ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The topic of dogs with child aggression is on the minds of many after two Rochester parents were arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail. They’re charged with manslaughter after their 3-month-old baby was mauled by dogs.
Tori Ganino, a certified behavioral dog consultant, explains how to tell if a dog could have dangerous tendencies.
“There should be an adult between the child and the dog and they are actively participating and supervising the interactions,” Ganino said.
Ganino’s company, Calling All Dogs, in Batavia specializes in working with aggressive dogs. Many of them have hurt people before. She says it’s key to have 100% adult supervision when a dog is with a child.
“Not only will not leave any dog alone with a child — and this is including a 10-year-old there’s got to be that active supervision — I’m not sitting there watching TV while this is kind of happening off on the side,” Ganino said.
Ganino says breed has nothing to do with it.
“A lot of people will say my dog would never do, that my dog would never bite anybody any animal will do this. There’s so many signs that come to it, even a growl or a bark happening well before a bite,” she said.
There are warning signs before any type of aggression happens. But why would dogs go after a young child that didn’t even approach them? Ganino says there are many factors that play into it.
“Let’s say the mom dog was stressed during pregnancy malnourished. The stress of the mom is going through can negatively impact the development of puppies, contributing to behavior issues including aggression later in life,” she said.
Ganino says it’s key to understand those signs and not just brush them off. She says your animal is telling you they’re getting ready to possibly attack. Even if your dog is from a reputable breeder and you’ve done everything right, it can still end up aggressive.
“It could be lack of socialization or proper socialization. Maybe they didn’t have good experiences with little ones as they were growing up or they had bad experiences,” Ganino said.
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