Child friendly dog characteristics are largely
determined by the owner, more than the breed or the dog itself. The
owner and the owner’s family’s attitudes shapes the child friendly dog’s
character. Obviously, some breeds are better than others, but dogs are
by nature social, and bringing out these traits we can raise safe child
friendly dogs.
The incidents reported in the media of vicious dogs that attack young children should never happen. The problem is rarely the dog, but most often the owner is the guilty person. Even Pit-bull type dogs are still dogs and can be socialised. Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, has shown this many times in his TV programs, where he brings a couple of Pit-bulls to help calm and socialise a disturbed dog.
Many owners of these Pit-bull types of dog have got problems themselves. They think their aggressive dog is a macho thing. Actually an aggressive dog is a sign that the dog does not respect its owner. These dogs see the owner as a wimp who needs to be protected.
I used to live in Western Europe with very law abiding people who keep their dogs on a leash. Dogs do not run loose in their streets. The result is that most dogs there are badly socialised. I used to go for walks with my dogs off their leashes. I attached the leashes only when meeting other dog owners, or when I saw that a person was scared at seeing dogs off the leash. This was in consideration to the other person’s insecurity, as my dogs were calm and under control even when not on a leash.
I told my dogs to go on the opposite side of me to the passing dog and owner. Then my dogs knew that I take responsibility for our pack and left it up to me to read the situation. The other dogs that went stiff and growled were inevitably attached to an insecure owner. The owner believed that their dog was “aggressive” and the owner subconsciously stiffened. This sent a message to the dog that the owner was not in control and the dog had to take command of the situation. Since its owner was tense, the dog perceived there was obviously some element of danger and the confused dog had to deal with the situation the owner was unable to handle.
My dogs did not respond to the other dog’s barking, straining at the leash, etc. They trusted my judgment of each situation and calmly strolled on.
When I moved to a small town in Eastern Europe I found a different mentality among dog owners, where many dogs roam the streets freely, the only difficult dogs are those on a leash, whose owners expect trouble. The dogs that accompany their owners without a leash are normal social animals. There are two exceptions in town, a cranky old female, and a young male dog who only acts up when the giggle of girls outside the apartment where he lives scream. When we meet him alone in town he is fine. The girls’ screaming sets him off.
This makes walking the dogs in town a lot more relaxing and pleasurable. There are less people who are afraid of dogs walking freely, as they are used to seeing dogs strolling about in town or sitting together at a street corner, just chilling. There are two such place on our street where some of the local dogs hang out from spring to autumn.
The incidents reported in the media of vicious dogs that attack young children should never happen. The problem is rarely the dog, but most often the owner is the guilty person. Even Pit-bull type dogs are still dogs and can be socialised. Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, has shown this many times in his TV programs, where he brings a couple of Pit-bulls to help calm and socialise a disturbed dog.
Many owners of these Pit-bull types of dog have got problems themselves. They think their aggressive dog is a macho thing. Actually an aggressive dog is a sign that the dog does not respect its owner. These dogs see the owner as a wimp who needs to be protected.
I used to live in Western Europe with very law abiding people who keep their dogs on a leash. Dogs do not run loose in their streets. The result is that most dogs there are badly socialised. I used to go for walks with my dogs off their leashes. I attached the leashes only when meeting other dog owners, or when I saw that a person was scared at seeing dogs off the leash. This was in consideration to the other person’s insecurity, as my dogs were calm and under control even when not on a leash.
I told my dogs to go on the opposite side of me to the passing dog and owner. Then my dogs knew that I take responsibility for our pack and left it up to me to read the situation. The other dogs that went stiff and growled were inevitably attached to an insecure owner. The owner believed that their dog was “aggressive” and the owner subconsciously stiffened. This sent a message to the dog that the owner was not in control and the dog had to take command of the situation. Since its owner was tense, the dog perceived there was obviously some element of danger and the confused dog had to deal with the situation the owner was unable to handle.
My dogs did not respond to the other dog’s barking, straining at the leash, etc. They trusted my judgment of each situation and calmly strolled on.
When I moved to a small town in Eastern Europe I found a different mentality among dog owners, where many dogs roam the streets freely, the only difficult dogs are those on a leash, whose owners expect trouble. The dogs that accompany their owners without a leash are normal social animals. There are two exceptions in town, a cranky old female, and a young male dog who only acts up when the giggle of girls outside the apartment where he lives scream. When we meet him alone in town he is fine. The girls’ screaming sets him off.
This makes walking the dogs in town a lot more relaxing and pleasurable. There are less people who are afraid of dogs walking freely, as they are used to seeing dogs strolling about in town or sitting together at a street corner, just chilling. There are two such place on our street where some of the local dogs hang out from spring to autumn.