Opinion: Sure, the Dog Video is Cute, But ...

I hated this video and think it is torture for that little baby. I'm a dog lover, but even I know that that dog can go south in a matter of a second. Some parents really need to take classes before being allowed to be near their own children.

Reply

...and what about when the mom ISN'T around, and the little kid thinks the dog is a playmate? It's disgusting! The mom should be convicted of child endagerment!

Reply

At the very beginning of the video, it seems like the dog doesn't know what to make of this baby. But then, he just started playing with him and he was very gentle. The dog does look young and it was 2 babies playing. With the mom right there, I don't think she would have let anything happen. Kids should have fun playing with their pets!

Reply

Excuse me, but the kid looked scared to death!

Reply

It is a Great Dane, it is relatively young (ears/tail not clipped). They are bred to be unaggressive and I would imagine are conscious enough of their size (unlike horses) to be unthreatened by much. Balking? Maybe hesitating. Bright enough to know the situation needs to be evaluated. This is the canine equivalent of letting my kids play horsey. Sometimes they jumped on me so hard they went over me and bumped their heads. Aww. No x-rays needed. Licking is grooming, an act of connection and partnership among many mammal species. This reminds me of picking up my kid and giving him a raspberry on his perfect pink belly. Against this interaction? Helicopter parent syndrome perhaps. Life devoid of risk or pain; how naive! If you opposed this video I am willing to bet you want to take your kid out of the theatre when Bambi's mother dies.

Reply

Hi,
I agree with Tom on both videos, the child behind the sofa and the dog. There's a certain element of sadism in these I find disturbing, I'm a mom and now a grandma. Sure, some of the situations small children find themselves in are harmlessly cute, but to let a child feel helpless for too long a time just isn't o.k...It seems people will go to any lengths these days to achieve their 15 minutes (or is it down to seconds these days?) of fame....Remember the boy in the balloon incident? The popularity of these stupid videos just show how, despite our so called sensitivity many people are just as cruel and ignorant as ever. And a dog is always unpredictable around small children ,( sorry dog lovers,) It's just not o.k.

Reply

yes, but why is this even a topic? It is stupid for a human being to allow a baby or child around a certain breed, or any breed for that matter. If a dog is sniffing, it does not know the baby or whatever. I think we are conditioned to believe that all dogs are ok. I was. But they are not. They are animals, and have some sweet emotions, but they are still animals with animal instinct, and they should be monitored. etc. I dunno. I don't go around strange dogs, and neither should a child or baby. I totally agree that a child behind a couch is not funny, but the predicament, after the fact, is the aim, tho people don't always understand this concept. I have seen a lot of things involving kids that are not funny to me. This is how I see it. If it can be emotionally devastating, or physically harmful, it is not funny. It is scary. There was a video clip of a child, and this child was in a movie. I cant even say what it was, but was bad. I wonder how they make these clips of kids, and hope they are animated or something, cause no child should be in a movie in that sense. I think it is abusive. keep your kids safe.

Reply

No, Rebel is NOT stupid for saying that! Rebel made an excellent point. You didn't get it because you're obviously too pig headed to let any common sense sink in!

Reply

I am no Rhodes Scholar,but when I see videos like this and much worse on youtube and "Americas Funniest Home Videos" I feel like I live in a country FULL of truly stupid,thoughtless people.Yes,this is a cute video,thank goodness (at least in this particular video clip) the dog doesn't nip the baby's nose off,or accidentally slam a paw into the baby's face,potentially scaring him for life.No,I watch things like this and cringe a little bit.We watched AFV last night and I used the wrapped home videos as a tool to show my kids why I am constantly telling them to becareful,don;t run outside during icy conditions,don;t put your face right up to a strange dogs face no matter how nice he seems,etc etc etc and I get chided and ridiculed.MY feeling is that most STUPID people aren't as interested in the childrens well being as they are in getting a good laugh out of the childrens misfortune.People are so extremely self centered now it's unbelievable!

Reply

in fact, I am uncomfortable with the images that it brings to mind. Oh Lordy, the world is a scary place. So, who is gonna protect us?

Reply

I agree, Glthm8, it's child endangerment to allow things like this! It's sick!

