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  • Kids & Danes

    All to often we hear that there are problems with Danes (or dogs in general) and little kids. All to often I hear (as a trainer & vet tech) I thought they were suppose to be good with kids or good family dogs. Dogs aren't born being good with kids or family. They are born dogs with no training in behavior in the human world. Some regardless of breed and yes even training aren't good with kids...they have a low tolerance and should not be in a family with small kids...they simply don't have the right personality same as some people.
    My picture is of my 2 year old Dane Piper and my 10 month old grandson Jacobe. They are "kissing". Piper absolutely loves her "babies" (my grandson & my 2 year old granddaughter).She can't wait to see them when ever either comes to visit. She likes other peoples kids to but not the same..Her breeder introduced her & her littermates to kids early on plus she had a young child of her own. Piper got use to strollers, fast moving kids,etc right from the start and it continued after she got here with my newborn granddaughter..you could say they have grown up together. Now my Banjo is nervous with kids (although now he loves his "babies"..this is something I allowed him to get use to on his own without pushing. He doesn't have the same background as Piper. His breeder while she did socialize him & his littermates well didn't have young kids to socialize him well nor did I at the time he was a puppy.
    The key is to teach kids in your household how to behave with dogs...and yes they can learn at a very early age. My youngest son & daughter-in-law started teaching Paige as an infant how to pat nice, how to be gentle and to never crawl on the dogs...same with my oldest son & daughter -in-law with Jacobe.
    The kids aren't allowed to sit on, crawl on, poke eyes, pull tails or ears. Dogs no matter how nice and tolerant should NEVER be subjected to roughness no matter if done in innocence.This is not fair to the dog. Another big thing is NEVER LEAVE A CHILD AND A DOG UNSUPERVISED.....this can end in disaster no matter how well behaved a child or dog is...things can happen.
    IMO all dogs should get obedience training especially if they will be with children and learn how to behave in all types of distractions and children should be taught early on how to treat animals with respect and gentleness.
    Just my thoughts for today.
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    Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
    Associate Member GDCNE
    Member GSPCA
    Member NAVHDA
    Member Central Maine Kennel Club
    High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

  • #2
    I absolutely agree!! I don't have kids but I have been making sure to teach Duke how to behave around people of all sorts - wheelchairs, cyclists, babies in strollers, and the toddlers running around the park. Far too often kids will run right up to him to pet or look at and I want to make sure he's always a gently puppy and grows into an eaqually well-behaved big dog.
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    Duke - mismarked mantle dane, March 14, 2012
    Twitter: @DukeTheDane

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    • #3
      Originally posted by kahluadanes View Post
      All to often we hear that there are problems with Danes (or dogs in general) and little kids. All to often I hear (as a trainer & vet tech) I thought they were suppose to be good with kids or good family dogs. Dogs aren't born being good with kids or family. They are born dogs with no training in behavior in the human world. Some regardless of breed and yes even training aren't good with kids...they have a low tolerance and should not be in a family with small kids...they simply don't have the right personality same as some people.
      My picture is of my 2 year old Dane Piper and my 10 month old grandson Jacobe. They are "kissing". Piper absolutely loves her "babies" (my grandson & my 2 year old granddaughter).She can't wait to see them when ever either comes to visit. She likes other peoples kids to but not the same..Her breeder introduced her & her littermates to kids early on plus she had a young child of her own. Piper got use to strollers, fast moving kids,etc right from the start and it continued after she got here with my newborn granddaughter..you could say they have grown up together. Now my Banjo is nervous with kids (although now he loves his "babies"..this is something I allowed him to get use to on his own without pushing. He doesn't have the same background as Piper. His breeder while she did socialize him & his littermates well didn't have young kids to socialize him well nor did I at the time he was a puppy.
      The key is to teach kids in your household how to behave with dogs...and yes they can learn at a very early age. My youngest son & daughter-in-law started teaching Paige as an infant how to pat nice, how to be gentle and to never crawl on the dogs...same with my oldest son & daughter -in-law with Jacobe.
      The kids aren't allowed to sit on, crawl on, poke eyes, pull tails or ears. Dogs no matter how nice and tolerant should NEVER be subjected to roughness no matter if done in innocence.This is not fair to the dog. Another big thing is NEVER LEAVE A CHILD AND A DOG UNSUPERVISED.....this can end in disaster no matter how well behaved a child or dog is...things can happen.
      IMO all dogs should get obedience training especially if they will be with children and learn how to behave in all types of distractions and children should be taught early on how to treat animals with respect and gentleness.
      Just my thoughts for today.
      I agree.

