are crated or outside. This wonderful dog LOVES my daughter and behaves amazingly well with her. My daughter even walks her sometimes outside! Of course I have a long line and hold the end but give her enough to hfandle the dog. 

But, she is not allowed to jump on, pull on, yell at, hang on, hit, grab, or anything else that agrivates animals. She naturally has a gift with animals, our cats have followed her and been drawn to her right from the start. She rides horses at my Mom's farm and plays with my parrots. Still though, I am always close by and paying attention!


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## trudy (Aug 25, 2008)

I raised 3 kids with dogs all their lives, I never crate adult dogs and never shut bedroom doors. I am a light sleeper but never did I have an incident with night time aggression. Yes dogs did sleep in their rooms or wander through out the night, even into baby rooms. No dog ever attempted to climb into a crib nor show any issues. So did I know my dogs or just luck out? I think a family dog should be trusted with the family or it has a temperment fault, a serious one. I was much more watchful when they were awake toddlers and could have fallen and hurt the dog, but I still allowed the dog freedom and watched and supervised the children.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

You will come to know your dog, what he/she is capable of and what is likely and use your intuition. Heidi loves kids, but I wouldn't leave her alone with them, as I know she could snap. I would trust Loki and Cori to babysit (except because of the conceptions of society I'd be arrested LOL). The neighbor kids come over to play with the dogs all the time and we don't let them unless we can be outside to supervise. That's partly because, as someone else said, I don't want my dogs accused of anything they didn't do.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Dogs and children...

Raised three children with GSDs + other breeds.

Did I let them play together? Yes. Outside unsupervised, Yes.

But, I trained both my dogs <u>and</u> my children.

Know your child, know your dog and teach each boundaries.

A child can be trusted to age appropriate behavior and a dog can stand just so much.

It's not as hard as it sounds.

Crate train your pup and take each day as it comes. 

Someday you'll trust your child to cross the street without holding your hand. Same, same.

Good luck


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i've raised 2 children around dogs.
no, don't leave them together.
you might walk out of a room with them
in the same room but i wouldn't leave them alone for any length
of time. why risk it????? 

i don't leave my dog (2.5 years old) alone with puppies.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Sounds like all the bases are covered here but I did want to mention that as far as the unexpected happening ... in teaching my dogs a trick, I found that a few times *I* nearly got bitten simply because I didn't move my hand & nose fast enough. I'm trying to teach the food on the nose, flip, catch thing. In this case, had I been bitten it would definitely have been because my hand or nose was in the way and it would have been totally accidental on the part of my dog. However, should I have been injured seriously enough to need medical attention - the law isn't going to take that into consideration. They are only going to see I was bitten by a dog and take the steps they usually take for a dog bite.

Now, let's say you've got a child who decides to teach the dog a trick or do something that puts themselves in the way of the teeth and let's say the dog is grabbing for a toy the kid's got in his hand and is *asking* the dog to take the toy ... they're playing, ok? If the dog gets the child and you're not there to see all the child's going to know is that he/she got bit and has to go for medical treatment ... you have no way of knowing for sure what really happened because you didn't see it.

I do think it's important to take the dog's temperament AND the KID's personality into consideration. Not only that but I think it's slightly more ok to trust a dog that's been raised with the kids, that's proven they're good w/the kids. It's a whole 'nudder story to leave a dog alone with the friends and cousins that the dog isn't as familiar with and lets face it, neither are you so you don't know how they're going to act around your dog.

Who'd have ever thought the Pomeranian would kill the infant either? Nobody I'm sure or Dad never would have left his newborn alone with the dog. On the other hand there are millions of homes out there w/dogs and kids co-habitating that nothing ever bad happens in and in fact the dog would probably give it's life for the children. 

Always remember a dog is an animal first and foremost. No matter how domesticated, no matter how much of a family member it is - it's still a dog first.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Deb, excellent point, thank you.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

with this being said you think "it's slightly more ok", alone
with a child is alone. it only takes a slight second
for something to happen. why risk it?



