Let's begin with this lovely scene.
For starters, the dog is not happy At All. The tucked in tail, the locked legs, the lowered head; it all screams at me that this dog is not having fun in the least. Now, this particular dog may not enjoy being on a leash anyway, but in this picture, we have a little kid holding the leash. This is a tenacious little kid for sure, she's determined to make that dog go her way.....Not cool. Even a small-ish dog can pull a kid over, and this is just an accident waiting to happen.
Not to mention the potential for an aggressive response. The dog finally tires of being pulled, and whips around directly at kid-face level with his teeth.
Handing the leash of an ill-mannered dog to a child is not only
irresponsible, it is dangerous. You may be looking at a law suit
someday. What happens if that strong dog pulls your kid down in the
street and bolts into the waiting jaws of the dog aggressive dog being
walked past your house?
Or worse, what if your dog pulls your child in front of a car?
I have witnessed some interesting situations when children are involved. One such incident occurred when I was at a virtually empty park space, working with a dog who wasn't the best socially. I had literally just finished explaining to the dogs' owner, how to handle it if a loose dog came their way, when entering the park, we glimpsed disaster...."here it comes," I said as I watched the scene unfold.
A person with a young-ish child (probably 8 or so) was entering the park. Their dog was wearing a head-halter very ineffectively, and was attached to a leash the child was clutching. The dog was obviously pulling very hard on this kid, but the adult was allowing this. Their dog looked up, saw us in the middle of the field, and leaped. The kid hit the ground, the leash came free, and the dog came blazing towards us.
Another incident, (and I think I've mentioned this) was a young kid trying to stop a fence-aggressive dog at the entrance to the dog park....Mom was in the parking lot, sauntering up slowly, and sipping her coffee and joking with her friend, rather then taking responsibility for her dogs' nasty actions. No one could enter or leave the park because her dog was threatening the park-goers, and her poor kid was left to scream "no" at the dog....not ok.
Kids are not strong enough to handle a dog without manners. But, being a mom myself, I can understand the importance of teaching your kids how to work with your dog....
Great! But let's avoid bringing very young children to the group obedience class at your local big-box pet supply, or even to the class at your veterinarians office. Most 'trainers' want your full, undivided attention, so they can do their job and impart the knowledge you seek about your dog, and its behaviors. When you are trying to wrangle a young kid, hold the leash, deliver treats, stop the other kid from screaming or saying "SIT" at the top of his little lungs, and attempting to keep your other child focused on Your Dog and Your Training, instead of the cute beagle puppy they really wanted, learning becomes impossible: For everyone in class. If you want to save some bucks by choosing a group class, please find a sitter for the kiddos before you show up with the fur-kid.
If you seek a more hands-on kiddo-interactive training experience, hire a good trainer to come to your home and teach the kids, and yourself, how to handle the dog. Preferably one who takes your lifestyle, available time, and goals into the process; not one that is "only there for the dog." If you have a family, your "trainer" should be sensitive to that. The kids count as pack members, and when you only focus on the dog, and working with the adult members of the pack, the dog doesn't have the level of respect that he should for the children. Granted, some kids are just too young to participate, but even a 4 year old can learn some basic things to help that relationship become a good one.
Kids do silly things (we all do actually), such as try roller-blading behind the family pooch, but did not know that teaching the dog things like "Easy, Slow, Right, Left, or Stop" are vital to that being a successful endeavor. They'll walk your dog up to other dogs, without asking permission from the stranger dogs' owner...(this has happened to me several times) and potentially get your dog in a fight, or worse. They race screaming with your dog, which is cool at your home but some dogs may not take to that.
Do not send your kids to the dog park with the new puppy!!!!!
For some of us, this is a given, but for the pack of kids my daughter and I saw last week, apparently someone thought this was a fantastic plan.
There were 6 younger kids (all 10 or under), a new pitbull puppy on a leash looped around her neck (not even a collar!) a new pug/beagle pup being cradled in the arms of a young boy, and a fluffy pup being dragged around by a screaming 7 year old.....This entourage was led by a girl who couldn't have been more then 15. Did you really just drop that pack off at the dog park with new dogs, to fend for themselves?!
Kids are your responsibility. It is your responsibility to think twice about sending a child, who can't even remember to tie his shoes, someplace without adult supervision, where unpredictable things can happen, and where he and his new puppy can be seriously injured.
I am all for raising kids with dogs. But let us think twice about just turning them loose together and "Letting Nature Take Its Course." Let us realize that kids can't do this alone. Let us think about the welfare of our dogs. Consider the detriment your kids can actually be to any efforts in training you may be making.
Let's think twice about letting our young kids walk our dogs without us, can we? Please?
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