      We got Olive when our twins were 1 and right away began training the KIDS as well as Olive. As a result, we now have 2 year old twins and a 5 year old and every one gets along in perfect harmony. Olive loves the kids and occasionally goes to them for kisses and pets. The kids almost always say "soft" when they pet her because that's the word we've always used, especially when we were first teaching everyone how to interact. We also have recently let our 5 year old treat Olive while offering her simple commands such as "sit", "down", "come" etc.

      But even as well as everyone gets along, I still do not allow the kids alone with Olive. Thankfully we have an open floor plan that keeps all common rooms open to each other with no real "walls" between the common room, living room and kitchen/dining room. And when Olive is overwhelmed with the noise and would rather be alone, she will hop the baby gate to our bedroom and either go into her crate or lay down in our bed.

      We've been very fortunate to have a dog with such a great disposition, but I also feel that it is because (as I said) we've trained our kids as much as our dog on how to interact.
      Wife to Brian
      Mommy to 3 skin kids - Kaleb (6) and twins Ben and Ella (3) - and Olive, Great Dane (2)!
      <3


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      • #4
        I get so sick and tired of the dogs being blamed. Maybe just maybe your kid doesn't get along with the dog and needs to be taught how to treat them. My boys have been taught how to be with dogs from days one, just like I must show my dogs how to be with kids my kids need to know how to be with dogs. I actually have the perfect example. We were in petsmart and these girls about 8-10 run up to the pups and before I can say a word are on the ground grabbing them for a hug! My 5 y/o who has aspergers and no mouth filter says "stop you are being rude, dogs don't like that your not being safe" well then the parents flipped out on me saying their girls "love dogs". Thankfully my dogs didn't react but if they had of I can tell you who would have been blamed. Then again half the dog owners around here have never heard of socialization let along teaching their child to respect animals. There is no dog that is born good with children and there is no child that is born knowing how to treat a dog. They both have to learn if you havent taught one it will harm the other.

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        • #5
          Agree 100%!

          I've had double duty of training Ludo AND my 16 month old daughter. Now they do play nice together. Teaghan knows how to pet soft, she gives him kisses and even brings him a toy to redirect him when he has something he shouldn't. Also, Ludo knows now that Teaghan isn't a litter mate. He's so much more aware of where she is when he's playing. He no longer paws her or tugs at her clothes to initiate play...he brings her one of his toys. It's been a lot of work and we're still growing, but the improvement is phenomenal!

          My ex husband has 2 great Pyrenees. They are great with kids with the exception of 2 kids(from the same family). These boys taunt the dogs, get in their faces and are very loud and obnoxious! They HATE those kids. The parents are schmucks and instead of taking control of their kids, freak out on the dogs when they growl or bark at those children. *sigh*. Morons!

