Julie Stauffer

<<I still wouldn't let my child play with a dog that has a tendency to
bite>>

I think it depends on the dog, the kid, and the circumstances. We have 2
dogs that are litter mates, obtained from a no-kill shelter and in poor
health. The female is a psycho dog. She used to be very aggressive to the
male and will occasionally growl and bark at imaginary things. She has
never bit one of the kids.

The male is happy-go-lucky. He has bit my kids on 3 occasions. Twice were
accidents, everybody playing in the sprinkler, the dog biting at the water
and caught on ankle. He bit my 8yo once on purpose but not with intent to
cause the injury. 8yo and dog were really roughhousing with a toy and 8yo
grabbed the toy and ducked it under his chin. Dog bit to get the toy back,
like he would do to another dog.

If I were going to worry about injury, I worry about the female. For the
male, we talk to the kids about not playing so rowdy with him because he
inadvertently hurts people.

Julie

Lynda

We had a Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) that had been abused. We were driving
down the road one day and say a dog chained inside this little open fronted
shed. She was about 9 months old. She had exactly enough length of chain
to sit down but not lay down. Her neck was a mess, not only raw but the
bugs had been visiting.

We "bought" her and took her home and took care of her injuries. However,
for the rest of her life if you pulled on her neck she would snap. this was
a reflex. She would let go as soon as she realised that she had hold of a
human body that wasn't trying to hurt her. She never broke the skin but she
bit a whole bunch of people.

We eventually gave her to a woman that raised sheep that the coyotes had
been getting too and Just Plain Kate became a sheep guardian, which she was
very good at!

My son (6 at the time) was more hysterical over giving her away than when
she bit him. And he was hysterical then because he thought she would get in
trouble, not because she bit him.

It just really depends on the dog and how/why they bite. It also always
amazed me that no matter how many times we explained to folks that they
couldn't pull on her collar or leash, they always did it.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: Julie Stauffer <jnjstau@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2001 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1548


> <<I still wouldn't let my child play with a dog that has a tendency to
> bite>>
>
> I think it depends on the dog, the kid, and the circumstances. We have 2
> dogs that are litter mates, obtained from a no-kill shelter and in poor
> health. The female is a psycho dog. She used to be very aggressive to
the
> male and will occasionally growl and bark at imaginary things. She has
> never bit one of the kids.
>
> The male is happy-go-lucky. He has bit my kids on 3 occasions. Twice
were
> accidents, everybody playing in the sprinkler, the dog biting at the water
> and caught on ankle. He bit my 8yo once on purpose but not with intent to
> cause the injury. 8yo and dog were really roughhousing with a toy and 8yo
> grabbed the toy and ducked it under his chin. Dog bit to get the toy
back,
> like he would do to another dog.
>
> If I were going to worry about injury, I worry about the female. For the
> male, we talk to the kids about not playing so rowdy with him because he
> inadvertently hurts people.
>
> Julie
>
>
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
> To unsubscribe, set preferences, or read archives:
> http://www.egroups.com/group/Unschooling-dotcom
>
> Another great list sponsored by Home Education Magazine!
> http://www.home-ed-magazine.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>