My nephew just got a foster dog

[Marthe48]

He and his s.o. They have dogs and cats, and the new boy is doing good. He posted a picture of his daughter squatting down to pet the dog, the first meeting, at the dog's food dish. I sent him a pm that that is not a good idea. His Mom and some of his friends posted the same opinion on the picture.

We had a big dog when I was a kid. Weighed 225 lbs. My older brother reached into the dog's food dish to break up a piece of meat. The dog snapped at my brother's head and drew blood. My Dad was there and lifted the dog right off the floor and not gently, put him in the basement. Then he cussed my brother for being so GD stupid. I was about 6, never unsaw that scene. I've got a scar from another dog we had. My fault entirely. And my dog snapped at my toddler many years ago. Thank God, no injuries, but after those incidents, I don't trust dogs around kids.

To top it off, I saw a story that a dog new to the family killed a 17 month old child. They'd had the dog for a week.

I hope my nephew heeds the unsolicited advise, so the the child is as safe as can be!

He replied and said they met after the food, and my niece gave him a treat. Fingers crossed

[Kali]

1. there is too much disney-fying and anthropomorphizing of all kinds of animal these days

kids (and/or parents!) that don't know the difference between a stuffed toy and a real animal that can react with teeth, claws, large size etc.

[Marthe48]

2. He says he did a number of

things before they met-gave the dog a stuffed toy she has handled. And protested he isn't as dumb as we all think he is lol

[Joinfortmill]

3. My dad taught me many, many decades ago that

you need to train puppies to be ok with having their food removed while they are eating. We trained all our dogs, but you need to do this when they are young.

[Tetrachloride]

4. i have a dog bite myself. Wasn't near the dog bowl nor petting the dog

Tho I was 9, I remember standing still.