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          • #6
            My granddaughter, Paige, is 2..her dad (my youngest son) and mom are teaching her that it is inapropriate to run or even walk up to dogs she doesn't know. I totally agree that far too many kids aren't taught how to behave around dogs or to be respectful. if anything happens it becomes the dogs fault when in reality it is the parents fault for not teaching their child...I try to educate at every opportunity.
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            Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
            Associate Member GDCNE
            Member GSPCA
            Member NAVHDA
            Member Central Maine Kennel Club
            High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

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            • #7
              Several weekends ago I was out walking Klaus and a little girl that looked about 8 wanted to pet Klaus. Her dad said, "no, that's a mean dog". I said, "excuse me sir, my dog isn't mean, but I understand if you don't have time to stop and say hello". So they kept walking past just as a very small toddler, maybe 3, comes running and I quickly put Klaus in a sit stay. This little boy gives Klaus the biggest neck hug ever, which Klaus returns with a great big sloppy kiss up the side of the kids face. This child's mother is running frantically hollering at her son, "you can't just run up to puppies!". She was out of breath and scared to death and she told me they have a dog that adores her son, but she's trying to teach her son how to properly greet strange dogs. We had a whole conversation about it and I was happy to hear there are parents out there who think about these things. As for the other guy, I could hear his daughter saying, "god, why can't I ever pet a dog?!"

              Luckily Klaus is good with kids, but it's just in his nature because we don't have children and we're never around them except for out in public.

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              • #8
                As much as I think it is the responsibility of the parents to teach their kids how to handle and be around dogs, unfortunately, as dog owners, we cannot count on OTHER people and need to always be on the defensive. I cannot tell you how many kids come running up to her at the park or on walks and try and jump all over her. Some people have never known anything but a friendly dog and dont even think there are dogs who get spooked by their actions.

                I know that Emi get spooked by kids who come running up, yelling and screaming or who try to pet her. I also know that these kids probably have a dog at home who is used to them and assume mine is the same. I make sure that I always have Emi in the sit position, tell the kids that they have to let her come to them and if she is being "shy" as I call it, then they wont be able to pet her today. I feel bad but I also know my dog and whether or not she is comfortable. I would never put her in a situation where she wasnt and unfortunately, despite exposure and socialization, kids are not necessarily her thing.
                • Merle Dane - Emi
                • Brindle Dane - Elroy

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                • #9
                  Yes, dog owners do need to be aware of people (not just kids) who try to pat, run up to, etc their dogs....it doesn't matter how "kid" friendly a dog is ANY dog can react if the right set of circumstances present itself....as owners we need to be ever vigilent and not become complacent just because we own a dog that "loves" kids/people, is calm, etc....
                  Piper loves kids but I don't take that for granted..there are a couple of kids I know of that she prefers to not associate with...I respect that...people don't like everyone they come in contact with so why should we expect dogs to?? we even as people avoid people who we may not have met but get "bad" vibes from or whatever...we tend to avoid out of control kids or become inpatient...why expect different from our dogs?
                  sigpic
                  Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
                  Associate Member GDCNE
                  Member GSPCA
                  Member NAVHDA
                  Member Central Maine Kennel Club
                  High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

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                  • #10
                    I have a question then about this. Not related to my dog, but to my ex husband's as I mentioned previously. He has always had dogs. Prior to the pyrs, he had Smokie and Kylie. Well...Smokie was ours, but due to divorce, I agreed to let him keep him. Smokie was an Australian Shepard. He was raised with our kids when they were very young. He was constantly exposed to kids from birthday parties, to our friends kids, ect...He LOVED kids. That is until he met the oldest of the two mentioned above. I thought maybe it was my ex and the way he trained his dogs, but there's no way that's possible. Smokie HATED that boy as much as his Pyrs, Jupiter and Calisto hate him and his brother now.

                    The ex has many annual events and get togethers at his home. He has a pool, large dog and kid friendly yard and it's just ideal for cook outs ect(we've learned to become friends post divorce and still hang out together with our mutual friends). With that, he has to end up locking up his dogs when those kids are around. Not only that, but the other dogs that may be in attendance have to be tethered to their owners to keep the boys away. How do you tell the parents of these children that they need to teach them respect and boundaries? Not inviting them is the simple solution, but as the parents are good friends of my ex's, I don't see that being a possibility.

                    Just a side note. Ludo has not met these boys yet, but I'm certain he won't like them either. The annual pig roast is this saturday and I'm going to do my best to keep these boys from him...just in case.

