You Can't Have that Pet and a Baby?

he doesn't have the right to come to your home and tell you to get rid of your dog. If the dog had done something wrong then fair enough. In a way he is right about having a rottweiler with a 2 year old because there have been cases in the news in the past year of babies being killed by their pet rottweilers but the parents were careless to leave baby on the floor or where the dog could get to it, and to a dog the baby may seem like a toy. I think one pet that shouldn't be allowed in the same house as a child is a python last week a baby was strangled and was bit my the pet snake who escaped from its cage

I agree with you that any pet properly domesticated and brought up as a member of the family should be safe for all members of the family to be around. Especially dogs, who would see the family as being a part of his 'clan'. I've had friends who have had Rottis, Pitts and Chows that were like big babies for family and friends, and equally intimidating for strangers. I don't know enough about reptiles, although we have a Painted Turtle who acts differently for the people she knows than for stangers, so I assume she diffrentiates friend from stranger. Unfortunately, there is so much hype about the results when these wonderful animals have been raised poortly, that unknowing people color their opinions for all of them within the breed. Perhaps you could ask the Chief to stop by out of uniform, and introduce him to your dog as friend. If he sees a different side of the dog, other than the stereotype that the media fosters, maybe he would change his opinion?

Hi there! It seems that you love pets, no matter if they are considered high-risk pets. I guess your friendly chief of police is just thinking what he thinks is best if you do have a small child at home. Here in the Philippines we have had accidents with children and pitbulls or rottweillers where the children were killed by these dogs. But at close inspection, it was the fault of the adults who were taking care of these dogs because they did not really take good care of them. To answer your question, I would not have any pet around if I did have a child. Not because I hate pets, but I want to give 100% of my attention to my child. =)

The fact of the matter is that you can never predict what MIGHT happen with a family pet and a small child, but faith has to be put in the Parents of the child and their experience and knowledge of their pet's behaviour. Personally I would never go out and BUY a Pit Bull, Rottweiler or similar type of dog after having a new baby join the family, but if I had one of these as a pet beforehand, I'd of course take into account the temperament of the dog and I'd probably seek some advice as well. I can understand to a point the Chief of Police's fears, but it's ultimately not his concern. He should have faith that you and your Husband are well aware of any potential dangers and would do the right thing accordingly, whether that means keeping the dog or not! I probably wouldn't keep a pet alligator with a baby in the house if I had to choose something! lol.

I think it's great to have animals around children when they are growing up! It creates a great relationship that they will remember for the rest of their lives. My father grew up with three german shepards and he loves that type of dog. They are extremely loyal and protective of the family. They are very safe to have around. I might be a little worried about having snakes around small children. There was a recently story about a python killing a two year old girl. I would be a bit worried myself. Make sure the cage they are kept in is extremely carefully locked. Here's the link to the article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1904756/burmese_python_kills_2yearold_baby.html?cat=53

I have a feeling that he just does not like that dog.

Hi cyn, I wouldnt own any type of dog.. I've never had a bad experience with a dog, i just dont like them. I could list reasons.. but i'm sure you dont care.. My friend has a rottie and two small kids.. As long as they dont let the kids pester the dog, the dog doesn't even bother with the kids. The dog did snap towards her daughter once when i was there.. she was prob 1 and a half almost 2 years old. My friend was so upset and scared.. but still she kept the dog... Whenever i was at her house after that i asked her for the dog to be outside or downstairs (where it had access to a doggydoor to go outside) and i left it down there away from the kids when i was babysitting there also. Better safe then sorry in my books, if the dog snapped once i'm sure it will again no matter how much her husband beat the dog!!

I'm on your side (of course). There really isn't any pet I'd own that I wouldn't have around my kids. We've got cats, dogs and fish. When we had a hamster it was kept where the kids couldn't hurt it. If I had venomous spiders, scorpions, snakes, reptiles or some other type of "untrainable" type critter, I'd make sure it had a safe enclosure that the kids would not be able to hurt it and it wouldn't be able to get out without my knowledge to hurt the kids (like that family whose python killed their baby, why wasn't it in a LOCKED cage?). My children's lives are enriched by the relationships they have with the pets on our family. There is always a playmate or a cuddle buddy around even when mommy & daddy are busy doing grown up stuff, and I think having pets to love and learning how to love them "gently" is a valuable skill that will stay with them for a lifetime. Some of my happiest childhood memories involve the dogs and cats I grew up with, I'm sure my kids will also look back fondly on all the love and fun they shared with our pets. I know you love your kids more than anything in the world and that you'd never do anything to put them in danger. If there is no law barring families from having pets where you live, that cop is an idiot who needs to leave you alone or risk getting himself implicated in some sort of way for unprofessional behavior.

i think the police is just concerned about your child's safety... there are cases here, and we saw it in the news where a domesticated pitbull and his owners had a 5 year old child (or 4?), well the dog bit the baby on the neck while she was by herself... dont get me wrong, i love dogs, i have had some dogs with me before. and now i have two, a native one and labrador retriever. for me i dont like pitbull and rottweiler they have a wild nature and sometimes we cannot predict what will happen.

I think the chief is just showing concern for your child, it's a nice sentiment if not a bit misplaced. If the only side of your dog that he has seen is the growling barking side I think I can understand. That being said, I love rottweilers! I worked for 7 years in an office where the boss brought his rotti to work daily and she was the sweetest funniest laziest most loving dog. The worst she ever did was bump into my knees looking for a butt rub. However, she would get a good bark on for people wearing sunglasses, she didn't like them. I agree with the post above, you should have the chief come over with out his uniform on and introduce him to the dog. Let him see how it interacts with the family. Any dog regardless of it's breed can be most wonderful if it is taught properly how to interact with others.

My boss with the rottie (mentioned in previous post) had a baby with his wife while I worked there. When the baby was brought to work it was really quite cute. The rottie would sit by the car seat and rock the baby when he cried. She would also try once in a while to give the baby a bath. Anyone not trusted by the rottie was quickly hearded away from the baby and when the baby cried the rottie cried too.