# My 10 month old pup and Staatsmacht Kennel & Protection Services



## Melissa Leistikow (Jan 5, 2012)

This morning while I was getting the kids ready for school, my pup "Dude" was chillin on the floor. My 18 month old daughter decided that he was a horse. She Jumped on him and bounced up and down. She then proceeded to fall on his head and quickly received some very sweet kisses. I LOVE THIS DOG. He is still a pup and can be a bit of a brat at times, but overall he is super sweet and a wonderful addition to our family. He is beautiful too. Gets compliments all the time 

Later on this morning we went to do some Schutzhund training with Dude's breeder and our trainer Stefan Schaub (owner of Staatsmacht Kennel & Protection Services). I am not new to dogs, but new to Schutzhund. I started training and learning when I got Dude in January. Dude has been a joy to train. He is so enthusiastic and IMO, a fast learner. His obedience is "prancy" (as my husband likes to say) and his bite work is great (his favorite part). 

Anyway, I just wanted to brag about what a great dog I have and what a great trainer I have the privilege of working with. Stefan and his wife, Christine, are such great people and Stefan is so patient with me and all my mistakes. I have learned so much and have met some really great people. I am excited for the future with Dude and the many adventures to come. Next summer we are going to have to start competing in dock diving. He thinks he is a lab in the water and is getting some great distance off of the dock


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Awesome..

looking forward to video..


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

i'm trying to get past the part where you allowed your child to behave inappropriately with your dog. Am I supposed to find this charming and amusing? Blech. I guess, that yes, indeed, you are lucky that he is a nice dog.


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## Melissa Leistikow (Jan 5, 2012)

There will be. So far there is only some seriously shaky and out of focus video that my 7 year old daughter took. She likes to practice videoing when we train, but she is easily distracted


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

leslie cassian said:


> i'm trying to get past the part where you allowed your child to behave inappropriately with your dog. Am I supposed to find this charming and amusing? Blech. I guess, that yes, indeed, you are lucky that he is a nice dog.


+1


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## Melissa Leistikow (Jan 5, 2012)

I apologize for not being clear about that. I did not allow this to happen and I did remove her from the situation as soon as I saw it. These things happen quickly. I was just pointing out what a great dog he was. Looking at the post, I could see where you would think that I "allow" this. I do not allow my kids to just run around my house freely with the dog. They are watched carefully, but these things do happen.


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## mike finn (Jan 5, 2011)

leslie cassian said:


> i'm trying to get past the part where you allowed your child to behave inappropriately with your dog. Am I supposed to find this charming and amusing? Blech. I guess, that yes, indeed, you are lucky that he is a nice dog.


Lighten up.


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## Patrick Murray (Mar 27, 2006)

It sounds like you have a great dog, Melissa. Congratulations! 

On another note, it goes without saying that we don't want our children running roughshod over our dogs lest the child get bit or the dog get hurt or develop an unhealthy hatred of kids. [-X With that said, any family companion dog must have a good temperament because, sooner or later, shit happens. I have a four year-old Czech bitch that I don't trust as far as I can throw her. I have small children and, while she's not aggressive too them, I know she is capable of biting them should, let's say, one of them stepped on her tail. Now, my previous two GSD's would have tolerated just about anything. You really need to know your dog. I'm sure Melissa does.


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Well even though I'm a firm believer that the child shouldn't and had better not, I also believe that the dog should not over-react. Since this is a family of dogs I've been watching and have heard nothing but good things about, I'm glad she shared. This type of character information is hugely important to me when looking at dogs. Looking forward to reading more about him.

Terrasita


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Oh yeah, Melissa, I'd love to know the pedigree combination on your pup--Terror/Sire?

Thanks.

Terrasita


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Melissa Leistikow said:


> I apologize for not being clear about that. I did not allow this to happen and I did remove her from the situation as soon as I saw it.


IMO, good answer to a legit concern. 

JMO!

My heart thumped when I read the O.P. and I was very glad to see the reply to Leslie.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> Awesome..
> 
> looking forward to video..



Me too!


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Sounds like a great dog with a decent character. Stubborn me tho wonders why you gave your child the time to first bounce on the dog, then fall over on the dog and watch it gets "Kissed" by aforementioned dog? Did you wait to see what would happen? A small series of events took place and that would have taken time...Just my opinion. 

