r/TikTokCringe • u/GhostofTinky • Aug 25 '26

Discussion This is a disaster waiting to happen.

The dog isn’t allowed to be around a toddler because he growls at her. I don’t get it. A family dog is supposed to get along with the whole family. Why are the parents concerned about why the dog “doesn’t like her”? What about the child’s safety?

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252

u/DifficultBudget9864 Aug 25 '26

You can't train a dog under these circumstances.

221

u/Ok_Marketing5676 Aug 25 '26

I'm a dog trainer. I wouldn't touch that case with any length of barge pole. The owners are dumb enough to not immediately take action. What's the chances they're dumb enough to misinterpret an instruction I've given and let the dog in at the wrong time when I'm not around? 

I won't even work with toy breeds doing stuff like this with kids around.

20

u/CynthiaG92615 Aug 25 '26

That's interesting. Thanks for weighing in. It seemed to me that there should be a "know when to fold 'em" line for this sort of situation.

11

u/Ok_Marketing5676 Aug 25 '26

In my opinion there absolutely is a line, yeah. Also, you never quite get the full story. Whether that's simply because the owners don't see certain behaviours as significant or they mislead you so you aren't "scared off".

The former is understandable as if everyone intuitively understood each and every behaviour a dog did and why, we wouldn't need dog trainers. The latter is dangerous and sometimes indicitive of multiple canine professionals working with them in the past for good or ill.

3

u/SuccessfulOil6584 Aug 25 '26

I notice a lot of rescues are very clear about this and list dogs as not child friendly, suitable for child free home etc rather than trying to convince people it can be trained out

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u/Similar-Morning9768 Aug 26 '26

This is better than the shelters that conceal or downplay aggression and bite histories, but it’s still not great.

The neighborhood likely has children in it. The park has children. The dog owner’s friends or family likely have children.

If a dog is aggressive toward children, it’s not a pet. It’s just not. This isn’t an acceptable quirk in a companion animal. 

1

u/CynthiaG92615 Aug 26 '26

I totally agree. There should be a law that if you pass on a child-aggressive dog to somebody else and something happens, you are partly legally responsible.