> Originally Posted By: Riley's Mom
> 
> I do think it's important to take the dog's temperament AND the KID's personality into consideration. Not only that but I think it's slightly more ok to trust a dog that's been raised with the kids, that's proven they're good w/the kids.
> 
> ...


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

doesn't seem like you're leaving your
children alone with the dog.



> Originally Posted By: trudy I was much more watchful when they were awake toddlers and could have fallen and hurt the dog, but I still allowed the dog freedom and watched and supervised the children.


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## trudy (Aug 25, 2008)

yeah I said when they were toddlers learning to walk I was very vigilant. I didn't worry when say a 5 yr old was in the living room and I was making dinner, I was trying to explain there is watching and there is paranoid. I did watch but also relaxed and lived together. Never did I feel the kids were threatened and if anything happened it would have been the result of an accident. Both kids and dogs were trained and monitored equally, but I did cook, shower, and do housework while both were together, I didn't separate nor crate..


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

We would think nothing of leaving our female GSD alone with our son when he was little. this is a dog who would give her life for our son and was very protective of him esp. when he was a little guy.

We did train both to respect each other, of course.

Other kids i would be a lot more cautious with since we don't know them.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Well, that really didn't come out the way I intended it, sorry. No I don't think it's ok to leave a dog alone with kids. Doggiedad is right, it's risky no matter what the dog no matter what the kids no matter what the situation. I do think the chances of something bad happening with a "trusted-proven" dog are less with one's own children vs children that don't live in the house. But that doesn't mean I would blindly trust any dog alone with any kids. 

Unfortunately, because a dog is an animal / dog first there truly is no such thing as a "100% trusted-proven" dog any place anywhere in any home. 

A very simple example is let's say your child is romping around the house, dog's laying on the floor watching the activity. Kid trips over a toy and lands on the dog causing pain to the dog. Dog has absolutely NO idea that this kid did not hurt him intentionally. All dog knows is that he was laying there quietly and suddenly he's in pain. Even the best of dogs can react badly to pain being inflicted on them. They don't understand human language, they don't understand a kid tripping on a toy. So, they react to protect themselves and all they have are teeth to do this with.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I leave the kids alone with the Rayden. Freya is never out of her crate once I leave because, while I don't think she would hurt the kids, I do worry she would bite out of fear. though it's highly unlikely because all she does is curl up in a ball and try to hide.

Rayden doesn't get left alone with kids I don't know. and I mean "not in view", not that I stay within arms reach. not because I don't trust HIM, I don't trust the kids not to pick on him. 
I do know that whatever happened, he would probably not bite. my niece was jumping around on the couch, fell off and landed square on the dog. he yelped, turned and licked her face. and that was with me standing right there because I had just said "you're going to fall off the couch"

He's just that kind of boy. He wouldn't even react to a kid to protect himself. Freya, I don't know and don't plan to put her in that situation because she's never been around kids.


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## Bennett (Nov 17, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Angel RI woulnt leave a BABY alone with a GSD. Maybe 10 & up (assuming the child knows how to behave around a dog....)
> How can you be 100 percent sure YOUR DOG wont bite/kill/hurt a child?
> Dont leave them alone with one. (maybe thats a bit much???)
> Better safe than sorry.
> ...


I read through quickly, looking for the statistics on elderly victims. I know we'd be off on another topic, but can anyone offer insight into dogs and their reactions to elderly people? My dog loves my mother and mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is quite frail and walks haltingly, but Hildie is very calm and slow around her. She layed on the sofa with her head in my mother-in-laws lap, despite the knitting needles clacking away above her ear (one photo looks like my mother -in-law is knitting Hildie's ear!)

But today, an elderly lady approached us on the street and Hildie barked at her and definitely didn't like her. I'm wondering what was going on. Any ideas?