Small children and dogs should not mix unless supervised. Yes things happen, I will agree with you there but this should have never been allowed to happen to start with, It could have turned out very differentely and we would be reading a very different story on forum now. 

Dogs are not squeeky toys for children to play with. It is a good thing that they are social and gentle around then but I believe at times people simply expect to much from their dogs in this department. 

Personally I would make sure that if I had an 18 month old child and a dog that they could not get near eachother to begin with. Perhaps a lesson for you for the future..


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Alice Bezemer said:


> Sounds like a great dog with a decent character. Stubborn me tho wonders why you gave your child the time to first bounce on the dog, then fall over on the dog and watch it gets "Kissed" by aforementioned dog? Did you wait to see what would happen? A small series of events took place and that would have taken time...Just my opinion.
> 
> Small children and dogs should not mix unless supervised. Yes things happen, I will agree with you there but this should have never been allowed to happen to start with, It could have turned out very differentely and we would be reading a very different story on forum now.
> 
> ...


You are so right. I took it at face value that "I did not allow this to happen and I did remove her from the situation as soon as I saw it" meant instant and ongoing removal. But you're right: that is a sequence of events that sounds a lot like "Did you wait to see what would happen?"

No one here is jumping on the O.P. without reason, IMO. We have all seen too many stories that started exactly like this one, with much different outcomes.

I hope it's all taken as the concerned advice that it is.

JMO.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I'm really looking forward to pictures of your pup, congratulations! It sounds like you really got a great pup for sport and an all around good dog.

Thankfully your dog reacted as it did, (with your kid). I'm sure you understand how easily it could have ended up differently, and through no fault of the dog.

If you do a search on the Internet there are some pictures that illustrate what can happen in the blink of an eye, not with dangerous dogs but with dogs trying to remove themselves from a situation or even just being slightly irritated and reacting as dogs can do, but with very tragic results.


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## kenneth roth (Jul 29, 2010)

people talking about kids, dogs I asume their dogs are kenneled =;??


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

kenneth roth said:


> people talking about kids, dogs I asume their dogs are kenneled =;??


Why?


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

terrasita-- this is the litter http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=719639

melissa your dog responded correctly and i would be proud that it did too. must be alot of shitters around that everyone has to worry about their dogs biting their kids.


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## kenneth roth (Jul 29, 2010)

Sounds like their is no trust betwen dogs,owners.

They state the obviouse more then once, thier concerns

Melissa knows to supervise her dog,kids.

You wait till the dog is an adult? Has OB etc solized? or solize with kids,dogs,pepole.?


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

kenneth roth said:


> people talking about kids, dogs I asume their dogs are kenneled =;??


I second Connie's WHY? wanna share the wealth and elaborate ?


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Nope, I sure don't allow children to climb all over my dogs. All interaction is very strictly supervised. 

I will never forget a claim I was involved in during my career in Insurance. A woman and her toddler were visiting at a friends house who had a very gentle dog. The dog had a toy, the toddler was taking the toy and throwing it for the dog. Unfortunately at one point the dog was excited, the kid went to toss the toy, at the same time the dog tried to grab the toy, and caught the childs face with a tooth. The child had to undergo extensive surgeries, our policy paid out the maximum. This is not the only claim I saw with similar circumstances. 

I prefer to protect my dogs, rather than leave it to chance when it comes to children. I also don't think it's a necessary part of life for dogs to be abused (albeit unintended) by children...go figure.
:roll:


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> terrasita-- this is the litter http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=719639
> 
> melissa your dog responded correctly and i would be proud that it did too. must be alot of shitters around that everyone has to worry about their dogs biting their kids.


I love your statement! It's well thought through, eloquent and total BS. 

It has nothing to do with the dog being a so called "Shitter" or it being a great dog that handles kids very well...It has to do with common sense!
And the fact that some people seem to be lacking it whenever it comes to dogs and children...

It's great that Melissa's dog reacted the way it did. THINK tho...use that noggin on your shoulders and think for a moment. It does not have to be a bad dog that bites! It could be a sweet dog and think to itself "Oh, play!" And it might jump and push and shove and scratch and be happy and joyful and a great dog....now put that against an 18 month old kid? Are we getting a picture here yet or do I have to spell it out for you?

Dogs are dogs and not humans...they play differently, they act differently and they THINK differently.....time people understood that bit of information before even getting a dog!


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## Brittany silveira (Jun 20, 2012)

Thankfully my dogs don't see it as abuse.


