7 Best Pets for Families with Kids ...

I just read the article and the comments, and wonder how many of you actually have children? Have you heard, or don't you care to remember, news stories about children being attacked by their pets!! A little 3 year old girl, had her face pulled off by her family pet dog, and her aunt blamed the little girl for teasing the dog. Lighten up pet lovers, and also think of the safety of the children who are damaged for life because of these animals. If you have animals and children, educate yourself about both, and never try to blame a child for provoking an animal to attack. I love animals, but do not trust them alone with children, and neither should anyone else!!!!

Wow - stopped reading after dogs. Apparently I should have continued. TOTALLY agree. We don't allow declawing on our adoption contract. One of our adopters broke that rule without our knowledge and returned the cat to us recently because it starting spraying. We found out it had a UTI because (as said above) a common side effect of declawing is aversion to the litterbox. Caused his own problem - idiot.

As the saying goes, "there are no bad dogs - only bad owners". Any breed of dog is capable of causing injury if they are not raised with love and treated with respect. The same philosphy can be applied to all domestic pets and children should be taught to understand natural behaviour and respect the animal's boundaries. Animals are not playthings there for our entertainment and amusement, they are sentient creatures capable of feeling pain and emotions. This is why I am so disgusted that you suggest declawing a cat before it's even moved into it's new home. This is wrong on so many levels. Not only is declawing the painful and totally unnecessary amputation of their toes, but you are making an assumption that cats cannot be trusted to be gentle around chidlren. Vets here in the UK have always refused to declaw and never even offer it as an option. Instead we are taught as children to understand the cat is not a toy and that if we upset them, we could end up getting scratched. This teaches us a healthy respect for the cat and more aware of their body language so that we understand when they want to be left alone. A pet should be a cherished member of the family. So our decision on which species of animal to adopt should also include "which one can we provide the most enriching environment and happy lifestyle for?".

I am sick of the people sayign pit bulls and rottweilers make bad family dogs, you clearly did not do the research. These dogs are actually BETTER for children then an overly energetic lab. They are great calm dogs, and the only ones that have attacked were trained specifically to do so. I would trust my child with a pit bull over a poodle, lab, and even some goldens. You are assuming bad things from the news you have seem, I don't think that you should be writing this article if you haven't researched the animals. I have worked in shelters and shown my dogs, and this is a terrible representation of a breed. Also, declawing cats is a very wrong thing to do. It kills the cat ultimately, turning off the sense of balance shifting the spine, organs, and kills the animal far sooner then a natural animal would die. Claw caps are much safer for the children and animal. Declawed cats are afraid of their world and will bite far more often. I also do not support rabbits as a child's pet. At the moment I have a rabbit, and when not fixed they are sexually frustrated and violent, and even fixed are grumpy and hurt kids. I would add in guinea pigs, a gentle rodent who hardly ever bites and are sturdy, and rats, who are clean fun and gentle.

I have been lurking on this site, but as someone who has dedicated their life to dog rescue, I can't help but be outraged at number 1. A dog should be judged on their temperament and not on their breed. It has been shown that pit bulls are actually one of the BEST breeds with children - they are called the "nanny's dog". They also have one of the highest rates of passing the canine good citizen tests and are used quite often as therapy dogs. One of the MOST aggressive dogs I've ever met (and I'm a veterinary technician) was a Labrador. Dogs shouldn't be punished for stupid people. And Pit Bulls certainly should get the chance to be family dogs like any other. Unless trained to be otherwise, most Pit Bulls are gentle, loving dogs. I am sorry if I came across as nasty, but this is really something I'm passionate about. When you work in a kill shelter every day trying to save dogs and see that most of the dogs being euthanized are wonderful wonderful Pit Bulls because people are scared to adopt them because of the stigma, I feel the need to speak out.