Family Matters: Supervision Required Between Kids and Dogs

And family includes your dogs. You love your kids, you love your dogs. You think that each should automatically love one another, right? After all, you do. But this is where common sense needs to prevail. Your dogs are predators at heart. They are not furry children.

Unless they have been raised with your kids from birth, they don’t know what babies or small children are. Some dogs still don’t quite get it despite the from birth connection. It is a parent’s job to both manage the situation and make introductions in an appropriate manner as well as training better interactions as needed.

Babies should never be left unattended with dogs.

Things get even more complicated when a dog is new to the home. Re-homing is stressful enough. Adding a screaming, strange smelling human-like creature to the equation and you have a recipe for disaster, without then proper protocols followed. Supervision 24/7 between the two species is the minimum that is needed in this scenario.

The link below tells the sad tale of a baby losing his life at the tender age of two days. This happened because he was left unsupervised, on the floor with a multiple dog household loose in the home, including a new dog who was in pain from an injury. I am going to try very hard to not point fingers. This young mother needs some education on dogs and babies combined. Since she is already a mother to two older children and from all reports, an animal lover who rescues those in need, I will assume that she thinks the best of all she deals with. But that is a dangerous move when you have just adopted a new dog. Erring on the side of caution is best.

Tragedy with a baby and dogs.

New dogs need time to adjust to their new surroundings. Especially when they have an injury, as this dog did; a treated at home injury at that. Based on the reports that describe what happened, what actually transpired was a best case scenario, as tragic as that is. There were four dogs in this home. There were reportedly two dogs with access to the baby during this short time. That is two dogs too many.

It is easy to kill an infant, especially one that young and fragile. Their heads are tender. They break easily. The fact that this baby was reportedly only bitten, not mauled, is a strong indicator that a curious dog was the problem. My own recently deceased pride and joy, Merlin, gently tried to nibble at a newborn when he was about this dog’s age. Fortunately, he was supervised so that is as far as that went. They were separated from such close access immediately. He was curious and he had no idea what the strange creature before him was. Those who knew Merlin at all, know that he was as far from aggressive as it gets.

Things could have been so much worse when a multiple dog household is involved, especially one that quite probably was lacking in training for the dogs. The group mentality is quick to take hold. It’s the same as with crowds with people. It’s undesirable, but normal. The baby could have been used as a tug toy.

Dogs are just that: dogs. They are not humans. I cannot stress that enough. They do not have same reasoning skills to tell them that this loud and smelly inhabitant of the basket on the floor is not a toy. Some breeds are more primitive and therefore more predatory, than others without training to teach impulse control. Siberian Huskies in general are one of them. This is normal. Dogs do not possess malicious intent. This dog did not commit a crime. It would be a different story if he had killed an adult human. That is a lot harder to do and would require some serious aggression. It takes much less force to harm an infant. It is tragic all around that this baby had to lose his life but it in no way makes any sense that the dog should lose his as well.

This dog has no idea what he did. He does, however, I am sure, now realize that something very bad has happened since his life has been very scary since the whole ordeal transpired. There is a wonderful man who wants to help this dog. He has already paid for his former owners fines as well as provided the newly named Helo with proper veterinary care for his broken leg. Helo was seized from his new loving home to serve out his quarantine in a kennel. Unless the new owner appeals, Helo will be euthanized at the end of the quarantine. The new owner is appealing. I applaud him. This dog deserves a chance at a normal life in a caring home with a family that understands a dog’s needs. I urge anyone reading to donate to his cause. Helo will thank you.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_783483.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Helping-Helo/259668777441094?sk=wall