Should all dogs be muzzled when children are present?
Chief_Wahoo
Posts: 1,454 Forum Member
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Sadly,yet another child killed by as dog.When will it all end? Why does it keep happening? Perhaps leaving a child alone with a large dog should be considered neglect.Or even ban people from having small children and large dogs.Certainly muzzling would be an easy thing to do for anyone with any common sense.
But then there is always some complete idiot who thinks that their dog is incapable of doing anything sinister.That is CRAP.No matter how smart you think your dog is,it is still just an animal that doesn't know right from wrong.And kids have no idea how vicious they can turn.It might only be one dog amongst thousands who can just snap,but when there are millions of dogs,that is too many potential situations where the unthinkable can happen.
Seriously,could you leave your child alone with a large dog and not worry in the least that nothing horrific could happen? There is ALWAYS a chance,however small.But if everyone muzzled their dogs when in the prescence of small children,there need never be another case like this.
But then there is always some complete idiot who thinks that their dog is incapable of doing anything sinister.That is CRAP.No matter how smart you think your dog is,it is still just an animal that doesn't know right from wrong.And kids have no idea how vicious they can turn.It might only be one dog amongst thousands who can just snap,but when there are millions of dogs,that is too many potential situations where the unthinkable can happen.
Seriously,could you leave your child alone with a large dog and not worry in the least that nothing horrific could happen? There is ALWAYS a chance,however small.But if everyone muzzled their dogs when in the prescence of small children,there need never be another case like this.
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Brought 3 and on occasions 4 up here with numerous dogs, some biters too but never ever had a dog/child incident because we managed the situation.
Should children be present around dogs? Should dogs be allowed near children? Should children be muzzled in the presence of a dog?
There's too many variables to adopt a single policy. One would expect people to take necessary precautions in their given situation and not rely upon others to think on their behalf.
Very good point. Also i would hazard a guess that the deaths of children are not down to dogs not being muzzled, but rather them being in the hands of irresponsible owners and then being left alone with a child.
Personally I would never choose to have a dog and a baby/small child in the same house. They're better suited for older children imo. Obviously though I can understand that you'd be left with an impossibly hard decision if you got pregnant and already had a well loved pet.
If your dog is socialised properly you cut the risk of him attacking anyone to almost zero.
If you keep a dog in the outside yard for 90+% of the time, then bring him inside and let him roam around a room full of kids, don't be surprised if he turns and attacks one of them.
All dog owners should at least go to puppy training whatever the breed of dog
How would you enforce such an order?
Anyone who gets an animal of any sort has a responsibility to manage it correctly. In the cas eof dogs that includes training it or having it trained.
True. But it's especially important for the type of breeds who are known to be more vicious when they attack.
Make it a legal necessity for an interested buyer to present a completion certificate for a course before they can take the dog. Might seem like a hassle for the owner, but it can have an impact in how well the dog is brought up, meaning it may be less likely to attack/kill.
It is an excellent idea but I am not sure if it can be enforced, wouldn't people just go through other sources to get dogs?
That is the real issue here. I am not making this up honestly, but a woman living in my boyfriends building had two Irish wolfhounds in a second floor flat. Also a friend knows someone who has a huskie, again in a flat and never takes it out. I am sure others here have plenty of anecdotal evidence of people having dogs without the foggiest idea of how to look after them
I guess
As I keep saying every time these deaths occur: as long as this type of dog is legal to own as a family pet, these needless deaths will continue to happen.
I do think your idea is a good one, perhaps I am being too cynical. There always will be people who keep animals they are not equipped to deal with, look at those people in America who keep monkeys and dress them up like children for instance. My cousin has the same breed of dog and honestly is it the softest, most sociable dog you could imagine. Really friendly and would never hurt a fly. However she has had her since a pup and to get to this stage took a lot of effort and training, and i mean a lot. It shows it is not the breed of dog which is an issue but the owner
It is horrible for everyone involved, I just hope reports like this make people think twice before getting a dog.
I'm not in favour of muzzling any dogs which have never shown Amy signs of aggression.
I wonder if it's fashions changing I remember as a child we never saw bull breeds it was all labs and spaniels. Since then we have seen dallys become fashionable, hand bag dogs took off for a while and now it's macho bull breeds in pet homes.