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Dogs can not be trusted : never leave an infant/toddler alone with them.

vasco 2y ago
If you read this and think "would be fine with my dog", I say the same, but remember the kid can mess with the dog and the dog will defend itself. Do you know for sure what the dog will do if the kid pokes it in the eye? The dangerous part is more what the kid will do.
- the-dude 2y ago
  From what I understood the dog can go beserk like elephants do, no need to blame it on the victim. I mean, what can an infant do except make noise?
  - rightbyte 2y ago
    Infant scratches you. Sometimes in the eyes. Most animals seem to understand they are infants and not fighting, like puppets biting, but some dogs just have their head messed up.
    - the-dude 2y ago
      You don't have to take my word for it, just read this through. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_Unite... No need to blame the victims.
      - ffgjgf1 2y ago
        It’s still extremely unlikely under normal circumstances. Serious attacks by non feral/mistreated dogs are still a freak incident. You’re about as likely to be killed by a lightning.
        InitialLastName 2y ago
        Under normal circumstances, infants spend essentially all of their time under the moderate supervision of an adult.
        CRConrad 2y ago
        Which brings us back to the start of this sub-thread: "Never leave an infant/toddler alone with [dogs]." (So this whole discussion just went round in a circle.)
  - ffgjgf1 2y ago
    Some dogs might, others are not necessarily much more likely to behave that way than some humans.
  - vasco 2y ago
    Nobody is blaming the victim, perhaps read again. I am in fact reinforcing your point. A baby can't be blamed for poking an animal, they are a baby. But it can (and often is) the reason for the attacks. Blame is different from cause and effect. I don't blame gravity for dropping my stuff, but it is responsible.
ivanhoe 2y ago
It's the same as saying humans can't be trusted. Of course you can trust some humans, and of course you can trust some dogs. Just first make sure... my dog took so much "torture" from my kids, and yet they were inseparable. Would I trust some random dog on the street? Of course not...
Tor3 2y ago
Dogs have instincts, and that's the problem. Apparently you can trigger one of those by approaching a dog from behind and put your hand on the dog's shoulder. At least that's the explanation I've seen for when a kind dog out of the blue attack a child reflexively. Obviously this is not something I'm willing to try out myself.
- the-dude 2y ago
  From my other comment, quotes from Wikipedia : A dog killed an infant as it slept in bed with its parents. The baby's father awoke during the attack, saw the injuries to the child, and immediately killed the dog. The family dog killed two-month-old Julius who was in her infant bouncer while her father was sleeping. Julius was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead An eight-month-old girl in a bouncy chair was attacked by the family pet while in the care of her grandmother. Fire and rescue declared her dead at the scene.
  - ffgjgf1 2y ago
    That doesn’t mean that the overwhelming majority of well-trained dogs belonging to non-aggressive breeds are not almost entirely trustworthy under most circumstances. Of course unnecessarily risking the life of your child is still a horrible idea (especially considering that a dog might still hurt it entirely unintentionally).
hackeraccount 2y ago
I got bit by a dog a few years ago and it was a real wake up call. It wasn't that I wasn't aware that a dog will bite under the right circumstances - I knew that. I had believed that I understood when a dog was unhappy. The dog that bit me gave zero indication that I could see. I walked past it and it attacked. I have no doubt that someone very perceptive might have seen it coming but my policy now is to treat all dogs as if they're unhappy until I get super clear sense that that's not the case.
- jandrese 2y ago
  To be fair, the same thing can be said about humans. Sometimes one will attack a person for no apparent reason and with no warning.

If you read this and think "would be fine with my dog", I say the same, but remember the kid can mess with the dog and the dog will defend itself. Do you know for sure what the dog will do if the kid pokes it in the eye? The dangerous part is more what the kid will do.

the-dude 2y ago
From what I understood the dog can go beserk like elephants do, no need to blame it on the victim. I mean, what can an infant do except make noise?
- rightbyte 2y ago
  Infant scratches you. Sometimes in the eyes. Most animals seem to understand they are infants and not fighting, like puppets biting, but some dogs just have their head messed up.
  - the-dude 2y ago
    You don't have to take my word for it, just read this through. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_Unite... No need to blame the victims.
    - ffgjgf1 2y ago
      It’s still extremely unlikely under normal circumstances. Serious attacks by non feral/mistreated dogs are still a freak incident. You’re about as likely to be killed by a lightning.
      - InitialLastName 2y ago
        Under normal circumstances, infants spend essentially all of their time under the moderate supervision of an adult.
        CRConrad 2y ago
        Which brings us back to the start of this sub-thread: "Never leave an infant/toddler alone with [dogs]." (So this whole discussion just went round in a circle.)
- ffgjgf1 2y ago
  Some dogs might, others are not necessarily much more likely to behave that way than some humans.
- vasco 2y ago
  Nobody is blaming the victim, perhaps read again. I am in fact reinforcing your point. A baby can't be blamed for poking an animal, they are a baby. But it can (and often is) the reason for the attacks. Blame is different from cause and effect. I don't blame gravity for dropping my stuff, but it is responsible.

ivanhoe 2y ago

It's the same as saying humans can't be trusted. Of course you can trust some humans, and of course you can trust some dogs. Just first make sure... my dog took so much "torture" from my kids, and yet they were inseparable. Would I trust some random dog on the street? Of course not...

Tor3 2y ago

Dogs have instincts, and that's the problem. Apparently you can trigger one of those by approaching a dog from behind and put your hand on the dog's shoulder. At least that's the explanation I've seen for when a kind dog out of the blue attack a child reflexively. Obviously this is not something I'm willing to try out myself.

the-dude 2y ago
From my other comment, quotes from Wikipedia : A dog killed an infant as it slept in bed with its parents. The baby's father awoke during the attack, saw the injuries to the child, and immediately killed the dog. The family dog killed two-month-old Julius who was in her infant bouncer while her father was sleeping. Julius was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead An eight-month-old girl in a bouncy chair was attacked by the family pet while in the care of her grandmother. Fire and rescue declared her dead at the scene.
- ffgjgf1 2y ago
  That doesn’t mean that the overwhelming majority of well-trained dogs belonging to non-aggressive breeds are not almost entirely trustworthy under most circumstances. Of course unnecessarily risking the life of your child is still a horrible idea (especially considering that a dog might still hurt it entirely unintentionally).

hackeraccount 2y ago

I got bit by a dog a few years ago and it was a real wake up call. It wasn't that I wasn't aware that a dog will bite under the right circumstances - I knew that. I had believed that I understood when a dog was unhappy. The dog that bit me gave zero indication that I could see. I walked past it and it attacked. I have no doubt that someone very perceptive might have seen it coming but my policy now is to treat all dogs as if they're unhappy until I get super clear sense that that's not the case.

jandrese 2y ago
To be fair, the same thing can be said about humans. Sometimes one will attack a person for no apparent reason and with no warning.