Trust Your Dog?

How many Of You Would Trust Your Staffie Alone With Kids? NOT TODDLERS OR BABIES But Children like 5 or 6 + to stay in a room alone whilst you was in a seperate room e.g in the shower. You knew the kids very well i.e. they were your own or very close - would you trust your dog to be left with them without supervision? I know lots of people say never leave kids unattended with dogs but thats not always possible if they live together. Whats your take?

Nope, sorry I trust my dogs and my kids are all well behaved and well used to dogs, but its a risk thats not worth taking, I never leave Egan on his own with the dogs.

my husbands two boys have always been alone with our dogs and always have been, always will be

Charlie used to sleep in Matthews bed sometimes.

they say never leave a dog with a child, and i thinkthis is a good statement all round, even if you know 100% that your dog is safe with a child, there is always that tiny risk of something happening, so a dog should not be left alone with a child, regardless of how well you know them both.

What I said sounds bad lol. I do agree people should not leave the dog or child in a situation that could leave either of them in distress. I dont think its fair on either really.

Jazz sneaks of to my 5yo's bed every night Along with the cat.

Okaii - How About A Child Aged 12? Does That change things?

I dont have a 12yo so dont know. I still dont feel they are old enough to be responsible for a dog. I dunno.

I used to leave Lola alone with Charlie when he was ill, but that was Lola on her own, I would leave anyone of my dogs alone with my older kids, but I wouldn't leave all 4 of them in one room alone with them just in case anything ever happend. I would leave Lola and Gracie together with the older ones. None of them are allowed to walk the dogs either.

In all honesty i would trust mine. I would have no second thoughts about leaving my dogs alone with kids. The most that would happen would be they would get a bath.

I say this as i have gone out my way to push my dogs to their limits through out their lifes to ensure i can trust them. I can remove food from their mouths , put my hands in their bowls and the will either eat around it or wait until i remove it, i can pull their tails, ears lips etc and the most they do is walk away from me in disgust.

A couple of years back Charlie was put to the test when i worked behind a bar. She came with me and used to sleep in her bed or eat her raw hides. One evening it was busy and a couple had a 3 year old girl with them which when my back was turned had managed to open the bar door which was on a latch and walk up to Charlie and literally put her entire hand in Charlie's moutha nd take the raw hide chew out of it. The first i knew was when i heard the entire bar gasp whilst they watched this child do what she did. I think the only person that couldn't care less was Charlie, she was more pee'd off that she no longer had the chew and just sat their with a dirty look on her face. She did not flinch, nor growl when this kid did what she did justsimply opened her mouth and let go.

So yes i could and would trust my dogs with kids

I should add i do not have children and my dogs have never been brought up around them.

However ask me if i trust kids ... and the answer would be very different !!!

Maistaff wrote:In all honesty i would trust mine. I would have no second thoughts about leaving my dogs alone with kids. The most that would happen would be they would get a bath.

I say this as i have gone out my way to push my dogs to their limits through out their lifes to ensure i can trust them. I can remove food from their mouths , put my hands in their bowls and the will either eat around it or wait until i remove it, i can pull their tails, ears lips etc and the most they do is walk away from me in disgust.

A couple of years back Charlie was put to the test when i worked behind a bar. She came with me and used to sleep in her bed or eat her raw hides. One evening it was busy and a couple had a 3 year old girl with them which when my back was turned had managed to open the bar door which was on a latch and walk up to Charlie and literally put her entire hand in Charlie's moutha nd take the raw hide chew out of it. The first i knew was when i heard the entire bar gasp whilst they watched this child do what she did. I think the only person that couldn't care less was Charlie, she was more pee'd off that she no longer had the chew and just sat their with a dirty look on her face. She did not flinch, nor growl when this kid did what she did justsimply opened her mouth and let go.

So yes i could and would trust my dogs with kids

I should add i do not have children and my dogs have never been brought up around them.

However ask me if i trust kids ... and the answer would be very different !!!

Wow just goes to show how good staffies are with kids no wonder they are called nanny dog. Saying that training is a must from a pup and it has paid off for you Julie

no, not lack of trust just that i have a responsability as a mum and buddys owner to keep them both safe and i am not prepared to take the risk i know from personal experiance that it could be anything even something that was in neither the dog or childs control that could cause problems, i do not even leave my under tens with my jrt buster..

I would never leave any child alone with any dog no matter the size, breed or temperment of the dog. The child may play too rough & hurt the dog & the dog may nip from pain not meaning to hurt the child at all. I also wouldnt take the chance that a child could be hurt by either of mine. All jess would need to do is knock a child over playing with them & she'd do quite some damamge as she plays fairly rough.
I think staffy's play rather rough & could do damage to a child without really meaning to.

