Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/24

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Subject: [Leica] Re: equal time for the cats
From: "Eric" <ericm@pobox.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 06:28:33 -0600
References: <322p9uchj147mv9c0dpc4n40o4mnqp6qrk@4ax.com> <000401c1d30b$fd9cd7a0$86a91e3e@montpelier>

Jason:

>However it does disturb me somewhat given that there were some news
>stories in the UK recently which reported that a normally mild mannered
>dog, for some reason, flipped and killed a child.

I don't completely trust any animal with a small child.  That is, I wouldn't
recommend leaving the room and having them together unsupervised.  I
wouldn't ignore what's going on.  Dogs are incredibly expressive creatures
and will let you know what kind of mood they're in.  I've been extremely
surprised with how both of our dogs seem to have accepted our baby.  From
the first day we brought her home, they've been extraordinarily gentle with
her.  The german shepherd will come over and nudge me really hard in the arm
with his nose when he wants to play.  With Johanna, he sniffs gently and
licks a little.  One day, I was holding Johanna in one arm.  The shepherd
came over, and gently sniffed her and that arm.  Then, he moved over to my
free arm and really nudged me hard.  He knows the difference.

That said, I'd be a fool to believe that he couldn't inadvertently hurt her.
Or even intentionally.  I'm most afraid of his stepping on her than anything
else.  Hearing a noise at the front door, and bolting there to bark and
investigate.

You'll notice I don't have any shots where both baby and the dogs are across
the room.  At most, they're both a few feet away.  :)  While they're playing
together, I can't read or watch TV or anything else that involves taking my
attention away from how they're interacting.  But...I realized that I can
look through a viewfinder during that time.

Both dogs have been around kids quite a lot and have never showed the
slightest sign of aggression.  We've pulled on their ears and tails and fur
and whatnot since they were puppies.  We give them food and take it away.
We played with their mouths while they were eating when they were pups.
They're used to it.  Of course, I wouldn't allow anybody else--including my
kid--to mess with them while they're eating.  That's just stupid.  But it's
all part of raising a dog.  Conditioning them so that they understand what
is acceptable and what is not.

Is it a risk?  Yes.  With proper supervision, I don't believe she's any more
at risk than when she's in her car seat and we're traveling down the
highway.


Eric
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In reply to: Message from "Eric" <ericm@pobox.com> ([Leica] equal time for the cats)
Message from "Jason Vicinanza" <jv@futurafish.com> (RE: [Leica] equal time for the cats)