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Any breed of dog can be perfectly safe or extremely dangerous. You have to test out the dog for aggressive behavior and educate your toddler on appropriate dog handling. For example, I stress to my kids that they should not bother the dog while she's eating. At the same time, our dog doesn't have any food issues -- they can stick their hands in her dish ...

I think just like you teach your dogs to play nice with other dogs or kids. I don't really see any other thing than just the generic methodology. Maybe you can spend some time with your child and the animals to show how it should be done. If he/she already knows how it 'should be done' and is testing limits, be very clear about what is and what is not nice ...

I would definitely tell him in advance, to give him a chance to process the fact in time, and to say goodbye to the cat. Morah made a good point about leaving the sickness out of the explanation, that may be one strategy. However, my feeling is that telling that the cat just died, without any clear reason, may be equally frightening for the kid if he has a ...

What is your lifestyle like and how will your pet fit into it? Some pets require lots of daily exercise and attention, others are more low-maintenance. Some are cuddly, some want to do their own thing. Some require training, others don't. Some pets are great companions on outings, others are better left at home. The biggest factor in finding the right ...

Ok, I'm going to channel Cesar Millan here, bigtime. It would be quite natural for the dogs to see the baby as a pup. Consequence of which is that the baby will have a lower ranking in your pack. The pack is basically what you call family, i.e. you, your partner, any other humans living in your house and any dogs. So it is important that your dogs ...

The tried and tested method that seems to have been the standard amongst all my friends when they were kids is that the pet has gone to a farm out in the country where they have a great time chasing animals etc. This is all very well, and simple when the child is young, but once they get up to 7 or 8, I am of the opinion that it is better to start being ...

Our kids were born with cats already in the house, which has made it straightforward for us, but what we did was: let them cuddle the cats from a very early age - 6 or 7 months start to let them put out a food or water bowl (from 2 or 3 years old) brushing the cat's fur from about 3 years old with supervision (just so they weren't too rough) let the cat in ...

I guess it depends on the type of animal and the child's age. First determine what kind of involvement you would expect from the child: feed the pet daily? Clean the litter? Walk the animal? And then try to give the child a responsibility with the same type of involvement. For example, if you expect the child to feed the animal daily, then have the child ...

We researched this very carefully having had a border collie prior to having children. While our collie was a lovely dog we were absolutely certain it was not a good breed to combine with small children. Instead we acquired a Large Munsterlander and she has proved a very safe and reliable type, very tolerant of infant roughness and wholly unaggressive.

My dog is a lab/chow mix, and is absolutely fantastic with children. The only time he's snapped at (and didn't actually connect with) either child is when my son was bending his (the dogs) penis into a pretzel shape. My response was, of course, "Don't do that to the dog." But a lot of that could be training, because from a very young age I've had the dog ...

There is something that a teacher told me regarding the interaction between our toddler (3) and our infant (1 year). When the toddler does something to his baby sister that is not terrible but just not nice (like taking away a toy she is holding) you should talk to the toddler about how he hurt the offend-ed's feelings. Since the baby (and in your case ...

I have yet to be in this situation but my instinct would say keep the word sick out of it, for the reason you listed. As well, don't tell him you chose to have the cat put down, that is simply too scary for him. Instead simply say that sometimes living things, like animals and plants and people die. This means that we can't play with them anymore. Then let ...

Any dog can be dangerous if the training isn't good. Whether a dog is bred to be aggressive or not is of secondary relevance to me than whether the dog has had proper discipline that establishes you and your family members as alpha over the dog. If you're going to get a big, powerful breed without recognizing the potential for aggression, and therefore don't ...

Rory's answer is a wonderful one in its acknowledgement of different age levels and that coming to terms with the death of a pet can actually help later with other deaths that will eventually be encountered, but I disagree with the beginning premise that it is ever okay to lie about it. A child will figure out your lie eventually and they can feel the pain ...

Short Version: It isn't necessary to get rid of your pets as a precaution. If you find after your baby is born that it is a problem, you can consider isolating or even removing them. In terms of allergies, there are two different main allergens referenced in your question: dust and pet hair (more specifically, pet dander, which is a combination of hair and ...

Just let the child go through the process of losing a pet. It is also a journey for her to cope up with the situation. Encourage her to talk about her pet, because sharing will help her to cope up. Your friend can also bring her daughter out, like dine-in in her favorite restaurant and or go some out-of-the-town trips, so she can have a change of ...

A rule of thumb that I've heard is "for small children, big dogs". The reasoning is that big dogs will be unconcerned by young children and won't feel threatened, and can take a lot of abuse from an active toddler. Smaller dogs will be more likely to be confrontational with kids. That said, you need to do your research very carefully, and you have to get ...

My dog was technically still a puppy when we had our son, he was 10 months old, but I made sure before baby came that he was familiar with his room and his stuff, he is a hound so sniffing is what he lives for, so we let him sniff everything. Since I was the one with him all day, I was also worried that he may react to not see me for a couple of days, so ...

It's not about the breed; it's about the owner. My husband grew up with pitbulls and was very rough and tumble with them. I cringe listening to the potential disasters that never happened. Conversely, people get bitten by labs too. I recommend you choose a dog that suits your lifestyle. Then, learn how to be good owners and teach your children how to be ...

We have a rat, two cats, and two fish tanks. Earlier we had more cats, two hamsters, and a dog. My in-laws have a dog, too. Our daughter is now about 2.5 y.o. and our son (now 18) grew with animals, too. Lessons learned: Children love pets, pay a lot of attention to them, and usually don't conflict with pets at all. Different pets are not equally ...

I have a 3-year old boy and 1.5-year old girl, and a (overall friendly) cat. As infants both kids were rough to the cat, with hair pulling and hitting, although each was different in what they did. Once they could walk, then chasing the cat was a fun activity. They have very little self control and get excited when the animal is around. Each kid is ...

I caught my one year and ten month old son, holding a stick and was about to hit the dog. I immediately took the stick away from him, and told him that it is bad to do it. At this age, my son knows what is bad already, so in a way, I was able to channel the information. I also try to show him how to take care of the pet, because toddlers often mimics what ...

I have had a dog that was raised with out children around, and when My and my Estranged Wife moved in together he was unable to adjust to having a 2 year old around 24x7. He had been taught that dog's teeth never touch human flesh so he never bit or attacked my daughter, but he did start to become more aggressive towards them. This was for a couple of ...

There is some reason for concern, even if your dog seems perfectly well adjusted. Dogs typically respond differently to different kinds of people. A perfectly normal dog may be weary of people with hats, people of a certain gender/age/race/etc. This is the reason that puppys should be introduced to a variety of different types of people during socialization. ...

We were concerned about this as well. We first introduced a blanket or clothes from the hospital that our baby used to get them used to the smell. We had heard this works. When we got home, there was the usual tail wagging and joy at seeing us, but they were for the most part uninterested in the new baby.