Personal Space...

[marke]

a kid and a dog playing looks cute because it is cute , puppies play , it's how they learn , kids play it's how they learn , if you got kids and dogs they absolutely should know how to play with each other ........... dogs seeing kids as siblings or playmates ? my pups see everyone and everything as potential playmates , you could be 1 or 100 , a person or a mouse . you couldn't go in a pen of my puppies without shoes , or sit on the floor with shorts and a t-shirt ........ hell if you sit on the floor with my adult dogs it's an invitation for them to play with you .... dogs playing with kids is normal , it's how they learn how to properly do it ......... how many of you let your dogs on the couch ? do they lay on you or against you ? you think there is an ulterior motive ? do they view you as another dog ? or are challenging your dominance ? of course not , they are looking to physically interact with you , they obviously find comfort in it ......... puppies will always get corrected for improper play with a kid , kids not so much ..... the problem is the kids need always corrected also .......and thought I was paranoid about my dogs biting someone ...........

 

[Winter's Cinder]

I understand completely what you mean... again I'm not easily offended with most things... and I understand how some might have a different theory as to why my new puppy may be laying on my son in that photo... or how some might see it as "bad thing to do" ...
As a mother of 4 human kids, I get some pretty common comments ... i.e. are they ALL yours? (no... we saw a couple of kids roaming the parking lot and thought "WTH!! Why not add a couple more to the already heinous adventure of grocery shopping") ... you have got your handsful!! How do you ever get anything done? (To be honest we have boxes we put then in to house them until we have completed whatever it is we're doing) .. LOL can you sense my sarcasm?
Everybody has an opinion and/or theory of how I could be doing my job as a mother better... very few understand (and see) I'm doing the best I can... and even fewer know that I'm doing it pretty well (if i must toot my own horn) ..
My 3 youngest children have never had a dog of their own... we have many friends and family that do... we have taken the time to teach them boundries and to be cautious of strange dogs... and I think they have very good concept of what we have taught them and we have seen them use the techniques we have taught them...
With our new pup, things are a bit different... they understand she is ours... but the whole gang is learning the boundries and rules of what is to be expected as we acclimate the newest addition to our family and the human kids get corrected as much as the canine one does...
I love this forum I have recently joined because there are so many of you that have such great advice and encouragement for a breed of dog that I had very little knowledge of before getting her.

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[Winter's Cinder]

Sorry I'm so long winded... 4 kids... 3 in school... stay at home mom until my son starts school... I may or may not need more adult interaction... LOL .. ;-)

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[Boxergirl]

Sorry I'm so long winded... 4 kids... 3 in school... stay at home mom until my son starts school... I may or may not need more adult interaction... LOL .. ;-) Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Hahaha. Been there, done that. I remember thinking that I used to be such an intelligent person and suddenly all I knew was Sesame Street, how to swoop a spoon when feeding a baby, and change a dirty diaper in less than 30 seconds. You're going to do fine - with the kids and the dog. I'm 20 years from where you are and I can tell you that the dogs I had when my children were young and when I babysat were the very best, most tolerant and bomb proof dogs I ever had. Of course it didn't just happen. All of the children were taught how to behave around animals and vice versa. I was a foster home for boxers with health and behavior issues at that time as well, and there was never a problem because everyone, kids and dogs, knew the rules and were expected to follow them. I understand the warnings, particularly since there have been a few tragic losses due to dogs biting children on here recently. Better to be warned and not need it. Personally, I didn't see anything wrong with your picture and as long as you are on top of all interactions then I think you'll do just fine. Just remember that whatever you allow now, you allow forever. I look forward to watching your baby grow.

 

[Winter's Cinder]

I see the concern... getting a dog was not a hasty decision... I firmly believe if you don't have time to put in the effort of training and loving a dog... you shouldn't get one... and even though I had begged for a dog for many years, with 3 little ones only 3 ys apart... I would just laugh when he would say yes...
Even though we are moving out of the young child stage... im questioning my sanity as to WHY we chose such a massive breed.. LMAO!! But we love her... no matter how big she will get!!!

