I have Molly who is 6 months and a 4 year old daughter. Said daughter has taken to getting in the crate, calling Molly in,locking it and then playing with her. There's not that much room so the play often is rolling around on Molly and pretending to be her puppy. This morning I said the crate should be unlocked but Molly stayed in there anyway. I only usually lock Molly in at night now and during the day she sometimes goes in there to sleep but usually sleeps on the cat's beds. Is this completely wrong? She doesn't seem stressed by it but I know we should respect her space....
I would be very wary of doing this. I think it's asking for trouble having a small child and a dog in such a confined space. The crate should be a place where Molly can be completely undisturbed. It's for relaxing, not playing and she should grow to see it as her sanctuary.
Hmmmmm Only you know the dog and child, but I would discourage it. It may happen when you popped upstairs, or your daughter could accidentally hurt Molly causing an unexpected reaction. The dog also needs a space where she can know she'll be left alone - if not her bed, then where? ...
Young child, young dog, confined space, child rolling around..nope, that sounds exactly what the stop dog bites websites say you shouldn't do. And I wouldn't....
I wouldn't. You never know. Like JulieT says - all the Stop Dog Bites campaigns say no. It's just not worth the risk.
Absolutely wouldn't. Really wouldn't. Not saying any harm would come of it, but really best to be on the safe side
I will tell you a story. Jemima Harrison (BlackRX rescue) called me one day and asked if we could foster a dog from Ireland. A much loved family dog, a huge soft black boy. Only problem he had bitten their toddler on the face. The poor mother had advertised for help on facebook, there was an uproar, put the dog down! He is aggressive! And the rest not so helpful comments. The mother was absolutely devastated. The dog was assessed by a vet, and a behaviourist, the conclusion, put the dog to be put to sleep, it was incredibly sad on all counts. BRX picked this story up, and Jem contacted the mother, and the real story unfolded. Basically, the dog had no space, the toddler was allowed to crawl all over him, in his bed, his crate, when he was eating. All the photos were of the dog and the child. If he growled he was punished,nothing cruel, typically "bad boy!" The dog over time stopped growling...and I guess the rest is history. We fostered him here for about a month, giving him loads of space, working hard on understanding him, our dogs were just great with him. Gradually he settled and relaxed, became my OH's shadow. He was adopted by an ex-army guy, who suffered from stress ,it was love at first sight, and the two are now inseparable, we still get updates. The dog does still have issues, but they are niggles, nothing serious. My OH was so sad seeing him go, they in such a short time had an incredible bond, can only imagine what it was like for the family. All in all a happy ending, but it so nearly wasn't. The child was fine, no scars or fear of dogs which is great!
Here's a website with videos I think is really helpful for children. It has little songs you can teach them. Apologies if you've seen it before. http://stopthe77.com/
My son, aged two, was bitten in the face by a lovely family pet dog. My son crawled under the dog, gave it a shock and it snapped - no aggression intended, just a natural 'what's that under my belly' snap. Andrew was fine, he still has scars but the bites missed his eyes and nose. My other son was four at the time and witnessed it happening, he is still scared of dogs he doesn't know. Lesson - be careful with toddlers round even the friendliest of dogs. ...