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

Alice Bezemer said:


> I love your statement! It's well thought through, eloquent and total BS.
> 
> It has nothing to do with the dog being a so called "Shitter" or it being a great dog that handles kids very well...It has to do with common sense!
> And the fact that some people seem to be lacking it whenever it comes to dogs and children...
> ...


did you read melissas post. its a 10 month old dog. it lives in the house with more than one child. its her child. do you think the dog laying down on the floor while she is getting the other kids ready for school was in the house for its first time never having been around children yet alone her children. this was not a kennel dog around strange children and it is pretty obvious from her post.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> did you read melissas post. its a 10 month old dog. it lives in the house with more than one child. its her child. do you think the dog laying down on the floor while she is getting the other kids ready for school was in the house for its first time never having been around children yet alone her children. this was not a kennel dog around strange children and it is pretty obvious from her post.


And? A dog is a dog, Jamie! Be it kennel or house dog, it matters not!
My kennel dog Robbie is as sweet and gentle with kids as my dog Caylinn is. Caylinn lives in the house. Both are used to children. Both would never willingly harm a child...unintentionaly tho? It could happen! we are talking approx 30 to 35 kilo's of animal here against 18 month old child. No one in this world can look inside his/her dogs head and vouch for its state of mind! We have a pretty good indication of what our dogs MIGHT do but we can not say with 100% certainty that nothing will happen. So why take the risk? People need to realise that just because we think a dog will react a certain way doesn't mean it actualy will act that way. Stop thinking your dog is a human and relates to things the same way we do....if people got that part a shitload of less bites and accidents would occur and conversations like this wouldn't even exist.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I'm a little stunned that there's any question about not letting the toddler do what was described. 

As Alice said, calling a dog who gets excited by such roughhousing and causes injuries a "shitter" is way off the mark.

Good for the O.P. who agreed with the comments made.

The situation described is exactly the situation behind many injuries to babies and toddlers by dogs who have never caused any kind of injury to any human, ever.


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

alice-- do you have kids?


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

who ever said letting a kid do that was a good thing. i said i would be proud that my dog behaved correctly. man people cant read for shit around here.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> alice-- do you have kids?


:mrgreen: Nope... Now I'm just going to sit back and wait for your reply, I bet it's going to be very good!


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

if i raise a dog to be around my kids and it bites my kid. yes its a shitter.
my dog cant retrieve ducks. if i went duck hunting with him id have a shitter.
i would not trust my dog around my kids. is he a shitter? no thats not what kind of dog he is.
it pretty obvious from the op's post she has a family dog that she does other things with. a mistake happened the dog responded correctly. she was proud of it.


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

Alice Bezemer said:


> :mrgreen: Nope... Now I'm just going to sit back and wait for your reply, I bet it's going to be very good!


is a reply needed?


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> if i raise a dog to be around my kids and it bites my kid. yes its a shitter.
> my dog cant retrieve ducks. if i went duck hunting with him id have a shitter.
> i would not trust my dog around my kids. is he a shitter? no thats not what kind of dog he is.
> it pretty obvious from the op's post she has a family dog that she does other things with. a mistake happened the dog responded correctly. she was proud of it.


I can't help myself....

If you raise your dog to be around kids, which is a GOOD thing, and it bites your kids then YOU are the blame and not the dog!
YOU are the one doing the supervising here. Do not blame the dog for its nature when you were the idiot thinking all would be well and good!

It is totaly and utterly irresponsible to put a dog and a child together UNSUPERVISED and just let things go the way they go! 

It's very simple. If you have kids, and dogs and small toddlers and are busy with them and can't keep your eye on them at all times then you seperate the dogs from the kids until a time that you CAN keep an eye on them. There is nothing more to it then that. Argue as you will about shitter dogs and what ever other label you wish to put on a dog simply because it does not fit your point of view. I would rather keep a child and dog seperated when I can not give it my full attention then take it to the ER with a concussion because the 10 month old pup decided to stand up while the 18 month year old toddler was on its back, causing it to fall, hit its head. Are we done now?


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> is a reply needed?


I figured you would have some sort of come back to me not having kids.
Something along the lines of "If you don't have any how can you judge this" You were smart enough tho to stay very far away from that one. 

smart or worried about what I would say


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## jamie lind (Feb 19, 2009)

no alice you just see enemys when there are none.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

jamie lind said:


> no alice you just see enemys when there are none.