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[BAMCB]

Sorry I'm so long winded... 4 kids... 3 in school... stay at home mom until my son starts school... I may or may not need more adult interaction... LOL .. ;-)

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Yep, stay at home mom here too

The dogs I've had when the kids were young were all bomb proof also. It takes due diligence to be on top of them all the time but as they each grow its a bond that is un breakable. The first year was the toughest on me personally being worried on training(kids and pups) right but the babysitting(I know I'll take heat for that comment) was priceless for this single mama who sometimes needed a few min of quiet the dogs were great with the kids and my male JRT was absolutely amazing at helping my ASD daughter calm down. After they passed(DD is an adult now) and our toddler is now in preschool we decided he also needed a dog to grow up with. Kids need dogs and dogs need kids IMO.

 

[Winter's Cinder]

We have many friends and family that have dogs and the kids just went nuts whenever we would visit.
My late father had taken over caring for my brothers dogs when they had their little girl (med issues for the baby) and we would stay for long periods of time with my dad when his health wasn't the best.. and the kids seemed to put themselves in charge of the dogs care.. lol.. the dogs were very accustomed to kids and they knew the drill... my 3 youngest loved it because they could pretty much do or say anything and the dogs seemed to understand and accomidated them.
Sugar and Diesel (2 of the 3) were half brother and sis (same momma) and pits... and had literally grown up from puppies with my oldest daughter... none of my children were EVER allowed to play with a ball or stick in the yard with them. The reason for this was because the dogs got so excited ... in their younger years they could wear themselves out for hours playing fetch in the yard... they weren't very good with the drop it part because of their excitement and we had 3 tennis balls for such play... one to throw and one dog would get it but upon coming back they refused to drop it because they were so excited to have it... so you threw the second one... the first dog either dropped first ball and ran after the second or ran to get the second while they had the first...lol.. if both dogs had a ball you waited until they came back to you before throwing the 3rd or you had to go clear across the yard in search of whichever ball was eventually dropped mid run.. same was for sticks...
I was playing with them with a few sticks once and I went to throw one and sugar in her excitement jumped for it as I was bringing it back and she nipped the inside of my forearm instead of the stick... I let out a yell and she instantly stopped and the look on her face I knew she was sorry... that was the only time either one of them had ever done such a thing... they were sweet to their very core and i knew she didn't mean it... it just happened... the speed and excitement they had during these times of play were always high and my kids were never allowed to be the ones holding whatever it was we were throwing. .. the dogs wouldn't have intentionally done anything to hurt them but in their excitement they could have easily knocked them over... it didn't stop the kids from being close and watching and enjoying the entertainment they provided.
Knowing that, we fully plan on training our new giant pup to be much less excited during such play. We chose to go with this mastiff puppy because of the mellowness the breed has. I'm sure with sticking to the plan and continuing to teach both Cinder and the kids, we will do fine!!

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[Winter's Cinder]

My oldest daughter was around 3 or 4 and my brother was in one room watching tv, I was in the kitchen, and my daughter was in front of the tv... eating out of the cottage cheese container on the coffee table... (yes.. I too may get grief for putting that out there) as I turned around to just visually check on her and make sure she wasn't making too much of a mess... I saw something so priceless... on either side of this little girl was sugar and diesel... patiently sitting and watching her.. she was watching whatever cartoon was on.. she would break her gaze of the tv to get a spoonful of cottage cheese and eat it, then in true love fashion. . She would get a spoonful and offer it to diesel... who promptly licked the spoon clean... and she would do the same for sugar and receive the same response. .. and she would watch a little more tv and the eating rotation would continue... the dogs never moved from their sitting position and just sat there waiting for their turn in the rotation...
This was all before cell phones had the ability to catch such an awesome moment on video or camera in a blink of an eye... and im truly sad about that!!
And even though I allowed this to just go and not stop it... I will say after all the amusement of it passed... I did throw out the last of the cottage cheese container... LOL!!!

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[BAMCB]

Hahaha^^ same here! The dogs never grabbed anything from hands or snatch it off a plate. But they would sit with my daughter(especially the male) and she would share whatever it was. Also before cell phones to snap a pic. We were devastated to loose them both this past winter litter mates who were over 15 yrs. those pups were the greatest with kids!

My mom has a picture of me with a bag of marshmallows(stolen from a cabinet when she was not looking) and I also grabbed one for the family dog. We were both sitting together eating our bags of marshmallows. Not for long I'm sure just long enough to snap a pic! Lol

 

[Yamizuma]

IMHO....there is nothing on this earth or any other that can compare to the bond between a child and their dog. It is pure, real magic and truly unconditional love.


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