How do dogs know to treat children differently?

Millennia of unnatural selection.

(Seriously.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Mastiff#Temperament

 

I have noticed the same with our Boxer..he plays REALLY hard with me, but when it comes to kids, he lays down and allows kids to do just about anything with him. He will play tug of war with them, but in the end the kid always wins...with me..well I lose most of the time..lol. He won't play with my wife like he plays with me. Much more gentel.

The kicker is..we don't have kids (yet)!. He just seems to knows to be gentle with the little ones. best damn dog in the world. here is a pic...

Don't mind the nuts...or the lousy pic for that matter!!
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Man he is gorgeous. Ive been thinknig about a Boxer to play with my Great Pyrenees

 

Thanks, we are told that he is a good looking dog by other boxer owners all the time. Boxers are the funniest dogs and one of the biggest lap dogs around. Get one, you wont regret it!!!

 

How do dolphins kept in aquariums know not to jump out of the tank?

 

No where to go?

(Why pass up free food?)

 

Husker, is that you?

 

We have 2 dogs, labradors and I love them both, and we have kids (now 8 and 9) but anybody that lets kids little play with dogs without watching over the process (and please note I'm not saying you weren't) is a fncken idiot.

The number of kids that are mauled and killed by dogs every year because parents and carers are stupid is just worrying ...
Pete

 

I'll tell you why dogs treat children differently: Dogs are smart. If it weren't for their lack of opposable thumbs, I'm fairly sure that a dog could have done a better job on my salad at Quizno's tonight than the human did.

Oh, and the reason that dolphins don't jump out of their tanks: Dolphins are smart too.

 

So why do people jump in front of trains ?

 

Free funeral costs.

(railroad usually pays for funeral expenses as a PR token when a suicide involves train vs. human)

 

I LOVE Labradors Pete. Can you post a pic of your two Lab's for me please?

Here is my baby Poncho.

(She bigger now, but other pics on my computer that just blew up. )
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I had a Beagle who I sadly had to put down in June. Broke my heart to do it but it had to be done. Anyways he would always play tug of war (and almost always won) and always be a little more rough around me then anyone else. I have a cousin who has always been a bit scared of dogs for some reason, I dont know why, and he would somehow sense this and be very gentle with her. If she was sitting, he would sit and lean against her leg. It was just little things like that. Eventually she wasn't scared of him at all and got comfortable with him around.
I dont care what anyone says, he was the coolest dog ever.
He doesnt look very happy in the picture because I got him out of his nice warm bed just for the picture. HA!
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Not just domestic, BUT Numerous WILD animals have treated my young son VERY differently than myself or wife.


They just seem to know that there IS A (BIG) DIFFERENCE.

 

He looks so much like Robert Mitchum, it's ridiculous
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I have 2 female cats & 1 male

When the GF was pregnant the 2 female cats knew what was up and they used to lie on her belly and purrr. The make cat was sort of freaked, I guess he thought sh ehad a parasite LOL

Now he's 13 months old and he hugs the female cats and they purrr. The male cat is still a bit wary of him but I think he's coming around slowly

 

A bit of both:

Dogs are gentler with their puppies, too. They understand the concept of 'pup' and can translate it to people.

That, in combination with watching you, is all they need by way of hints.

 

We had a golden retriever and when he was a puppy, we would take him for walks. He would pull, yank and do whatever on the leash. My son at the time was 4 and he wanted to hold the leash. Well, you can picture what was in my mind. I would have guessed an immediate face plant on the sidewalk and then being dragged for a few yards was in store for my son. When the dog saw my son holding the leash, he walked and made sure there was slack in the leash. We had NEVER seen the dog so gentle while out for a walk. Now give the leash back to an adult, and there he was running, yanking, pulling……

 

Our Labs past and present like kiddies. I think one of the reasons is that kids leave trails of food scraps and crumbs wherever they go! They do tend to be more gentle with little people.

Dave

 

So, would you Gents also surmise that dogs invented "grading on a curve"?

 

Wow, thats awesome John.

 

When I was a little kid (youngest of 3 brothers) , maybe 3 or 4 years old, my grand mother's collie was very protective of me.

He would herd me into the corner of the yard against the fence and prevent me from playing when other kids (besides my brothers) came over.

I remember crying and trying to get past him but he was quicker and kept me herded up.