Weekend Photos - 5/12/17

[healey36]

Maybe he mis-spelled rescue?

"Rescue" maybe...

[chuck]

In this case it's kind of the same. A recused animal will become a "rescued" animal when it's adopted.

Yes, any dog can turn on anyone and it many cases the reasons' aren't always obvious. A lab is a large dog and they are pretty strong.

That's kind of why I was asking about the right/left paw issue. All dogs that show a tendency toward one paw or the other are more stable than ambidextrous ones. Right pawed dogs are more likely to selected for service work because of their demeanor. The dog will also take queue's from the other family members. He has to work out his/her position in the family and he/she will pick up on things like how the children interact with each other and mom and dad interact with them.

The strangest situation with two kids and a dog was just down the block from us. Molly was a golden retriever and a very sweet dog. The family had two kids, the oldest was a girl and she was about two-three years younger than my daughter. My daughter often played together with her. Her younger brother was about 4 or 5 years old and maybe three years her junior. The dog was not overly fond of David. Not to where she would do anything about it but she really didn't like being near him. One day she got loose and started to run away. The dad yelled for her to stop. She did. David cried out MOLLY. Dog took off and ran to the next house. Dad yells stop. She does. David yells MOLLY. She bolts again. Dad yells, David, SHUT UP and GET IN THE HOUSE. Molly stop! She kind of slowed down and dad took off after her.

[Roy]

Christopher, I need to be really clear that I'm talking about dogs killing children. All breeds do it, Collies, Retrievers and Labradors included. I wasn't aware of this phenomenon until I saw a news story about such an attack. There are about 20-30 deaths a year in the U.S., mostly small children. Here's just one reported case, from last year:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Mauling-Dog-Mira-Mesa-376758441.html

[chuck]

I'm not trying to make light of the potential issues of pets not behaving well BUT:

US Dog death by dog bite statistics:

In 2016, 31 dog attacks resulted in human death: 13 child victims and 18 adult victims. The state of California had the highest number of dog bite-related fatalities in 2016 with 6 deaths

Children who died at the hands of humans was over 2000 in 2016. These were victims of abuse/neglect by family members. It probably doesn't include kids that were killed as collateral damage in gun fights where they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, aka the actual number is probably higher.

[Roy]

For every death, there are thousands of non-lethal dog bites. Dogs often bite their victims in the face, causing serious disfigurement.

[Roy]

Children who died at the hands of humans was over 2000 in 2016. These were victims of abuse/neglect by family members.

Is this figure for the U.S.? This is a whole nother kettle of fish, that has nothing to do with Christopher's situation. But, it is a worthwhile phenomenon to be aware of.

[chuck]

Yes, US. It is related to domestic violence specifically, aka it does not necessarily include children that died from other accidental acts not associated with family issues.

[Roy]

Yes, US. It is related to domestic violence specifically, aka it does not necessarily include children that died from other accidental acts not associated with family issues.

Understood. "Domestic violence" sounds so clinical. We're talking about parents murdering their own children. In ancient Rome, the pater familias had the power of life and death over everyone in his extended family.

[christopher2035]

i meant rescue. Was typing from my phone. The lab is right pawed It's a chance you take w/ any large animal. You could have the dog its whole life & they could snap one day. You never know. I've volunteered in shelters for years , as has my wife. We can both read an animal by it's behavior cues & take it from there. We wouldn't take an animal into our house if we didn't think it would be a good fit. Is there a chance, yeah there's always a chance. Also a chance I can get killed next time I leave the house. Like Chuck said, for a lab to be aggressive & mean, you would have to beat the hell out of it. My Pug was abused. We got her at 1. She is still really scared of a lot of things. Like I said, you can tell a lot by reading the dog.

[christopher2035]

He's a been a great dog so far. Very well behaved. Listens to commands & is pretty chill, but loves to play ball w/ the kids after they get home.
He has taken a special liking to me & pretty much follows me around the house whenever I'm home. If I'm running trains, he will just come in the train room & lay by my feet