DISQUS

So the only reaction to a dog growling for the first time in it's life is to bring it in to the vet to have it put down or find it a new home? Sounds pretty extreme. The alternative is to not be a lazy parent or a lazy pet owner. You could take the easy road, and get rid of the dog, or you could teach your kid to be a decent pet owner and train the dog better. The bottom line is not everybody should be pet owners to begin with, and Foodad, you're one of them.

Wacky? That's a first for me.

More often than not, parents must defend thier pets from the children, rather than the other way around. I also have a 16 month old baby and a dog, and have had to deal with the same issues. We pet owners are a trusting bunch, and we're always surprised when our laid-back lab mix let's our little ones know their being irritating for the first time. For sure, it's a wake-up call. Maybe Fido doesn't like Jr. crawling all over him at every opportunity after all???
As much as the dog must be trained to understand that he is subserviant to any two legged critters, no matter how small they are, the little ones must also be trained as to what is/isn't appropriate to do with their pets. Obviosuly, a 16 month old can't comprehend the lessons 100% which is why no matter how much you trust your animal, you should never leave them alone with your kids.
We've given our dog a dog bed in our family room where we spend much of our time. Our daughter isn't allowed to even touch the dog when he is on his bed. Fido knows he's got a place he can go to relax, and our daughter is being taught that she's not allowed in Fido's special place.
I certainly understand why people get nervous in these situations, but it just doesn't feel right to me to kick the family pet to the curb every time the going gets a little tough. This is what you signed up for when you brought the dog home on day 1. The problem is very rarely bad dogs.