dogs and babies

It literally makes me sick to the stomach when I see pics of dogs near babies/small kids.

There are loads of dogs who have never hurt a fly, and are good with kids, but for me as a mother, I couldn't put my kids at possible risk.

My friend has dogs, and when we go round, I supervise 100% of the time we are there, so that they can be around dogs, but in a way I am comfortable with.

I have a 6 day old newborn and when our dog comes home tomorrow she will not be allowed access to the baby at all. We have a baby gate on the lounge door and she will not be allowed in unless we are sat with baby or baby is in Moses basket with one of us sat by him.

I love my dog but at the end of the day she is an animal, you can never trust them 100%.

I don't think a blanket 'don't have children and dogs together' is necessary. I think the most important thing is using your common sense! Never leave a child and dog unattended together etc. Whatever the age of the child and no matter how placid the dog has been. Personally I wouldn’t leave a child under 10 maybe with a dog.

It's also not fair on the dog, as a child/baby can be annoying and wouldn't behave in the same way as an adult. They might pull their hair/tail and it's not fair on the dog to be expected to not react.

A massive sweeping statement here, but generally you don’t hear of a Labrador or golden retriever for example killing a child, it’s always a ‘certain’ type of dog.

My nephew was attacked as a baby by his Nan’s dog, it bit him on the face and left him scarred. The dog was subsequently put down. (strangely the vets advice was to take the dog to behaviour classes). There were plenty of adults around at the time too but it happened so quickly and unprovoked. What I would say is that I would describe the dog as ‘bad tempered’ and we were always very vigilant when the children were around. (Please don’t quote)

This certainly made me very wary of dogs around children but as I say common sense should prevail

I have always grown up with dogs, we have a Staffordshire bull terrier and I hate the amount of bad press they get! It's the way you bring them up, I have never had problems and grew up with a Staffordshire bull terrier and a Labrador and no matter how many times I jumped all over them, pulled their tails etc they didn't do anything.

Sadly it does always seem to be the same sorts of breeds (lots are pitbulls which are banned!) but I think you only hear of these because thy can do more damage.

Heres a story of a baby and a jack russell. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/family-devastated-after-newborn-baby-1448401

Its the owners and how you bring them up, they are animals at the end of the day and they are all capable of causing harm.

I heard about that poor baby on the radio earlier, 6 days old I think they said.

Having zero experience of both dogs and newborns I don't understand how this happened- did the mum leave the room for a second and the dog went for her? Was there no warning signs?

The owners always say things like 'well they have never done it before' well no of course they haven't- you wouldn't have let them near a child otherwise would you?

I know lots of dogs who are very protective of thier small people but any dog (or person for that matter) could turn at the drop of a hat.

Im sure (I hope) that no mother would knowingly put get baby at risk.

It's about how well you train your dog (and kids). My dog is old and pretty laid back. The toddler and dog bth have a healthy respect for each other's space. It's quite nice to see they have worked out their own boundaries between them!

Currently the dog has no interest in the baby at all. We had this last time as well. Apparently dogs don't recognise children as people until they are walking (and I want to say bigger than the dog too -ie taller) so until that point they are technically prey/fair game/not superior, whatever.

I think it's about knowing your dog, and your children and also just being thoughtful about situations that may cause problems (stress) to either as that is when accidents happen - through panic / survival instinct.

I think breed can partly be to blame too?

It's so so sad. I think it's a combo of the breed & their training / handling.

My dog has only ever licked a baby's feet & sniffed them - she is docile & very contented. But I will never leave her & our baby alone in a room together.

Similarly I won't push the dog away from baby or anything like that - I dont think it's healthy to one minute let a dog on the sofa, next minute not allow them etc.

its important yo keep dog life the same or make adjustments before baby arrives. Anything else isn't fair on the dog.

dogs are as much a part of family as a child in my opinion & shouldn't be bought as a substitute for a baby / cast aside when a baby arrives. Of course that's gonna aggravate even the gentlest natured dog.

I don't think there's any need for a complete ban, just responsible parenting.