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                    • #11
                      Sometimes you just need to come right out with it..explain nicely to the parents that some dogs are nervous around kids and that kids need to be "careful" around dogs so they won't end up getting hurt. If the kids are out of control around dogs you telling the parents may be the difference between the kids getting hurt or staying safe. This is a hard one.
                      sigpic
                      Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
                      Associate Member GDCNE
                      Member GSPCA
                      Member NAVHDA
                      Member Central Maine Kennel Club
                      High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

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                      • #12
                        When mine was 5 months old & ready to go out in public, I made it a point to socialize him to be gentle with everyone, especially kids. I didn't want to lose my Dane like my friend did long ago by not paying attention to what a kid was doing to the Dane when he wasn't looking.

                        Mine is completely kid-proof. They can do anything to him and he won't bat an eyelash over it. That doesn't mean I let them do anything either but if someone stepped on his tail or foot, he won't bite or growl. He knows I expect him to tolerate kids running up to him and making noise in his face. Its his job to be gentle with kids and he knows it. His tolerance with kids and the general public makes me very proud of him and I feel so lucky to have him.

                        My observation is that most parents tell their kids the right way to approach a dog. Also, about 1/2 the kids are too afraid of his size to get within 3 feet of him.

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                        • #13
                          Ludo is very much used to small kids. We have a 16 month old daughter who will walk up and kiss his nose. He doesn't flinch. There are several kids in our neighborhood who have met Ludo and love him. He adores the attention! He's such a good boy. He sits and lets the kids pet him and responds with kisses. What I fear is that this older boy(I believe he is 14 now)is just an a$$hole and it seems the toddler is following suit with that behavior. The parents are not friends of mine. I know them through various social gatherings. They aren't very mindful if their kids and everyone else is to blame for the kid's poor behavior. Wrong! Their parenting is awful! Now thinking about it, I'm probably going to skip the pig roast. I don't think Ludo is ready to handle kids like that yet.

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                          • #14
                            There is no such thing as 100% kid proof.....no matter how good your dog may be or how tolerant or how well trained...they are still dogs and can still react in a negative manner..
                            sigpic
                            Dale AKC CGC Evaluator
                            Associate Member GDCNE
                            Member GSPCA
                            Member NAVHDA
                            Member Central Maine Kennel Club
                            High Hopes Great Danes & German Shorthairs

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Ikenrydem View Post
                              When mine was 5 months old & ready to go out in public, I made it a point to socialize him to be gentle with everyone, especially kids. I didn't want to lose my Dane like my friend did long ago by not paying attention to what a kid was doing to the Dane when he wasn't looking.

                              Mine is completely kid-proof. They can do anything to him and he won't bat an eyelash over it. That doesn't mean I let them do anything either but if someone stepped on his tail or foot, he won't bite or growl. He knows I expect him to tolerate kids running up to him and making noise in his face. Its his job to be gentle with kids and he knows it. His tolerance with kids and the general public makes me very proud of him and I feel so lucky to have him.

                              My observation is that most parents tell their kids the right way to approach a dog. Also, about 1/2 the kids are too afraid of his size to get within 3 feet of him.
                              There is no kid proof dog. All it takes is that one time he has had to much. Not trying to be mean but the my dog is kid proof attitude can get someone hurt. My dogs are great with kids, do I trust them with kids alone or without close supervision no. There may never be an incident but all it takes is that one moment where they aren't feeling the best or having a bad day and they have a moment of lapse in training. Example my lab has the most even temperament I have ever seen. He was the dog we had when we were training the kids how to behave with dogs (he was 2 at the time) he developed hip displaysia and before we found out what it was and he got on meds he snapped at his best doggie friend and DH who is his favorite human ever. He didn't hurt either it was just a growl but he was in pain and grumpy and didn't want to be friends with anyone at the moment this can happen to ANY dog!

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