seang

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001021,00.html

I say dog and mother should be dealt with.

crocodileseamus

That poor wee boy.

Which was the bitch??????

Some folk don't deserve kids.

moneypenny20

Without knowing the full story I don't feel qualified to comment. How can we judge when we don't know the family and certainly don't know the dog's normal behaviour towards people. She may be right

My eldest decided to drag our cat around the kitchen when little despite us asking/telling her not to and taking her away. Finally Fluff - a very gentle placid cat, smacked her and she had a long scratch on the arm. Fluff never did it again and neither did my daughter. Should I have had my daughter taken away or had Fluff put to sleep - I think not.

The mother may be a bad mother, the dog may be vicious - I have no idea.

The O'Neills

the BABY IS TWO - he does not yet fully undestand his world and relies on his mother to protect him, whatever the circumstances IT WAS NOT HIS FAULT, and I am very surprised at any suggestion that it may have been!

Nicky

Sammy T

At 2 years old, I think children do know when they have been told not to do something but they do not appreciate the reasons behind this, he would not have understood the risk the dog posed to him and sadly still still does.

The dog weighs 50 kg, next time the little boy may not be so lucky

I am astonished that the mother appears to have no concerns for her son and even more amazed that no further action will be taken by the authorities, next time it could be a different story or someone else's else child passing the house or visiting.

Sam

fin

I think the mother should be put down

Kapri

When he was a toddler my son used to torment my dog despite being told repeatedly to leave her alone.
My Dog used to just get up and walk away.
Now he is 5 he leaves her alone unless it is to play with her or pet her.

If she had even so much as looked sideways at him I would have had her put down.
I love my dog to bits but I love my son more.
Dogs that attack kids should be put down. End of story. No matter what provacation they've had.
The next kid that dog attacks may be yours.

My nephew nearly died aged 1 when he was attacked for no reason by the family German Shepherd.
He's 16 now and still has the scars.

esperanza

I think the mother should have been supervising the child more closely, especially if she knew the kid had a tendency to irritate the dog. The dog is a powerful animal and will defend itself - as shown here. It is lucky the child was ok, it could have been much worse.
What if another child who is not used to dogs approaches this one in a park and is attacked?

Not all dogs will snap like that when provoked. I'm biased, obviously, but ours is so tolerant of other people's kids, when they are screeching & running around, grabbing his tail, or when a baby keeps moving towards him. We do what we can to calm the situation down - children are told off, dog is put in a different area. If he showed the tiniest sign of aggression towards a child then he would no longer have any contact with children.

This dog now needs even more supervision & control, and should not ever be left alone with children. Obviously none of us knows the whole story but the impression I get is that the mother may not really be dealing with this situation very well. Let's hope this was just a one off on the dog's part, and will not happen again.

seang

See thats the nail on the head right there. I can understand people loving their pets and having a place for them in their lives but I cant understand anyone putting their child at risk(knowingly or not). For me its a no brainer(just like the bint in the story ..boom boom) you just dont take the chance. I see, I read, I hear of people saying their pet is part of the family, there is no such thing as bad dogs just bad owners etc however I just couldnt take the chance that anything would happen. Simple thing like a toddler / child accidently stepping on the dogs tail and whosh child ,potentially, could be savaged. As I say I couldnt take the risk and thats just my opinion.

After what happened to that child I cant understand why DOC's have left the child with her (maybe I missed something in the story). To me given the fact that this has happened once she is just recklessly endangering the child.

asher

If the dog has done it once there is the chance it could do it again 2 year olds dont always learn from their mistakes! What if it happens again and noone is around and the child is killed?

I would have to put the dog down I'm afraid

seang

Oh your preaching to the converted. I think sometimes people are expecting just a little too much from very young children.

As I was saying to rodge (you all know rodge no?)What if her partner (for example) whacked the child. Well officer the little brat provoked him I have told him not to provoke him....

asher

Very true! I think you are right.


Dogs and little kids are a difficult mix as you can't trust either! and for most of us our kids are too precious to risk!

petensue

I know we don't know the whole story but how on earth can the mother ever trust the dog with the little boy again?I had a rottie when my oldest two were small and there is no way I would leave them alone with him(he was a good natured dog).It is not the childs fault or the dogs but the Mums for leaving them alone and I must admit I felt quite sick at looking at the picture with the little boy still with the dog.

The trouble with leaving them alone is did the dog give a warning growl and then bite as the boy did not stop or just bite with no warning?I feel for the dog if he warned first but who knows and sorry as much as I love dogs you can't trust either of them to be alone with each other.Maybe she could find a home for the dog with a couple with no children around.

As I said before I had children and dogs and I loved them all so much I would never risk anything happening to either my children or my dog by leaving them alone.Sue.

spartacus

Is she right?

I say she's off her tits if she thinks the dog won't do it again.

Dogs are pack animals, they establish hierachies and once established they defend them.

Small kids and dogs of that type do not mix.

Timber Floor Au

If a kid was provoking my dogs, and it was a ridiculous circumstance, that baited the dog, then They deserve what they get.

However, You have to look at the circumstance.

For example my dogs are not with children, and vice versa.

So for the incident to happen, the child / person would have to invade the dogs space, which is fully fenced, and to provoke hurt or bait the dog... that said, rip em apart !

Ste

p.s. unfortunately my dog would be destroyed, I would be fined, i would be the scum of the earth, and ostricised for eternity !