Ditto that. I enjoy the exchanges as much as any. EWO
Originally Posted by evolutionkennels
Ditto that. I enjoy the exchanges as much as any. EWO
Now even being a responsible dog owner can only cover your end to a point when it comes to children i belive Murphy's Law was based on them "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". There was a little boy who lived near my house who played with my kids this boy was Dennis The Menace in the flesh. Cruel to animals beat them teased my hounds throwing rocks i ran him off and talked with his Grandpa he was not allowed here again. But none the less i was working in the yard and the dogs barking caught my attention. I looked towards the yard i see him crying sitting in the chain spot of a high strung yearling my stomach dropped. I took off towards him and noticed the chain wrapped around his legs so i slow to a tip toe so she wouldn't become excited and hurt him any further. She responded slow and gentle when approaching me i was still terrified i untangled him and ran him home. I set him down his Grandpa and i checked him for injuries not a scratch shook up but not so much as a bruise. What he did have was shit on his hair in his ears on his face im talking head to toe. I belive he learned his lesson that day and taught me one as well never under estimate the blind curiosity of a child.
RoughNeck
I am not a dog bite expert by any means but I do believe the majority of the time a lot of the blame belongs to the one being bit. But I do understand that is nothing to hang one's hat on when the bite actually occurs. We have a deep family divide right now over a dog bite from a fox hound. My brother-in-laws grandchild is a holy terror. He was walking the farm with his grandma at a family gathering. I bet he hit ten dogs with a stick. Grandma offers no correction. Mom offers no correction. Later that day he hems one up against the barn and draws the stick back and the Grandma picks him up but the dog snags her on the way. All family hell breaks loose. Barely broke the skin but it was a dog bite nonetheless. The dog was immediately to blame. I didn't see it that way and made the horrible mistake of saying 'sometimes you get what you ask for'. I know this is an isolated incident and not exactly on bulldog topic, but my point would be, - Just imagine how bad it gets if this fox hound was a bulldog? The situation gets amplified ten fold based on media sensationalism. As bad as it sounds I was glad it happened at his house instead of mine.
But, regardless of how it happens or why it happens when a dog bite happens it is the usually the fault of the 'dog'. Add in the term pitbull dog and it can get off the charts in a quick minute. The care and caution is warranted with all dogs, especially the little ones, but I think when it involves these dogs the caution has to be amped up as equal to the reaction/sensationalism that results in the end. EWO
I don't know if the situation would be amplified ten fold because of the media more so over the difference in destruction between a fox hound and a bulldog. Had it been a bulldog, that childs life would probably never be the same. There is a lot of dead space between a fox hound barely breaking the skin in a cur snap out of fear and a bulldog about to take hold on a little boy with a stick. That's not really sensationalism. These dogs are capable of way more destruction in a lot less time. A few seconds can have the rest of your life full of regrets and it wont matter who was at fault. General rule here is kids only play with the house dog and pups. Children, like dogs lack the ability of reasoning. I know when I was a little boy I didn't have the ability to foresee myself being a 50 year old man with a prosthetic arm because of something I did when I was 5 yrs old. That's the separation between juvenile and adult and in a case with a child and a dog the adult has to be the one to blame and ultimately responsible for both his child and dogs actions.
This is a great post.
I love pit bulls as much as anyone, but they simply ARE potentially a thousand times more dangerous than other dogs. Especially geeked-up chain-brain dogs with no socialization. All anyone has to do is put a pit bull in the pit with a collie and it is clear who is the more dangerous animal. You can't beat pit bulls off, and (once riled-up) they don't take prisoners. There is more than just "sensationalism" going on, the FACT is pit bulls can be potentially catastrophic with children.
And, as someone who was an insurance claims adjuster for 12 years, dog bite attacks are 100% owner negligence, always, unless (with kids) they also tag on a negligent supervision guilt on the parents.
The only exception is provoked attacks, but you need proof for that (witnesses / video, etc.) to have a snowball's chance of beating a rap if you own a bulldog ...
