This is important if you have dogs and children ~ please read.

[Teddyrose54]

Attachment 42510

Wanted to share a picture with you showing classic calming signals that a dog gives when he is NOT comfortable. Please note all four signs in these pictures indicating that the dog is NOT enjoying this situation
1. Licking the lips
2. Showing the whites of his eyes
3. Panting when not overheated
4. Turning his head away

This just may stop a child being injured or a dog being destroyed. Please pass it on.

[PetBazaar]

I'm surprised after the top right picture in particular that the child still has a face.

I watched an incident recently when a mother and two children approached a black lab and its owner. One boy wanted to say hello to the dog and the mother, rightly, asked the owner if it was ok.

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. "No" was the reply. The dog apparently wasn't good with strangers or children. "Oh, it'll be fine" was the airy response, "we've got dogs of our own". She was barely finished disregarding the owner, when the boy marches up to the dog and gives it a good, hard, smack on both ears. The result was somewhat inevitable.

Ready for the best bit? The mother then starts having a go at the dog owner for having a vicious dog.

Idiocy in action!

[ChameleonSystems]

Those pictures made me wince. Small children and dogs just don't mix (in my mind). Its not just the danger from attack, which can be faster than the parents reaction time! To a small child the results will be far more harmful (if not fatal) than a much bigger adult target. There is also the scenario where the small child can put its hands in its mouth or eat/chew something or rub its eyes (when tired). Clearly not healthy.

When you take children to a petting zoo you should make them wash their hands after too, or they could get very ill. We have seen cases in the news, I can't remember the name of the bug they can catch. I am not the only parent who thinks this way, I know several people that take these precautions.

[madelaine]

Chameleon, you just don't like dogs!

Small children and dogs do mix but both need to be trained to treat the other with respect.

[PetBazaar]

The problem with this series of photographs is that in the top two in particular, the dog is giving everyone a very clear signal that it's not happy with what's going on. But yet the parents are persevering with inflicting the child on the dog.

You can almost guarantee though, that if anything had happened, all you would have heard was "The dog just turned in an instant, there was no warning."

[zaranvalesasterix]

Its a sad fact that a lot of people that have dogs dont get to know them and know the signs.

Zaranvales Asterix was one dog that I had that came to me a nervous wreck and was going to be put to sleep. With perseverance, he became a beautiful dog and great with children, but I would never be oblivious to what was going on in his mind. I used to take him to the playing field and introduce him to the children and tried to teach those children about dogs, and how never to approach a dog without the owners permission but was always surprised how many parents didn't make their children aware of that and were oblivious of what was going on in their childrens minds!

[johnwash1]

... but was always surprised how many parents didn't make their children aware of that and were oblivious of what was going on in their childrens minds!

One needs a licence to keep a dog. The same should be true for having a child.

[madelaine]

One needs a licence to keep a dog. The same should be true for having a child.

No, John, dog licences were abolished some time ago!

[NowAndThen]

The problem with this series of photographs is that in the top two in particular, the dog is giving everyone a very clear signal that it's not happy with what's going on. But yet the parents are persevering with inflicting the child on the dog.

You can almost guarantee though, that if anything had happened, all you would have heard was "The dog just turned in an instant, there was no warning."

Many parents do not understand that a dog is an animal and like every other animal a dog survives through its instincts. However well a dog is trained, when presented with a situation in which it is unhappy, those instincts can surface and over-ride all of its training. Fear or fright in a dog can result in flight (from the cause) or aggression (self-preservation). Hunger can lead to stealing food, even from a young child. No parent in their right mind should cause or encourage a child to approach any dog, particularly a strange dog, as not only can they anticipate what the child's reaction might be, but also the dog's reaction to the child's behaviour. In a Nation of dog-lovers I sometimes wonder if people love their own children as much. Of course dog licences were abolished - but perhaps it is time, in some cases, for parents to be licensed to have children!

[ChameleonSystems]

Many parents do not understand that a dog is an animal and like every other animal a dog survives through its instincts. However well a dog is trained, when presented with a situation in which it is unhappy, those instincts can surface and over-ride all of its training. Fear or fright in a dog can result in flight (from the cause) or aggression (self-preservation). Hunger can lead to stealing food, even from a young child. No parent in their right mind should cause or encourage a child to approach any dog, particularly a strange dog, as not only can they anticipate what the child's reaction might be, but also the dog's reaction to the child's behaviour. In a Nation of dog-lovers I sometimes wonder if people love their own children as much. Of course dog licences were abolished - but perhaps it is time, in some cases, for parents to be licensed to have children!

I agree! Dogs and very young children do not mix, it is not worth the risk. Just don't put a child in harms way, where there is such a huge risk. My son when he was that age was watched all the time, no excuses. Never take risks you don't need to. You wouldn't walk a small toddler near a road with out you hold it from straying onto the road. It might be ok, it might not go under a vehicle, but never worth risking it.