I'm always a bit ? though when people insist that it's just bad training and their precious dog would never hurt a fly, or my personal favourites "would lick you to death," or "He's only playing!" Sure, most dogs won't hurt people most of the time if trained well, but nobody can ever be 100% with any of them.

We have a German Shepherd. She is the softest lump ever and she is used to children as we have nieces/nephews around regularly. Even though she's never shown an ounce of aggression to anything or anyone I would never leave them alone with her. She is an animal at the end if the day and while I do believe she wouldn't hurt them for fun or because she quite fancies a snack I couldn't guarantee that nothing would happen. In the same way I wouldn't leave a four year old alone with a tiny baby. They wouldn't intentionally hurt them but they might do something accidentally while 'playing' or trying to pick them up. When we (hopefully) have children the same will apply. I won't keep her away because I feel that can lead to resentment but she will be supervised with them at all times.

I agree with the fact that it's all down to common sense and responsible parenting, like a few I have a dog who is excellent with kids, my neices and nephew have been staying with us for the last few days and he's great with them but the dog would not be left with them on his own, and when the time comes when I'll have a baby of my own the same rules will apply. That said I would in no way push the dog out I would encourage the interaction more than anything but just never leave the baby and him in the same room. It's tragic every time this happens and I agree again about it being a mixture of neglect on the parents part and bad upbringing of the dog.

Well all my fb friends will know how I feel about this, whether they agree or disagree. My Cora dog is absolutely loyal and loving to my 1 year old baby. I don't leave them alone but then I wouldn't leave a toddler with a baby. It's about responsible parenting.

Also every do and situation is different. You can't say they shouldn't be allowed to interact unless you know the dog inside out. Cora is an absolute diamond, and seeing as though she was very much a part of our lives before Henry we didn't want to push her out. We let her do as she normally would have, when we brought Henry home. Ie sat with us on the sofa. Now she will cosy up to him at every opportunity, as they're used to each other and I'm glad I didn't separate them.

Their relationship brings a tear to my eye Missus S!

Has anyone seen she's now sold her story to the sun I can't believe it. According to the news their not sure if the dog dis it yet!

I must admit I do love seeing pics of them both, you rarely see H without C dog in the mix. Very cute!

I am afraid dogs and children shouldn't be left alone together unsupervised. The inlaws have a lovely border collie who is a great dog and great with my nieces / nephews but she is always supervised with the children.

How you train a dog has f*ck all to do with it. My sisters dog is 5 and is the most obedient animal ever but has snapped twice. Once while having an undiagnosed infection on his foot that no one saw and another time in the middle of the day when some stupid kids set off fireworks.
He is an animal. And there is no amount of training that will subdue his natural instinct to protect himself of he feels threatened. I would never ever leave my baby alone with him or any other animal. Dog, cat, whatever.

Kids yes but I wouldnt leave a tiny baby alone with them just in case. There are so many stories of cats suffocating babies, can happen and possibly does but a lot is just hysteria. However, why take that risk, keep the door shut or buy a cot net. Same with a dog, they rarely attack out of the blue so once you can trust your child not to do something to hurt it then I dont think leaving them alone for short periods of time is an issue. It depends on your child though, I always did what I was told so when I was told not to touch the dog I didnt. Thus the dog which had a history of biting/snapping left me alone and I left her alone.

The dog concerned in the recent event I believe had only been with the family a few weeks and they didn't know it's history.

We have a pointer , we've had him since he was a puppy. He is amazing. He loves our little boy (9months) and I do trust him.

As someone else said, It's down to parenting. I wouldn't leave H alone full stop. Dog or no dog.

I think the worst thing you can do is push out a dog when a baby arrives. He is a part of our family and I love that they will grow up together.

I see lots of people on FB cooing over pics of dogs/cats and babies together "cuddling". It instantly puts me on edge because, as others have said, you can never trust any animal 100%. Plus, it seems a bit grubby too.

I don't really like the idea of pets though so I don't have a very balanced view. I don't really understand the appeal of having an animal in the house. This does not mean I don't like animals at all, I actually quite like them, I just wouldn't like one in my house.