By the way, I am watchful of my 8 year-old, who adores Hildie and Hildie adores her. Still, my daughter is very emotional and dogs react to highly charged environments. As everyone else has said, better safe than sorry.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

That is very interesting about dogs reacting to highly charged environments even if they love the children. I hadn't thought of that before. Our little dog LOVES all children, and most people. He has never bitten or nipped even when kids at the park rush over and nearly squash him (which of course I try to avoid, but some people's children...) He is 11 years old. But when my daughter has a fit and stomps off to her room screeching, the dog goes nuts and charges up the hall after her barking. Very strange, I didn't know what to make of it but now this makes sense.


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## Lobobear44 (Jan 28, 2013)

@cassadee7 Dogs know though children are children or human babies like we know dog pups or bear cubs are babies. Doesn't mean they talk doesn't mean they don't know human babies are babies. We are allowed to be alone with dog pups and all sorts of animals babies but no animal besides human are not allowed to be alone with any sort of human child other than other animal babies. That sounds weird to me. You know I'm 17 and I don't know much about human children or how to deal with them. In fact I'm not interested. When they come around I don't know what to say or act I ignore them. Come close I get nervous. German shepherds are great baby sitters. Why would a protective dog of the baby kill him? German shepherds are left alone with their dog puppies but not human babies? German shepherds know how to deal with, raise, show more interest, protect, etc more than me. Would you rather leave a German shepherd who is protective of the child and would die for the child or a bad guy who will kill the child? German shepherd every time. They know when bad comes humans don't and are like "everything will be fine." If I had children in the future (hopefully never will) I will leave them alone with my German shepherds and prove people wrong.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

This thread is over 2 years old. Lobo, please look at the dates so you aren't bringing up very old threads.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

gsdraven said:


> This thread is over 2 years old. Lobo, please look at the dates so you aren't bringing up very old threads.


I'm sort of glad this thread was brought up. I've always wondered about dogs and kids but couldn't get the wording correct to ask a question or find anything in the search bar...


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## Rangers-mom (Jan 28, 2013)

I had a Aussie/border collie when my son was born. She was 1 year old at the time. I was pretty stupid and had never heard any of the stories about not leaving a dog alone with the kid so I naively used to tell her to "take care of the baby" when he would nap. She would sleep next to him or under his crib and there was never a problem. It was her job I guess. It worked out beautifully for me, but I consider myself VERY lucky. i was young and dumb.


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## lily's master (Jul 16, 2012)

I have a 2yr old, 4yr old, 7yr old and 14 yr old. I dont really worry at all about the 14yr old, she knows how to treat dogs. The 7 yr old I let him take her and play with her in the back yard, he knows what is ok and what is not. The two younger ones I keep a closer eye on. Yes I let them play outside together if I am on the deck and they are in the yard its ok, I am not right at arms reach at all times. When we are inside I let them play in the living room while I am in the kitchen or so on. I always keep an ear out however I am not always within eye sight inside the house. I trust my kids and I trust my dog she has never given any indication that she was even considering biting, but I still dont let the small ones totaly alone with the dog. 
I also have made sure that every chance I get I teach them how to behave around a dog. They take part in training, grooming and feeding. They know that when they feed Lily they tell her to sit while they are getting the food ready and putting her bowl down, they then release her to eat, I have watched this and the two smaller kids do a really good job and LIly listens but I still watch. 
Its all about knowing your dog and knowing your kids. But its also about common sense also, I let my 2yr old hold the leash when we are out walking but I wouldnt just let them go walking alone. Age apropriate interactions, let them help to there abilities and build a bond with the dog so as they get older they can take on more "doggie duties"


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

I would never even consider wheter to leave any of our many GSD's alone with our son when he was a little guy. 

If the child was old enough to be left alone at all; then why wouldn't we trust the dog to be with him?

I can't imagine having a family pet that I couldn't trust to be with our child. And naturally we could trust our son not to abuse the dog either.


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