Quote:
Originally Posted by pink_in_the_middle
You need to socialize the animal. As far as I am concerned this is the only way to help prevent accidents 
Yes young kids who don't know better will try and pull the dogs tail and ears, however its your job to train your animal and train the kids to treat the animal well. Mistakes will always happen, but socialization is the key. Get them familiar with everything! Young kids, older kids, boys, girls, women, men, people from different ethnic backgrounds, other animals is also a big must! The more they are familiar with the less chance for an accident. |
I agree 100%. We have two new pups (they are 8 weeks old now) and we have rules about the way the children are to play with them. They must be gentle and everything must be in line with their training and socialization. Simple things like not allowing the puppies to bite at their ankles etc. It's one thing when they're sweet little puppies doing that, but when they are 120 pounds bruisers doing it, it can lead to injury, and the dog would not know better. The more time you spent teaching the animal AND the ones dealing with the animal, the less chances for unfortunate accidents. Most oftentimes I find with injuries related to kids being around dogs, it could have been prevented with a little good training on both parts.