Word
I personally believe that supervision is a must with bulldogs and children, or any dogs for that matter if you are going to let them interact. My three year old bitch is a very placid dog indeed and my godson can be around her no problems but i still keep a watchful eye on them because all it takes is a dog to walk past the fence or window for the dog to get jacked up and you never know, you can't be too careful and we all know who comes out worse if an accident was to happen.
Heres a pick of the two together
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I agree wholeheartedly that the owner of the dog has to be ultimately responsible for both the child and the dog. My child was only allowed to play with puppies and very young dogs. Once they showed an interest or got a chain bump they were off limits to him. My dogs are chained and the 'yard' is fenced in with a locked gate. I agree with the types of dogs and the potential of damages in a short time. If a fox dog bites someone and animal control comes out it is one thing. If a pit bull bites someone, the damages are the same, and animal control comes out which one makes the news first? My point was not to make light of a situation where a dog bites a child. My point was that the precautions and preventatives should be equal to that or more of the end consequences. His fox dogs are in a pen and a couple are chained out. There are m any scenarios where a child could have access to that chained fox hound. My dogs are on chains. The area is fenced in with a pad locked gate. The path to the dogs has a gate that is pad locked. The extent of prevention I take is because I know the extent of damage that can be done in a quick minute but I also know if a pit bull is involved the ramifications multiply at a faster rate media wise than a foxhound. That was the point.
It's interesting that you mentioned "Red Sonja", a Coca-Cola daughter, because "Blaze" was the same way. If he got zoned in on to an animal, hide, flirt, etc. WATCH OUT! Even with ZERO teeth, all gums, he hit me in the thigh and left a giant bruise instantly. He didn't even take a full hold, he bit and let go.
We don't want to beat a dead horse, but the point Eliman stated, "Murphy's Law". Now, when it comes to our dogs and our children, this is our take on it. Children do weird things to animals; poke, pull, pinch, push, hit, kick, hug, tackle, kiss, wrestle, ride, etc. Now, it's obvious that the matter should be handled on a dog by dog basis, not as a whole. That said, we have only owned one dog in the 17 years we've owned this breed, I feel completely 100% comfortable with around our children. She is currently our house dog. You could do about anything to that dog and she refuses to flinch. She has had children to it all to her, including a curious two year old who decided she would "finger" her innocent butt hole. She has NEVER growled, hair stood up on her back, cur snapped or anything in the 9 years we've owned her.
Last edited by ToTheDogs; 04-28-2013 at 05:48 PM. Reason: Added to the topic.
Had a couple new ones to share:
I like this topic, it's always been one of my favorites regardless of what forum I'm on. Lot of good insight from plenty of people well versed in these dogs. I have always felt you get out what you put in and thats with anything in life. Knowing my kids will be around the dogs only makes me that much more motivated to ensure they are all properly socialized with each other, The majority of my dogs have been raised here from birth or close to it. I trust my dogs enough to be around my children when they are in the house or they wouldn't be in the house or anywhere near my kids, on the chain though, I have to be present and the dogs are locked away from anyone who would be in my yard whether child or adult, just to ensure no wanderers find their way into a chain spot. Most dogs I have owned do not act the same when on the chain compared to in the home. On the chain they tend to be a whole lot more wide open where as in the house they seem to mellow right down. I think it comes down to knowing what you have. My kids are a big help here, they help walk, feed, clean, bathe, whelp and even heal from the time the dogs are born till they leave here or die here so the kids are just another master to them in their eyes. The reality here is the Females attach to me but will still be attentive to my daughter or son, more so than they are to me when the kids are around, ( with the exception of my Lil Miss Geach, that bitch worships me and only me) but the males ALL attach themselves to my daughter. They end up becoming so protective of her that I never trust them out when she has friends here. One wrong reach or horseplay could trigger a protective action in the males therefore I don't set the dogs up to fail by ignoring that little truth... Thats is what I meant by knowing what you got...
One kid, 2 bulldogs. Thats the future here!
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