seananmcguire: randomslasher:libertarirynn:There are a lot of absolute idiots in the comments sa
seananmcguire: randomslasher: libertarirynn: There are a lot of absolute idiots in the comments saying things like “a good dog will never hurt a baby” and “the child is never to blame if the dog attacks” and “special snowflakes call everything abuse” Listen here you fucktards: dogs. Are not. Fucking. People. They don’t operate by human logic. They don’t follow human moral codes. It has nothing to do with it being a “good dog“ or not. If you were getting hit and pulled on and punched and scratched constantly, you just might react. A dog can’t speak up and say “hey please stop that you’re hurting me“. What he can do is move, lunge, bite, etc. These actions might intentionally or unintentionally harm your child. Use your fucking head and don’t let your kid beat up on your dog no matter how many times he’s “taken it” before; you never know when he might snap. Don’t teach your kids it’s OK to treat animals like punching bags and they’ll never react. That’s immensely unfair to both the animal and the child. You could have a hurt or dead child and a euthanized dog because you were fucking dumbass who thought the dogs were just there to be treated like toys. Same goes for cats and any other pet. Teach your child how to properly treat animals or don’t have any fucking animals. And it absolutely can be done, even at very young ages. When we rescued a young stray calico cat that showed up at our house, a friend of ours with a toddler took her in, and they taught their toddler immediately how to approach the slightly skittish cat They demonstrated appropriate behavior and touch, showed her how to move, even taught her some of the warning signs that kitty wanted her to stop touching her. Now, when this tiny, 3-year-old child approaches the cat, she coaches herself out loud, repeating “Calm, calm” (which is unbearably adorable, btw) and taking slow, deliberate steps so as not to startle the cat. They’re best friends now, but April still knows that when Cali wants down, she lets her, and she knows to be gentle and calm. In return, Cali tolerates being handled. But it was a relationship they worked to build, because her parents taught her how to treat the cat, and the potential consequences of not being gentle and calm around her. If you don’t think your child is old enough to understand how to treat a pet well, it’s safer and healthier for all involved not to leave them together unsupervised. j -- source link