Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Curb Your Kids

   Does the title of this post seem harsh?  I don’t mean for it to be, I love kids, ummm,
children.  That’s the only reason I could spend fifteen years working with them.  What I don’t love or like even a little bit is children that tease my dogs.  You know the type that I’m talking about, don’t you?  They bark at your dogs, stick their hands through the fence, or try to pet them without asking permission.  It is obvious that some parenting skills are lacking.  All children should be taught how to behave around dogs.
   I have long held the belief that children learn how to treat animals and other humans by watching their parents.
If a child loves the family dog, then the parents decide the dog is too big, too messy, or too expensive and they get rid of the dog, what have they taught that child?  Does it ever cross these parents’ mind that the child thinks they too could be given away if they are too big, too messy, or too expensive?  I’ll answer that for you.  Yes, that thought definitely crosses their mind.  It also teaches the youngster that if someone or something is too difficult, just rid yourself of them.  While there are certain humans that probably should be gotten rid of, in the case of pets, this simply isn’t the case.
   It is a parental responsibility to teach a child to love and respect all animals.  It’s vital, not only for their safety, but also for the well-being of the pets.  One other thing that parents need to remember is that dogs have a keen sense of hearing.  You don’t need to yell at them.  Unless the dog is aged or hearing impaired, don’t holler at them.  Screaming not only scares the dog, but it scares your children.  Nobody likes screaming, unless you are a fan of Jerry Springer’s show.  They yell all of the time!  If you find yourself getting angry and losing your patience, take a grown-up time out.  Even if it is just walking outside for a few deep breaths, it is worth the effort to calm yourself.  Remember that your words can hurt worse than your hand and leave lasting scars.  Never raise either to your child or to your pet.
   A child is naturally curious and a puppy is extremely tempting to touch.  It is the responsibility again of the parents to show a child the proper way to greet and pet a dog.  A dog is one of the most trusting and loving animals, but they do not forget if a person has abused them.  I consider abuse pulling ears, tails, throwing things, kicking, or any action that elicits fear in the animal.
   I have found half-eaten pickles and other food tossed over my fence.  It is now
Infographic courtesy of Dr. Sophia Yin
necessary for me to scout along my fence line each day for any possible food or dangerous objects in the yard.  I have caught the children poking sticks through the wooden pickets, throwing a pipe, as well as a badminton racquet at my furry babies.  When I confront the kids, I get an “Oops, I’m sorry” or the ever popular, “I didn’t do it!”  Perhaps, if I threw stuff at them, they would get the message!  Yes, my dogs bark at them.  They are new, noisy, and play ball.  These things are very exciting to my boys.  I never leave them outside, so while the barking may be irritating, it is only for a few minutes.  The kids’ screaming, bouncing basketballs, playing in our yard, and being destructive goes on for hours!
   I know these people will not live here long, so it is not worth starting a war.  It is just sad that my boys can’t go play in their own privacy-fenced backyard without uncontrolled children posing a danger to them.  Parents, please…CURB YOUR KIDS!


I am joining my friends Love is being owned by a Husky and Ruckus the Eskie for Thoughtless Thursday.  Enjoy the other Thoughtless posts by hopping to the blogs below!


15 comments :

  1. Wow! What a great post! And super important as well! I am glad you are bringing attention to this. It happens far to often and I am not sure what joy people (kids included) get from tormenting dogs, throwing things at them etc... it is sheer craziness and stupidity. Sorry you are going through this with your pups! that's really to bad! It is incredibly important for parents to teach their kids how to behave with pets, and equally important for parents to teach pets how to behave around kids. It is a two way street and a lot of parents focus only on giving pets trouble for a growl here and there etc...when children are pulling tails and bothering the dog. With three huskies and my two daughters, I have and continue to do a lot of teaching with my whole family about this.
    Sorry for rambling!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  2. Excellent post. It really is unfortunate that some children have absolutely no idea how to behave around animals (or other people for that matter), and have little to no respect for other's feelings or personal space, including animals. I am sorry that you are having to deal with this with your neighbors.

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  3. Yes! This! All of this!
    You've touched on so many of my pet peeves!
    I find that adults are just as bad - if not a little worse - about petting the dogs without permission, and it drives me nuts. But also shows how kids learn those things are okay to do.
    I like when kids show an interest in the dogs (because fear breeds ignorance), but it's so important that it's a respectful and caring interest.
    I just wish people passed on the value that it is our responsibility to protect and respect anyone - or anything - smaller or weaker or more disadvantaged than us. This goes for other people and especially animals.

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  4. We really do feel sorry for the children who are not taught social skills and are allowed to grow up with no regard to the feelings of other people or animals. Some day they may learn what their parents should have taught them If they don't life will be unnecessarily difficult for them.

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  5. It is totally down to irresponsible parenting at the end of the day. We think they should teach children about behaviour around animals in schools.

    berniethefrenchie

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  6. I like that picture of rules of how kids should behave around pups. Thanks for sharing on Thoughtless Thursday! Not only should we be concern about how our pups behave, we have to be cautious about how other people's children behave around the dogs! Good awareness post.

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  8. OMG! I am so there! Two years ago, there was a family that lived on our street that had kids, who would play on our street (it's a quiet county dead-end side-road) and every time they passed our house they would shriek, scream, and bark at our dogs. Now, our dogs wouldn't have done anything but because of the noise it prompted the dogs to bark and jump at the fence, which then made the kids make more noise when they passed. I managed to put a stop to that real quick, I don't care whose kids you are, your not going to antagonize my dogs to get them in trouble for no reason and get away with it.

    I also encounter this same type of behavior when I walk the dogs. I actually wrote a post about one of my more frustrating walks. If you would to read that story, here's the link: http://www.meetthefurbombers.com/2014/03/21/walking-partners-is-there-a-difference/

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  9. Great post and such an important lesson. I'm not sure the people that NEED to hear it will have their 'listening ears' on to hear it...but at least you got it off your chest ;)

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  10. GREAT post! It seems that these days parents consider it YOUR responsibility to curb THEIR kids! And it isn't just animals - it is everything they do and everything they say. Personal Parenting Responsibility has gone out the window, and our pets (and us) are the ones who suffer. But then, when the out of control little monsters get it trouble - it is everyone else's fault but their own as parents. And I agree with SlimDoggy - I doubt people will have their listening ears on - darn them...

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  11. Wonderful post. Thanks for writing this.

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  12. Great post! Did you get the Unbreakoball? If so, I hope Bentley likes it!

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  13. My real job the almost sort of pays the bills is teaching PreK. What I find interesting is that a lot of parents now are not raising their kids the way they were raised. They seem to have lost the blueprints for how to do it. It's not really a surprise to me, though. Our society has shifted from valuing age and wisdom to worshiping youth and beauty. In a lot of families, children are running the show, and the hapless parents have no clue about how to parent them or what to do to change anything. I don't have children of my own, but I can manage a room of twenty three and four year olds. I know that making children behave can be done. As far as how they treat my dogs goes, I don't have any problems correcting children and showing them a different way of doing things.

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  14. I never had children, other than a part time stepson, so I hate to judge parents, but I do know how I was raised and I know they're not doing it the same. It just seems like parents want to give their children everything (materially) and let them get away with everything and they think that is showing love.
    This is just another reason I enjoy living in a rural area. We live off of the main road so no one really has access to our fenced in yard.
    I don't think your title was harsh, and I think this was a great post! These things need to be said, and kudos to you for saying them!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  15. Very important post. Thank you for sharing! Kids need to know and be taught what can and can't be done with animals.

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