My 10 yr old staff was alone many times with my kids when i was in the shower and it was never a problem. My Boxer pup has been brought up with the kids and has free access in and out of the house via his dog door and he too is alone with the kids whilst i'm in the shower. Both dogs are good with kids and if i had any doubts there is no way i'd have them. My kids are 4 and 6 it's all about training both kids and dogs what is appropriate and what isn't. I personally can't see how you could function if there wasn't a degree of trust. I also get my kids to give my pup his food and to do tricks with him so he learns to respect them and to follow instructions of them.

When the kids were younger I did'nt leave them with our dog ( a very placid lurcher cross) not because o f trust issues with th. dog but as others have said both dogs and kids are unpredictable. I would never have forgiven myself if any thing had happened. Once they were a bit older I had no problems but as Joanne said they were not allowed to take Jazz out for walks. It is difficult to juggle around this but I would rather keep them seperate. What about taking the dog into the shower with you? Well into the bathroom at least you may not want to share your shower with your dog lol . Ann

i would trust the dog but not the child so no i would never leave them alone

I leave Cassie in a room on her own with my 12 and 13 year old grandchildren I am usually in the kitchen, I only have one dog, they are not allowed to walk her on their own and I would not leave my four year old grandson alone with her

i trust archer completely he has been around my kids since he was a pup, pulled around, crawled over and i have tested him many times with my supervision.
with a toddler and four others in the house i can't alway make sure that they are all separated,my lot seem to have no concept that doors and stairgates are to be closed behind them
I trust cleo 99% she is still young and can go ott with her play sometimes but not once has she ever put a step wrong and she is improving every day
xx

Much as I want to I can never trust a dog 100%.

I just worry that something different will happen that we have not encountered before..kids do the funniest things!!

Having said that from the age of 10 I was left alone with our family pet Bulldog..presume my parents thought she was safe...??

Maistaff wrote:I say this as i have gone out my way to push my dogs to their limits through out their lifes to ensure i can trust them. I can remove food from their mouths , put my hands in their bowls and the will either eat around it or wait until i remove it, i can pull their tails, ears lips etc and the most they do is walk away from me in disgust.


However ask me if i trust kids ... and the answer would be very different !!!

I would trust my dogs but not the kids, not the arrogant lot we have today.

I've also put a lot off effort into "desensitising" my dogs to rough handling and giving up what they percieve as theirs. Xan and Luna are brilliant, Sharky not - because of his abusive past he still has food issues with strangers. It's also something I preach in my puppy classes - give your dog some purposeful rough handling. Pull it's ear and grab a handfull of skin so they learn to fight their natural reaction to nip.

i would leave my dog around my 2 children no problem,trust my dog totally i have an a.d.h.d son who is 5yrs old and 9yr daughter and my dog marley is fantastic with both of them...but wouldnt leave him around other peoples children x

No Way, the first rule of having dogs and young kids is that they are NEVER left alone together - I trust Ruby, but that is a chance that NO dog owner should ever take (be it a Staffy or a Chihuahua)

SBT mummy wrote:what do you all do with your dogs and kids while you shower our house is quite open planish, brie is asleep on the sofa, emily in hear walker and lilly doing a puzzle il nip for a shower and come back and it will still be the same. Im thinking its bad i do this now all you dont. Lillys been told you dont go to brie unless she comes to you and lillys great following that rule. Mybe i should start putting brie out while i shower. Thats the only time they are ever left oh and when brie sneaks in lillys room at night and snuggles in with herx

I dont think thats bad. It would be the same in my house. x

When you have dogs and kids its impossible to watch them all every second it just cant be done,i guess its personal choice but if your dog starts showing signs of aggressive bahaviour or being overly dominant..or is sick extra supervision needs to be followed..accidents can always happen though so people must always be aware.

freddie follows me everywhere ..even when i go loo he is with me ,sits behind me while i make a cuppa (have lost count of how many times iv fell over him )so usually if i move he comes with me .at night if the kids are on the sofa sleeping usually freddie is asleep aswell ,so i leave him there when i get a drink and go loo .the kiddies take freddie upstairs with them if there scared cus its dark and i trust him him fully ..if i had any doubt in my mind he wouldnt be in our family .when my neices come round he is put in a diff room ...they have a lil terrier and are not used to big dogs ..esp freddie who can be a bull in a china shop at times .i have from day one done the same as maistiff ..iv poked his ears ,pulled them ,opened his mouth to check teeth anything a child might do i did ,my kiddies have also taken it in turns feeding him and from a pup they and me have took his food away from him .so the short answer is yes i trust freddie xxxxxx

Good on ya Freddiesmum

I trust both of them (dog and child) 110%, but it's still not a risk I'm willing to take.

can i ask everyone who said they dont leave the dog with the kids ...so even when your phone rings or someone knocks the door ..u put the dog elsewhere before answering ? can i just say aswell ...i think im one of few who says i do leave mine together im an honest girl i wont lie and im glad u havent all jumped on me to atack me for my choice xxxxxxxxxxxxx