Again with the assumption thing :roll:

Have a pleasant evening Jamie.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I have kids and grandkids, although I'm pretty sure that's not required to think that if I'm busy and can't supervise a toddler and a 10-month-old dog then I separate them until I can.

The O.P. agreed with the suggestions about not allowing that to happen.


Maybe most of us are saying the same thing with the emphasis in different places.




And yep, I'd be proud of the dog too!  Eager to hear more and see video.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I still watch my three youngest grankids 10, 7, 6 at the very least once a week. I trust them with my two dogs and I trust the dogs although the kids aren't allowed in the back yard alone with them. 

I also have complete faith in my dogs and know they would wake me from my nap if something serious happened. :twisted:


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## Tanya Beka (Aug 12, 2008)

leslie cassian said:


> i'm trying to get past the part where you allowed your child to behave inappropriately with your dog. Am I supposed to find this charming and amusing? Blech. I guess, that yes, indeed, you are lucky that he is a nice dog.



Agreed - while it sounds cute, I'd be more careful - children get mauled by dogs every day and it is usually a family dog and a careless owner...


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

I was raised that if a dog would bite a kid even if the kid lost its head and did something stupid, then its character was lacking and frankly it didn't need to be here. The dogs in my family were GSDs and kids could do no wrong but again we were raised that you didn't disrepect a dog, either. I raised a baby with 2 GSDs--one very tough and working line--the other I got as an adult that I never trusted around other people's children. Kid, dogs and I were always in the same room up until my kid was about 5 I think. Pups were on a leash or long line attached to me. Funny thing is, my kid never attempted to bounce on a dog or pull an ear, etc. With Ingrid, did I worry she would act inappropriately if he did--NEVER. She was devoted to him. Tasha was different but really I think what Jamie said about it being the handler's kid, holds true--at least for the type of GSD I'm accustomed to. Tasha never gave me a moments worry. If the pup is leashed to me on a long line, there is no way the kid can get to the dog and act inappropriately--or so I thought and I also have control of the dog. I have raised dogs of three breeds with my son and the only one that was an issue was the prey driven bouv who wanted to spring in prey with body bites and my kid was 9. She got over that at 12 weeks w/ probably the most severe correction I've put on a dog. But the first couple of years, she was always on leash around kids and she's never been unsupervised with other peoples children. 

My baby came home from the hospital and spent his first few years with her first lying under his crip and then next to his toddler bed. This was probably one of the hardest toughest dogs I've owned but her character was impeccable. About 2ish he started to get invasive and wanted to dress her in a shirt, put sunglasses on her, or roll his hot wheel down her back and along her tail. The first couple of times I got up from my desk to redirect him. Then I noticed she had her own way of dealing with it. She would lick him PROFUSELY and suddenly he would turn and go back to his toys and she would sigh with satisfaction. After that I left it alone. You know your dogs and you should know your kid and what their propensities are. Kids and dogs know what you will tolerate. My kid would run around as a year old toddler and run my step mother ragged getting dressed. She always asked why, for me, did he not move? You set the conduct and they will pick up on that. 

I'm huge on supervision but that said, I expect the dog to have the character to deal with it. The best trained kid can stage and have a wild hair moment that you may be a day late and a dollar short on. I expect the dog to deal with it correctly. Ingrid was dog I was so connected with and believed in that yes, I trusted her implicitly. Regardless of the dogs, I think kids should be supervised anyway which is why mine was always in the same room with me. As my son got older, Ingrid would lay in the hall between the two rooms. With the other dogs during the baby years, they were under the strictest supervision. 

For the OP, puppies stage 18 months old, believe it or not is old enough to comprehend and know better. You can tell how the kid is thinking before he even gets to the dog if you're watching him and can stop the behavior before it even happens. 

I have always raised my puppies around children even before I had one and now that mine will soon be 18, I'll have to seek out some for my next dog. I don't let kids interact with my dogs unless I tell them how and I have control over he dog's teeth. I know the dogs have the character but you don't take the chance. I didn't allow my kids playmates to interact with the dogs unless I had control of the dog's teeth. Growing up when there was a disagreement, my dog always chose my side so I know how ugly that can be. During kid visiting hours, dogs were with me or in their crates behind a closed door. 

T


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

jamie lind said:


> terrasita-- this is the litter http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=719639
> 
> melissa your dog responded correctly and i would be proud that it did too. must be alot of shitters around that everyone has to worry about their dogs biting their kids.


WOW, that's a power pedigree and I do love all that gorgeous breed type and structure. 

Thanks Jamie. 

T


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I'm a little stunned that there's any question about not letting the toddler do what was described.
> 
> As Alice said, calling a dog who gets excited by such roughhousing and causes injuries a "shitter" is way off the mark.
> 
> ...


exactly.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

In this whole thread I think that the only poster who has shown that she has profound knowledge of a dog is Alice Bezemer.

Others have shown that they would take precautions and not allow dog and child together unsupervised which assures me that they are at least aware of the situation.

But, I am shocked at the others who think that a dog can act "correctly", that think a dog who is raised in a family is totally safe with children, that a dog once shown where the limits are, will always adhere to them.

It maybe a great dog - Stefan Schaub has a reputation for breeding good dogs but this has nothing to do with the situation at hand.


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## Brian McQuain (Oct 21, 2009)

I have scars from a BC I grew up with who competed nationally and internationally in sheep herding, and various other sports (ended up with 39 titles in all before he died). He also was a therapy dog, and the first service dog at our local hospital. This past Thursday the hospital actually dedicated a healing garden used to feed the community after him...Jakob's Garden. The local herding club created an award for the HIT called the Perpetual Jakob Award. Point is, he was no shitter, loved by hundreds, reliable, gentle, and I have plenty of scars from him from not obeying the rules around him. 

Allowing kids to be around dogs unsupervised, or to act inappropriate around them, and to think that if you can't trust your dog around kids unsupervised that you have a shitter dog or poor training shows great ignorance and poor judgment


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## Brian McQuain (Oct 21, 2009)

Nice breeding, btw!


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## Stefan Schaub (Sep 12, 2010)

if some people would spend more time with the dog and not with stupid arguments or ideas it would be nicer for every one.

Someone tells here how proud she is on her dog and only to say !!!she can!!!! people start here to get crazy.

wish all people would care and train the dog like melissa is doing that. on the end it is like all time people who really train day for day get stupid comments. we will see in a few month who have trials in the book and who not.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I think Melissa understands that much of the thread stopped being about her long ago. 

It has been pointed out several times that responders would be very proud of and happy with such a dog, too.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Stefan Schaub said:


> if some people would spend more time with the dog and not with stupid arguments or ideas it would be nicer for every one.
> 
> Someone tells here how proud she is on her dog and only to say !!!she can!!!! people start here to get crazy.
> 
> wish all people would care and train the dog like melissa is doing that. on the end it is like all time people who really train day for day get stupid comments. we will see in a few month who have trials in the book and who not.


No one said Melissa should not be proud of her dog, Stefan. It was said things could have ended very differently. This is not about taking anyone to task, this is about trying to prevent accidents that are very preventable from happening! This story has long gone from being about Melissa to being about people being responsible with their children around dogs.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Stefan Schaub said:


> if some people would spend more time with the dog and not with stupid arguments or ideas it would be nicer for every one.
> 
> Someone tells here how proud she is on her dog and only to say !!!she can!!!! people start here to get crazy.
> 
> wish all people would care and train the dog like melissa is doing that. on the end it is like all time people who really train day for day get stupid comments. we will see in a few month who have trials in the book and who not.


Wow. Stupid comments? Really? Rude much, Stefan?

I suggest you go back and re-read the thread. No one here said she shouldn't be proud of the way her dog reacted, in fact most of us went out of our way to agree that the dog reacted admirably.


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## Stefan Schaub (Sep 12, 2010)

i have read it. did not know that Melissa is '' Super Woman'' and her speed is faster than the light. How can she remove the kid before he gave her a kiss.

if you have dogs in your house things happen. no guaranty on anything. if you play with fire sometimes you get burned. but is that a reason to go over and over it again.

i am not rude only real direct


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I think Melissa understands that much of the thread stopped being about her long ago.
> 
> It has been pointed out several times that responders would be very proud of and happy with such a dog, too.



It has been mentioned that "when we can't be right there, we separate."

The O.P. agreed.


"If you play with fire sometimes you get burned" ..... that's perhaps not the message I would want to send. Maybe better is "keep toddler and fire apart when I am not right there." 


I think Melissa understands that much of the thread stopped being about her long ago. 


Alice Bezemer said:


> ... This story has long gone from being about Melissa to being about people being responsible with their children around dogs.



