Poor kid, hope she recovers completely. Shoot the dogs! Our neighbor has one of those breeds, wouldn't let me in my house one day, barked and kept leaping at me. When I finally did get in I called them and asked them to keep the mutt out of my yard. Went on a big tirade telling me there was nothing wrong with her dog and that it was friendly, yeah right.

I hate the fact that dummies own animals. Why aren't these dogs socialized? They should be familiar with all family memebers. I hope the dogs don't get punished because of careless owners. I hope the little girl has a quick recovery and the parents learn a lesson here. I hope they don't blame the dogs for something they could have prevented. If you own an animal learn how to raise/keep them. So many horrible stories in the news these days that it seems that people should almost have to take a course to have kids or own a pet.

Shoot the owners of the dogs!These dogs were not taken care of properly. The owners should never be allowed to have another dog. This child is scared for life because of stupid humans.

The owners and the dogs should be made into dog-food.

I know I am going to be ridiculed for this but.................. children also need to be taught that not all animals are friendly and not to go running up to them or sticking their arms through fences to pet the cute doggies next door or anywhere.

Other than that yes the owners should have socialized their animals, and I do hope the girl a quick recovery

You are bang on Anastasia. Those dogs didn't waake up one day and decide to chew up a child. It is all about education and respect. I still stay the owners should be punished severly. It is their fault!!!!!!!

The owners are too stupid to raise dogs properly- what chance does the kid have?

Yikes!

Ok I'll bite, at the risk of feeling stupid, how does one socialize a dog? I have 2 dogs who are both young, they love us and people who visit us, but I wouldn't trust them alone in the back yard with a child. From what I have seen dogs are visual learners, to socialize them with children they must spend time with children and learning what is apprpriate behaviour, to socialize them with friends they have to be around friends, to socialize them in the dog park you have to take them to the dogpark. My wife and I also have to work, so how do you find the time? All of these things take allot of training and exposure for the dogs.
I don't know so that is why I am asking, I have wonderful dogs, but they are 1 year old and I don't for a second think that I can leave it up to them to establish whatever pecking order they would deem fit. Is there somewhere you can take your dogs ( that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars where they can get these skills)? I called a dog sitter when I was going out of town, trying to save the dog the stress of the kennel. The dog sitter tried to charge me $110.00 for 15 minutes sitting with the dog out of a 24 hour day!!! what??? the kennel is much much better, they may not get the cuddle time but they get fed, exercised and are safe for allot cheaper..my point is there are lots of opinions, but what works? I'd be interested in a positive, relevant solution that doesn't cost a mortgage payment.

Time to check the house for a grow op

"Ok I'll bite, at the risk of feeling stupid, how does one socialize a dog?"

Start by pretending that the dog is like a child. Socializing means taking the time to tend to the person and the animal and providing different situational settings - people, other children, other dogs, adults, various parts of the house,various places outside of the house.

In simple terms, time and effort towards a goal along with support and corrections on the way.

What a dog is not is an animal that replaces a child because the expectation is that it does not take as much time as a child to be part of the family.

If you like dogs, but do not want to spend as much time as is required, offer to take a neighbour's dog for a walk on occasion or even on a regular basis. All parties will likely enjoy the variation.

Dogs are the simplest animals to train. All one has to do is treat it with respect and let it know that in turn for it being treated with respect it has certain behaviors that are expected of it (formal training is useless without this essential aspect). Most any dog will get the picture... to help them along have the young dog spend significant time around a dog that is 7+ years old and already knows these things... they mimic behavior very well when they understand it means more freedom and time with those they care about.

Dogs kept on chains and in pens, isolated from their human 'pack' and society as a whole, can be a danger. Especially to children. If you know of dogs kept like prisoners, not valued family members, please speak up for them. You may be averting disaster.


http://mothersagainstdogchaining.org/

Gus, there are places that train dogs but they do cost. Unfortunately, I feel if you don't have the time to train or have the funds to have them trained by someone who knows what they are doing, then maybe this isn't the time for you to have dogs. I'm not trying to be mean by saying that but, they need attention and training just like kids do. Another option is to search on line but you still need to make the time for animals.

Just like this and every other time it happens, I'm sure they will say how well behaved and good with kids the dogs were. Morons.

What I don't understand is why they are ALWAYS let off the hook. If I left a loaded gun around and a kid used it and shot somebody, should I blame the kid for not knowing how to behave around a loaded gun? They need to be fined, charged, sued, etc... And who are the people leaving their kids at THAT daycare??

Lock the dogs up securely and muzzle them when you're out. I can't believe how many jerks are out walking them and can't even control them on a leash. But hey, it's the COOL breed to have.

These dogs do not belong to the family, they are the neighbors dogs.