kids walking dogs

[ihartgonzo]

It is just stupid to let a kid walk a dog, if EITHER of them isn't "trained" properly. And, of course, if a child is too young to be trusted to walk around the neighborhood unsupervised, it's even worse if they're walking a dog.

I used to walk our Rottie boy when I was 9 or 10. We lived in a great neighborhood, where everyone knew everyone. He would heel next to me the whole walk, all for ONE milkbone when we got home.

 

[Romy]

Children will NEVER walk my dogs unsupervised...PERIOD! They can be the most dog savvy children in the world, but I do not believe children should be unsupervised with dogs. If anything did happen, I would be 100% at fault for allowing a child to be the responsible party. And this is not something that I would ever want to risk-for the children or for my dogs.

Hutch easily outweighs children, even alot of adults. No matter how excellent his leash manners are he is still an animal. I in no way mean to offend anyone, but a child is not strong enough to control a situation if one ever did arise. My smallest one, Seagle the beagle is typical of the breed and loves everyone (people and animals) and is easily controlled on lead, but if he were attacked while out on a walk it would be irresponsible of me to expect a child to intervene and protect him.

I'm not trying to insult children and say that they don't understand dogs. I'm sure some really do. I loved dogs and researched them in my childhood, infact I probably knew more about them than my parents did. But that did not make it a wise choice for me to walk my dogs unsupervised. There were situations that could have happened that I was physically not able to handle, situations that could have hurt me and my dogs. For this reason it was not responsible of my parents to allow me to walk them unsupervised. Thankfully I did not encounter any of these situations, but I will protect my own dogs and children from any of these potential disasters.

:hail:

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

For those that are OK with it. A dog is an animal with a mind of its own. No dog is 100% on anything. That one time in 12 years that that dog forgets its training and manners will be with a kid. Not to mention if said 10yr old is walking the dog what happens when that stray dog picks a fight. It may not be your dog that has the problem but the kid cant do a thing about it

I agree 100% :hail::hail:

 

[bnwalker2]

A couple years ago, we went to the big local Amish school house auction. I took Thunder with me, as he is accustomed to going with us everywhere. He is very well behaved. At the auction there were several other dogs there but they were all under control as well... or so I thought. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a little Boston Terrier type dog comes flying at Thunder, attacking him. Thunder just tried to hide, he did not fight back.

What had happened was that the dog's owners gave the dog to their three children (all seemed to be under 8 or 9 years old) to walk around as they pleased. The dog was on a 30 FOOT LINE, and was dragging the kids all over the auction. The kids thought it was hilarious that their little dog attacked the big dog... and later I overheard them telling their parents what had happened and the parents laughed and thought it was funny as well. I later saw the youngest of the three kids (maybe 3 years old at most) get pulled to the ground hard by the same dog.

 

[Sweet72947]

Last Saturday I saw my neighbor's 7 or 8 yr old boy walking their 70lb dog by himself. The dog was dragging the kid down the street part of the time ON A FLEXI LEAD with the kid yelling "HEEL!". The dog did heel some of the time, but geesh.

There is also some large brindle mastiff type that has been coming around our neighborhood. If he were to decide to attack another dog while out roaming, that kid wouldn't be able to do anything about it except scream.

 

[milos_mommy]

I walked my eskie by himself from like 8 years old.

But he was a very well behaved dog, i was a very mature child, we knew most of the neighbors, and i could easily handle him. Granted if an off leash dog came and attacked him, we'd be screwed. But it never did.

I agree, normally i don't like seeing children by themselves with a dog.

 

[misticaleclipse]

I think for the most part children under 10 should not be walking
larger dogs by them self. Clearly the issue with that dog was
that it either did not respect the walker or was not taught
proper leash manners. I don't have an issue with a well trained
dog and a 12 year old walking it.

 

[perla123]

I agree 100% :hail::hail:

I also agree with this :hail:

 

[Lilavati]

I disagree. I think it depends on the dog, the kid, the neighborhood. Also, define kid . . . are we talking 6 or 12 or 16 here?

If the dog is large enough to just plain lift the kid off their feet, there's a problem. If the KID is not mature enough to stay out of traffic, there's a problem. But I think it depends on circumstances. Yes, something could happen . . . something can happen when an adult walks a dog to. Should little kids walk big dogs? Probably not. Should irresponsible kids walk dogs? No. Should responsible kid walk a well-behaved, appropriately sized dog in a safe neighborhood? Of course! Its called independence and responsibility, the two things that we, as a society, are utterly determined to protect our children from at all costs.

Something could happen, yes. Something can always happen. If you sit around an wring your hands about 'something' then you'll end up doing nothing, ever . . .