And it has been pointed out several times that responders would be very proud of and happy with such a dog.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Stefan Schaub said:


> i have read it. did not know that Melissa is '' Super Woman'' and her speed is faster than the light. How can she remove the kid before he gave her a kiss.
> 
> if you have dogs in your house things happen. no guaranty on anything. if you play with fire sometimes you get burned. but is that a reason to go over and over it again.
> 
> i am not rude only real direct


It was a sequence of events that made people react, not just a kiss as you put it. But aside from all that...let me put it in very simple plain ole english!

This situation should NOT HAVE EXISTED TO BEGIN WITH [-X

10 month old pup and 18 month old kid playing bouncy on its back? Really? Great that nothing happened...or rather THANK GOD that nothing bad happened.


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## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Ts: glad your pup behaved as she did!

But i agree at the supervision part of this thread.

I was raised to be gentle with the dogs, behave quietly and ask if you want to pet, don't EVER go near within about 1-2 m (3-6ft)a dog you dont know or while trained ( grew up at knpv field partly). If i got bitten it was my fault and i would get an ass whooping too.

Our kids ( 2 &3) are allowed with some of the dogs, while supervised, the kids get corrected for not being gentle enough, being to wild etc. The oldest walks their pet dachshund onour property( while i watch from a distance, bute close enough to correct either of them verbally).


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## Timothy Saunders (Mar 12, 2009)

Stefan Schaub said:


> i have read it. did not know that Melissa is '' Super Woman'' and her speed is faster than the light. How can she remove the kid before he gave her a kiss.
> 
> if you have dogs in your house things happen. no guaranty on anything. if you play with fire sometimes you get burned. but is that a reason to go over and over it again.
> 
> i am not rude only real direct


You are very right and I had a 5yr old( now 13 doing decoy work) with a permanent bite mark in his arm. I got Burned. People are trying to make sure that Melissa and other people don't get burned. Try not calling peoples comments stupid when they are trying to be helpful. 

By the way no body cares if she wins every trial she goes to if her kid gets bitten. Great reaction by the dog Melissa.


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## Stefan Schaub (Sep 12, 2010)

may be you do not get the point. you can not control situations like this. there is only one way to go with out a risk. put the dog outside in a kennel, make a double fence and you are safe. why happen so many accident because there is all time the chance for.


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## Eric Read (Aug 14, 2006)

Sometimes I wonder if everyone lives by the same standards they hold everyone else to, especially on the internet. If you own dogs, you've had more than one moment where thankfully you had a good dog and it acted appropriately in those situations.

I agree with others, lighten up. 6 pages to keep bringing up how wrong this owner was.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

_"I agree with others, lighten up. 6 pages to keep bringing up how wrong this owner was."_

Most people's posts to the thread stopped being about Melissa and became general long ago. That's been pointed out several times now.


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## Eric Read (Aug 14, 2006)

you're right, now everyone can argue about what the thread is really about for anothe 10 pages or so. Such is the evolution of an innocent thread on a message board. 

Still doesn't change what I said first.


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## Megan Berry (Jul 19, 2010)

Selena van Leeuwen said:


> Ts: glad your pup behaved as she did!
> 
> But i agree at the supervision part of this thread.
> 
> ...


 
Selena,

That is exactly how I am raising my 4 year old son. If I catch him messing with the dogs (NO, he is never allowed to be unsupervised with them, but I don't keep them entirely apart, either) He gets a spanking and time out PRONTO. He also knows not to touch other people's dogs, or any 'new' dogs we might be keeping for any period of time. 

He's only 4, but he knows the rules well enough to follow them. It's just a matter of enforcing them. 

megan


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## Skip Morgart (Dec 19, 2008)

You need to put the law of averages in your favor and avoid unnecessary chances between kids and dogs. In the long run, there will be many less "accidents" that way.
That being said, I was an only child for a lot of years MANY years ago, and one of my main companions in those very early years was a large black GSD (Joker) that I'm SURE I tormented when mom wasn't right there. But I could do no wrong in that dog's eyes. I remember being very young and tying couch pillows on his back as a saddle and then attempting to ride him, all happening the few minutes while my mom was in the kitchen. Future GSDs we had were nowhere near as tolerant, but nowadays we must all look at what is possible, and I would never allow any kids to test a dog like I did, no matter how good the dog reacted. I loved that dog, but looking back I'm sure I was very lucky.


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