[GaxyGroordrep]

I got Odie when my daughter was 4. He has never bitten or jumped on her. He will give me hugs when I get home but that's me. I trust Odie with my now almost 7 yr old. She trains him, and loves on him. But I also"Train"my child. She is one of the most well behaved kids I know. This isn't bragging as complete strangers have told me how well behaved she is. When my almost 7 yr old goes outside in the yard Odie watches the yard and makes sure no one comes near the house. If he comes in and she is outside I say why aren't you watching the baby. And Odie goes right back outside to watch her. Also at a park a grandma was on a cell phone watching a 4 and 2 yr old. They politely asked to pet Odie, My husband,daughter and I stopped and let the kids pet Odie. The grandma after a cpl of minutes of petting came over and asked if Odie was a pitbull. I said yes he's an APBT. She said I thought those dogs were vicious, my husband being the wise ass that he is said does he look vicious. We then went on our way.

[Charryith]

I love when kids play with Guinness and my dogs.. They get showered in kisses... but they are SUPERVISED always.. Key word there. Any breed of dog should be supervised at all times, I don't care if the phone rings for one second and I have to turn my back, the kids and dogs get separated. This has probably already said, I didn't really read the thread very well but Thats my two cents that has probably just been repeated.

[detskpit]

Well were having a house warming party for my brother inlaw today at our house and theres going to be alot of strangers coming over.What worries me is all the kids running ,jumping,yelling,basically just being kids.The wife wants to isolate the pup cause all the other people coming, she said people dont want a dog bothering them and there kids.I tried to tell her that he would calm down after he met everyone.Hes really doing great around our 4 kids.

[drlifeech]

Nothing more to contribute to the advice given so far other than a cautionary tale. Years ago, back in the UK we were visiting a friend with a beautiful Staffie bitch & 2 small children. We sat & drank coffee in the kitchen until we heard the dog yowling & yelping from the living room. Fearing the worst we dashed through the house to find the kids in hysterics & the dog with a pencil sticking out of it's ass.
The dog showed zero aggression but it's the only time I've seen a dog that actually looked humiliated.
Don't trust your kids!

[michael247]

Put the pup away till the guest kids calm down, then bring the pup out for a supervised visit. Kids love to play tag with dogs(we did ) But that can get a pup super excited. He sounds like a great pup, but he's still a dog and dogs play with their mouths until they learn better. You don't need excited kids running and making the pup excited. Puppy teeth are pretty sharp even in play.

[detskpit]

Bam Bam did great with company kept him on a leash next to me, he got greeted and took a nap woke up unleashed and he acted like everything was normal ,didn't bother anyoneAnd yes he is 3 months old.And there was a bunch of younger kids running around.

[D6b2v1HA]

My bully is GREAAATTT with my kids! I mean she is their perfect little companion. She plays ball with they cuddle and watch movies together, she gets soo happy when they wake up in the morning. Im pregnant with my third and I have no worries or concerns regarding Kai and the new baby, of course well preparations will help her with the transition, but other than that, these dogs are a wonderful family dog! I recently had to get rid of an English Springer Spaniel she was said to be " a great family dog" for snapping and growling at my children while they played with their own toys!

[denyffishh]

Of course, if you don't feel comfortable having your pup around all those kids/strangers, then you should have him put away for things like that, or on leash as you said, which is a good solution.

There's nothing wrong with keeping your dog out of situations where you feel at all uncomfortable with him there. That's for the best!

I am glad you found a solution you were comfortable with, and though I assumed it would be fine, I am glad to hear everything went well. The more he gets used to guests and children, the more comfortable you will be in the situation.

[tipokotap]

Well, I posted about a situation I had today. Nothing my dog did. Just, I guess some people just listen to the news and they are totally bias. My dog loves kids. I want to stress again, to never leave any dog alone with your kids. If you have a big dog of any breed, they are bigger than your child. I don't care what breed. (Long story and have lived through this my whole life with what I would call really mean dogs my mother had,...not pit bulls. And they loved my children...but not me...lol) Dogs will bite things that hurt them. Pit Bulls are known to love people and be a great family dog. I have a min pin, a pit bull, and a bunch of cats that she loves to play with. When we go out to the park, she wants to pet the kids soooo much...and thankfully some of the families see that she is awesome and let her play. But, that is my dog...and I will say I am very careful, hold her and tell the kids to pet her under her chin to make sure there is no jumping ...ect. Just have to be careful and responsible with any dog. They really have a bad rep....and there are genetics...you just have to figure out WHO your dog is and what you want. Truthfully...I think if you are scared of your dog...Find a nice home for it, and be very carefull about that too!!! I am not being mean...but if you are scared of your dog...then that in itself is a problem. You and your kids have to be the leaders.

[satthackacibe]

I definitely was! Pooh came to us through our son when his landlord told him he could not have a dog. We have a 4 year old grandson, and I was very nervous about him being around the dog at first. But Pooh adores him and follows him everywhere when he is here. He is very gentle with him. I still supervise because Pooh can get excited and jump which results in scratches sometimes. He's still learning not to do that. He can also be too grabby with toys and can catch a finger. But I'm very confident he would never intentionally hurt anyone...especially not my grandson. Here they are napping together:

[tipokotap]

Awww....sooo cute!!!!

[yxn2dC07]

If you are nervous about the dog jumping up on the kids (or anybody), make sure you involve the kids in the dogs training. Although my pup is 3 now, she still gets easily excited. So whenever nieces, nephews, or cousins come to visit I teach them the squirt bottle trick. We have a squirt bottle by the door and in our living room. When Mini gets too excited someone just needs to pick up the bottle, give her one squirt, and she settles down. It is actually to the point that all you have to do is pick up the bottle and she knows to settle down.

Super easy trick, and the kids feel pretty cool in helping train her. After having her for over a year, and only using the squirt bottle for about 6 months, jumping up is almost a non-issue

[acceraStoof]

I agree with what everyone has been saying about thus far (only skimmed on page one) that keep a close eye on the dog and don ever let them be alone. etc..

Both my dogs are great with kids. I got them as adults with no history so i didnt know what to expect of them when it came to children. So when I first introduced them to my little cousins i was hyper vigiliant around them, after i got to know my dogs temperment better i have became more relax.

My dogs are so tolerant of the children rowdiness. Just this thanksgiving there were 8 children running around wrestling, screaming all the above and my dogs totally ignored them or looked at them like they are crazy. My cousins poke their noses and name their body parts and pull on both my dogs tails and even fall on them and honestly my dogs have been great about it.

That being said I think you should be less worried abotu your puppy siince you have it as a puppy you will be able to socialize your dog with children and you can lay some children and doggy rules and boundaries for both the puppy and children. APBT are known as the nanny dogs

But I am always there of course I would never leave them alone with my dogs.


here is 2 pics of a few weeks ago of children jumping on the bed, wrestling and playing pillow fight while my dogs layed in the corner of the bed, they didnt move not even when the 3 year old fell on them.

[ariniaxia]

I would be skeptical of any dog brought home from a shelter simply because you dont know how that dog is bred,the background of that dog or anything,just the line that the shelter gave to get the dog out the door.