do animals prefer you?

KathyM said:

Sorry I clicked post before saying it's not them sensing fear with him as he was never afraid of them.  It is something else.  I worked in dog behaviour and training for a while and have read a lot about it.  I would be the one that would usually argue the child has done something to bring on the dog's aggression but I have not to this day worked out what that was.  I put the mauling down to a high prey drive in the foster dog as Dan didn't do anything that might have got that reaction.  It has always puzzled me.

All dogs are descended from wolves, and are therefore all potentially unpredictable (as with any wild animal).  I personally don't think any dog should be around children, as children are not only vulnerable due to size but also are more likely to move rapidly or do something which the dog will interpret as aggression or something else that triggers wild behaviour.  The amount of dog attacks in the UK is horrendous.  I know I have an extreme opinion, but I think no dogs should be allowed to be kept as pets.  I even read that a toddler was in a play park with a family friend and a dog outside of the play park just randomly jumped into the park over the railings and attacked the toddler.  We never even know what's in another human's mind letalone a dog's.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236805/Toddler-left-horrific-facial-injuries-attacked-dog-played-roundabout.html

People who have dogs always defend their being kept and blame bad owners (which I know are out there) but you can never know what a dog will do and it's just not worth the risk.  Make them illegal to own.

And they said "this was a tragic accident" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236193/Jack-Russell-cross-bites-week-old-child-jealousy-attack.html

That's like saying an adult leaving a boiling kettle on the edge of a worktop with a toddler running around unsupervised was a tragic accident.  Some accidents are easily preventable and should never have happened, the risk should not be put there for vulnerable children in the first place.  I'm not passing judgement on you BTW, just saying what I personally feel about dogs.

KathyM said:

Sorry I clicked post before saying it's not them sensing fear with him as he was never afraid of them.  It is something else.  I worked in dog behaviour and training for a while and have read a lot about it.  I would be the one that would usually argue the child has done something to bring on the dog's aggression but I have not to this day worked out what that was.  I put the mauling down to a high prey drive in the foster dog as Dan didn't do anything that might have got that reaction.  It has always puzzled me.

All dogs are descended from wolves, and are therefore all potentially unpredictable (as with any wild animal).  I personally don't think any dog should be around children, as children are not only vulnerable due to size but also are more likely to move rapidly or do something which the dog will interpret as aggression or something else that triggers wild behaviour.  The amount of dog attacks in the UK is horrendous.  I know I have an extreme opinion, but I think no dogs should be allowed to be kept as pets.  I even read that a toddler was in a play park with a family friend and a dog outside of the play park just randomly jumped into the park over the railings and attacked the toddler.  We never even know what's in another human's mind letalone a dog's.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236805/Toddler-left-horrific-facial-injuries-attacked-dog-played-roundabout.html

People who have dogs always defend their being kept and blame bad owners (which I know are out there) but you can never know what a dog will do and it's just not worth the risk.  Make them illegal to own.

And they said "this was a tragic accident" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236193/Jack-Russell-cross-bites-week-old-child-jealousy-attack.html

That's like saying an adult leaving a boiling kettle on the edge of a worktop with a toddler running around unsupervised was a tragic accident.  Some accidents are easily preventable and should never have happened, the risk should not be put there for vulnerable children in the first place.  I'm not passing judgement on you BTW, just saying what I personally feel about dogs.