Reply

I never respond to these posts but this one here begs for my input. I have 4 children, 12, 10, 3 and 6 months and I have a dog, he is a mix approx 110 pounds. I have never had the fear that our dog would ever snap at any of our children, he does not growl or bark nor has he shown any type of aggression what so ever. If he is eating the children pet him and he stops eating to give them attention, they lay on him they play fetch and wrestle with him and I feel completly comfortable with this situation.

But I am not an idiot and I know my dog and I also know that his level of kindness and gentle behavior with my children is something that he was born with, there is no training that in a dog that could provide that level of secruity. Some dogs have it and some dogs don't. Also on this point my father in law owns a tiny little Yorkie that has bit two of my kids, if it was my choice I would have killed that little rat but I just have him put the dog away before we visit. The size of the dog does not matter, using common sense and paying attention is all that needs to be done. If you know your dog and you pay attention to how he reacts when you bring the baby home you should have an idea of how he will feel in a year. If the dog for even a second acts scared of the baby, you are in trouble.

I think the author of this article is too quick to judge the situation and I would be highly offended if he said this about my dog and kids. Acting as if I didn't have enough sense to know a bad situation. He is just looking for something to write about and he found it, but here is an idea why don't you try to write about people who know life is short, you only get one shot at it and you should grab the laughter and happiness while you can, there is way more misery in this world. I want to thank the people who posted this video, for a short moment it made me laugh, and that is indeed a great gift.

Reply

I am a total complete dog lover. I also know that there are dogs that are sweethearts that don't hurt a fly their entire life. BUT, like others have said, they are animals. End of story. They can snap at any moment without notice. I didn't think the video would be that disturbing because a lot of people said it was fine. But I was nervous. How is that lady finding humor in a huge 100+ pound dog walking right over a tiny baby? He may be sweet but his face came right in front of the baby's. One slight moment of being startled or what ever, that dog could have bitten his face and the mom being right there isn't close enough. I know she loves her dog, but finding it funny that it's nudging and pushing him around is terrible. Plus the house is a dump and I am sure that dog adds to the mess. I hope that the boy never gets harmed but as a parent who loves dogs I was nervous watching this. I just love my kids a bit more than my pets and would never knowingly put them in harms way. Plus as this boy gets older I hope he doesn't think that it's okay to go up to dogs without hesitation.

Reply

Seriously, I have had mastiffs my whole life. They are the biggest, sweetest dogs ever. Most think they need lots of room, but they do just as well in a one bedroom apt. Give them a couch to warm and their good! I am sure that child was never in any danger! That dog would kill for her, not kill her. Maybe you shoud do asome research before you try to critisize. It is judgemnet like that, that make our dogs not safe, and have a bad name. Just because they are massive in size doesn't mean they aren't massive in heart! Get one and then you will know!

Reply

First off, you blind worrywarts, the dog was not balking, as I go to a dog park everyday with my medium dogs, there's small dogs (mini daschunds) playing with Great Danes and the larger dogs are always doing that, that dog there was being careful, as careful as he possibly could around something so fragile and small. That dog isn't dumb, just because he's an animal, you should give him more credit than that. Dogs, ESPECIALLY dogs, know who to be careful with, they know a child is just as fragile as a small puppy and you see when puppies play with adult dogs, the adults get a little wild but ALWAYS watch they step and monitor the puppy's actions. That dog had a calm yet playful energy around him with that child, any experienced dog owner would know the signs to watch for, and I've seen MANY dogs that you just couldn't trust around a small child, not because they were aggressive (heck no) but because they don't understand they strength and size compared to something so much smaller, they spaz out and romp like crazy, even little dogs don't want to play with these kind of dogs. Get over yourselves, the child was in no danger, I bet if they have a front fenced yard, if that kid was out there playing and any of you walked towards the fence or through the gate to that child, thinking it was unsupervised, you wouldn't even make it 5ft before that dog got to you. Mastiff type breeds (Great Dane being one) were considered one of the greatest nannies for children not too long ago.

Reply

This beautiful dog is gentle with the baby and the mother is right there to watch over her child. Get a grip folks! This baby will bond with animals and love them his whole life because of his relationship with this dog. Great Danes are sweet, loving creatures and there is nothing to fear.

Reply