Re: [PyrNet-L] T.V. Commercial

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

<<If the boy and dog in the commerical belong to each other the little boy
could do anything he wanted to do and the dog would either lay there and
accept it or get up and leave.>> Ken

I don't know about the US, but here the statistics on childrens injuries
from 'dog attacks' show that the majority are caused by the family dog.
This is one of the big reasons for the big publicity 'Dogs and Kids' safety
program run here by the Child Safety Council.

A child can so easily do something to 'offend' a dog.  So many times I have
heard the words 'he gave no warning, he just attacked/bit etc'.  The dog may
have in fact given many warnings in its body language.  These warnings are
not obvious to a lot of adults who don't have a feel for dog body language -
they can be very subtle.  We shouldn't really expect our children to know
what the dog is saying.

Can you trust your child not to approach a dog when it is eating?  What if
the dog is possessive of its food?  If the dog is trying to sleep, but the
child wants to play, will it leave the dog alone when you are not around or
will it follow after it?  Is the child old enough to know not to
'experiment' with the dog?  I remember on case in the UK a few years ago
where a dog was placed on 'death row' for biting its child.  An examination
of the dog found a hole punched in its ear.  When questioned, the child said
it wanted to pierce the dogs ear, so had used a hole punch to do it.

Also, if a child is not taught 'the rules' with the family dog, how can you
teach it to distinguish this with other dogs?  Will you trust the dog in the
street or the dog at a friends house to act the same way as your own?

Children by their very nature like to experiment and push the limits.  Dogs
work to a very strict social structure.  Some dogs may be tolerant of a lot
of stuff but others aren't.  Some dogs also have their limits.  A dog may
also look upon a child as something akin to a puppy - lower ranking than
itself.  It may consider it appropriate to correct a child for what it
considers 'rude' or 'bad' behaviour in the same way it would a puppy.
Unfortunately children have more delicate skin than a pup and this may
result in some damage to the child.

Who is to blame?  The dog who in its own mind gave a very appropriate
correction to an out of control 'pup'? The child who would not leave the dog
in peace?  Or the adult who did not appropriately supervise their time
together?

Why tempt fate.  Better to supervise any dog and young child together IMO
than risk the chance - however slim you think it may be - that something
could ever happen.

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm