Dogs & Kids

[roo_ster]

To steal a line from Forrest Gump, dogs & kids go together like peas & carrots.


8 Month Pic

We have two dogs.  Ten is a 6yo male German Short Haired Pointer (65lbs) & Misty is a 2yo female GSP (45lbs).  Both are terrific with our 9 month old boy, Luke.

Misty is especially good with Luke and has become his best buddy.  The other day Luke (in his high chair) was chowing down on a biter biscuit with all six of his teeth.  I noticed Misty was taking an especial interest.  Out of the corner of my eye I spied Luke gnawing on the biscuit and then offer Misty a bite.  She delicately nipped off a bit, leaving Luke the lion's share.  As Luke laughed and started to move the biscuit toward his semi-toothy maw, I let out a "Nooooooo!" and made a dash for the biscuit...rescuing the biscuit before Luke could gnaw on it some more.  Disaster averted.  Luke laughed.  I guess in addition to being an ambulatory carnival ride, I am also comic relief.

Luke is not the most skilled eater of Cheerios, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that he drops a few extra for Ten & Misty to police up.

Also, both Ten & Misty are tolerant of Luke's ham-handed pats.  We instruct Luke on the proper way to pet a dog, but his enthusiasm gets the best of him, at times.  The most they do is get up & get outta Dodge.

Ten & Misty generally can figure who's toys are who's.  Luckily, Luke favors hard or resiliant rubber items to teeth on, while the dogs are partial to their stuffed animals.  On occasion Luke will play with one of his stuffed animals & it is entertaining to watch the dogs track Winnie the Pooh through the air as Luke whips Pooh about.  Every once in a while they attempt to toy-nap one of Luke's playthings.  Luke takes this as an opportunity for tug-o-war.  The dogs seem to enjoy it, too.

The dogs help keep Luke entertained and in a happy mood with their antics.  Inside, they get all wound up if they see a Bolshevik squirrel on the grounds.  Thier whining & fussing about fascinates Luke.  If everybody is outside, their constant running, chasing, and dog wrestling does the same.

[Harold Tuttle]

What disaster?
Dog spit is good for growing immune systems

Heck, back when i was raised by wolves, mom used to carry lunch back to me in the cave.
ERRRkk, EERRRRK, Lunch is served!

[USP45usp]

My parents have pictures of me and the dog(s) eating out of the same bowl (okay, it was the dogs bowl but that's not the point ).  I guess that I did it so much (and ate dirt/mud as a dessert) that my parents just quit worrying about me.

Sounds like a good family mix .

Wayne

[Ex-MA Hole]

My dogs eat carrots as snacks.

My eight month old is starting to crawl.

The other day I caught her with one of Bear's carrots in her mouth.  

I thought it was funny.

Momma was pissed!

Bear and Sammi are inseperable.  They have become best of friends, and even nap on each other.

The other dog could care less, though.  Her loss.

[K Frame]

Dog spit is antiseptic.

Mtnbkr is traveling, but I'll leave him tell you what his dog and daughter do.

Think... "French Kiss"

[Azrael256]

Dog spit is antiseptic.

Yup.  Dog will get sick before the kid does.

[Sindawe]

Dog spit is antiseptic

WTF?  Sorry, nope.

an·ti·sep·tic     P   Pronunciation Key  (nt-sptk)
adj.
Of, relating to, or producing antisepsis.
Capable of preventing infection by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms.
Thoroughly clean; aseptic. See Synonyms at clean.
Of or associated with the use of antiseptics.
Devoid of enlivening or enriching qualities: “This is... not at all lighthearted or amiable music. In fact, the tone is unremittingly sober and antiseptic” (Donal Henahan).
Free of disturbing or unpleasant features; sanitized: an antiseptic version of history.

All animals have a natural bacterial population in the oral cavity (and elsewhere).  Dogs have a population that is different from ours, but it is still there.

[K Frame]

Researchers at the University of California, Davis (home to the nation's best vetrinary program), have found that dog saliva kills E. Coli and Streptococcus canis, another bacteria harmful to humans.

Ergo, dog saliva is antiseptic according to at least one your stated definitions.

Few "antiseptics" kill all germs.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I was raised by a Border Collie and I think I turned out OK, for the most part.  It wasn't until I started raising Spitzes that I turned a little more sociopathic

Luke will probably be healthier than his cohort because he's exposed to potential allergens earlier and more frequently and his immune system will develop more throughly than theirs.  He'll end up having fewer colds, allergies, less incidence of asthma (although the Dallas air quality will be a wildcard).  If nothing else, he's going to be more well-rounded as a Human Being because of his Canid relations. Ten and Misty are great Canid folks- I can attest to that.

Bring him over to meet Daisy sometime. She's 100 pounds of Labrador drool in a fuzzy yellow wrapper.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Sindawe]

Researchers at the University of California, Davis (home to the nation's best vetrinary program), have found that dog saliva kills E. Coli and Streptococcus canis, another bacteria harmful to humans.

Interesting.  Journal citation?

[Guest]

Researchers at the University of California, Davis (home to the nation's best vetrinary program), have found that dog saliva kills E. Coli and Streptococcus canis, another bacteria harmful to humans.

Interesting.  Journal citation?

Considering the scavenging nature of dogs (not to mention their disturbing habit of occassional "recycling") I wouldnt be at all suprised if they had evolved a few antiseptic qualities.

Here are some interesting links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2125128&dopt=Abstract

http://www.bionewsonline.com/y/2/streptococcus_v.htm
this one is hard to locate, you can do a page search for "canine" and it should be the second hit, here is the relevant text to make it easier:

Physiol Behav, 1990 Sep, 48(3), 383 - 6
Antibacterial properties of saliva: role in maternal periparturient grooming and in licking wounds; Hart BL et al.; Canine saliva was tested for its bactericidal effects against pathogens relevant to the presumed hygienic functions of maternal grooming of the mammary and anogenital areas and licking of wounds . Both female and male saliva were bactericidal against Escherichia coli and Streptococcus canis but only slightly, and nonsignificantly, bactericidal against coagulase positive staphylococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . E . coli is the cause of highly fatal coliform enteritis of neonatal mammals and E . coli and S . canis are the main pathogens implicated in neonatal septicemia of dogs . The bactericidal effects of saliva would facilitate the hygienic function of maternal licking of the mammary and anogenital areas in protecting newborns from these diseases . E . coli and S . canis along with coagulase positive staphylococcus and P . aeruginosa are among the common wound contaminants of dogs . Wound licking, and the application of saliva, would thus reduce wound contamination by E . coli and S . canis . The resistance of staphylococcus to bactericidal effects of saliva may be a factor in the high frequency (46 percent) with which coagulase positive staphylococcus was isolated from wounds compared with much lower frequency (9-17 percent) with which E . coli and S . canis were isolated.

[Iain]

Never any problems then?

My boy has only been exposed to kids above the age of 12, that was an error on my part. I don't let children corner him and mostly he just ignores them (behaves towards children like he does to other dogs, pretends they aren't there until they start molesting him)

If and when I have another dog, socialisation will be top priority for the first year of his life. Theo is my first dog though, and perfect in all other regards, just a bit worrisome where children are concerned. In fact he was really easy for the first year, didn't bark once until he was about 12 months, and just rolled for anyone. There is a slight timid streak though, and it's there in all the other dogs from his litter, and that's not such a great characteristic.

Love the GSP's by the way, saw a few of those out on a walk a few months back, mostly around the size you quote yours, but the male was big. Next dog will be a GSP, a Vizla or close-clipped English sheepdog.

[Dannyboy]

Dog spit is antiseptic.

Mtnbkr is traveling, but I'll leave him tell you what his dog and daughter do.

Think... "French Kiss"

Oh boy, I hope his dog doesn't do what I caught my dog doing one fine day.  I'm cutting the lawn out back and my dog is running around having a grand old time when she stops suddenly and squats.  OK, no problem.  She finishes up, does her little grass scratching thing and then turns around gobbles up a turd.  It happened so fast, I never had a chance to stop her.  Well, needless to say, Zoe has limited licking privileges now.