Mini Bulls and Kids
I am frequently contacted by people who have children and who want to know if Miniature Bull Terriers are good with kids. Temperament of dogs is partly genetic and partly socialization/ training, and every dog is an individual with their own personality and quirks. That said, I have children ranging in age from preschooler to teenager who live and play with our Mini Bulls every day, and I have always had at least one dog in the house from before my children were born until now.
**ALL puppies bite and must be taught appropriate mouth manners, which requires patience & effort** Read this blog regarding how to work with puppies to reduce nipping/biting behavior.
Supervision is key when it comes to kids and dogs. Just being in the same room with them is not enough - you have to teach young children how to be polite with dogs, and immediately correct the child if they start to be rude. Many dogs will tolerate a certain amount of roughhousing from children (pulling on ears/tail/coat, poking them in the eye, laying on top of them, trying to ride them like a pony, etc), then they WILL "correct" the child for their inappropriate behavior by nipping or growling at them. This is not the dog's fault, nor is it the child's fault, as both of them are relying on the parents to keep them safe from each other.
Your goal as a parent and a dog owner should be to never put your dog into the position where he has to resort to correcting YOUR children for their behavior.
I always crate or move my dogs to a different room when an infant is allowed to crawl or roll around on the floor. The risk of the child getting stepped on accidentally or them grabbing a dog inappropriately is just too great. When the babies are in bouncy seats or in my lap, the dogs are allowed to roam freely so they can all interact with each other. Once the child is able to walk and is fairly steady on their own two feet, I start allowing them all loose in the same room under close supervision.
I am aware that I am overly cautious when it comes to my kids interacting with my dogs, and I'm okay with that. My goal is to raise children who know how to correctly interact with canines, and to raise puppies who know how to respect younger humans as well.
More information on dogs and kids can be found here
