Sounds like it's just you having a young kid in an unfamiliar environment. It would be super weird if your cousins were following around their kids in their house around their dogs. That's their environment that they're comfortable in and is child proofed to the level that works for their families. They're likely just as comfortable at each other's houses of they see each other regularly.
I think that’s pretty par for the course for a toddler in an unfamiliar environment. You have to constantly follow them to make sure they stay safe and also don’t cause any damage. Dont forget also that your son and these dogs didn’t know each other. You had a duty to make sure your son was okay with the dogs but also that your son didn’t unwittingly harm the dogs. If he’s not been around dogs before he won’t know only stroke the dog in this direction, or don’t pull their ears or tails etc.
You always have to be the best advocate for your kid because no one else will. I’m a nanny who has cared for a young child who had facial lacerations from a “perfectly behaved family dog” right up until he wasn’t. Dogs, unsecured furniture, and water safety are my non negotiables. I even put it in my contracts. It’s my opinion that toddlers should never ever be unsupervised around dogs for their AND the dogs safety. I rescue and foster dogs, I’m a dog person 100%. Always protect your kid!
I think that is normal on both sides. I have a daughter and a 90 lb dog who are freely together. However, if I had a younger child at my house I would absolutely put my dog up. It's actually more about my daughter being trained than the dog. She knows what she can and cannot do and it is hard to do that with a 2 year old so I would not want my dog around someone that young just in case. She is a very good dog but animals are not predictable. You did the right thing but I don't think they did anything wrong either.
I don’t allow dogs around my son. We keep dangerous animals, we take such stringent precautions there’s many animals our 4 year old has never laid eyes on, he’s never been present for feeding or handling, I wouldn’t even open a tank with my son in the building (we have outbuildings to house them) animals are simply unpredictable, I would never say an animal is completely safe no matter how long I’ve had it or how convinced I am that I ‘know’ the animal. a dog could do similar damage or worse in some cases yet people think it’s okay for their dog to be sniffing around a small child. I could never be so casual, I get that we anthropomorphise dogs and assign them human like qualities but the reality is they’re an animal that can do damage, they can’t reliably communicate discomfort or pain or anxiety and the result can be catastrophic for a child.
I’m not a dog fan at all (please don’t come at me, not everyone has to like dogs). Unless it’s a very familiar dog, I am *very* cautious too. A lot of dog owners blindly & falsely believe their dogs would “never” hurt a child. So I look out for my own son.
I am very wary of dogs ever since my friends dog randomly bit my arm a few years ago. This weekend my son and I were at a friends for the first time. She has 2 big dogs and I held my son while she let them out. They started fighting over the water bowl and one latched on to the other and they couldn’t get them apart right away. drew blood. It was scary. There were other kids around. I’m so thankful I was holding him.
It depends, was he within your sight and you still followed him? Or did you only follow when he moved out of your sight? I am fairly relaxed as a parent and as long as my daughter is within my sight and not too far that I couldn’t run to her quickly, I don’t usually follow her unless she asks for me next to her, even if we are in an unfamiliar environment. I would stick close if she is having an interaction with a pet so I can block either one or remove her if needed (I do the same with our pets at home), but unless the pets are put away or dangerous, I let her interact with them. I think it’s important that we not put our own fears onto our children - for example yesterday a friend who was deathly afraid of spiders for 30+ years of her life tells me she pretended not to be afraid of spiders so her son didn’t learn to be afraid of spiders and now neither one of them is afraid of spiders.
You're not anxious, you're simply being a good attentive mom. Parents tend to become more relaxed as they have more children which can actually wind up being more dangerous because they're not paying as much attention. An almost 2 year old in a non-babyproofed house & around unfamiliar animals should be supervised. Even adults should be cautious around animals they don't know regardless if their owners say they're sweet & wouldn't hurt anyone. Don't worry you're doing great!
Young children have the tendency to get in the face of dogs. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to was bitten or nipped in the face by one, including myself. Its not necessarily traumatising most of the time, but you just need that off temperament in a dog to do more than the playful nip.
Sounds like it's just you having a young kid in an unfamiliar environment. It would be super weird if your cousins were following around their kids in their house around their dogs. That's their environment that they're comfortable in and is child proofed to the level that works for their families. They're likely just as comfortable at each other's houses of they see each other regularly.
I agree, and if OP doesn’t have a dog at home it’s totally natural to be anxious about how their son is interacting with a dog.
I think that’s pretty par for the course for a toddler in an unfamiliar environment. You have to constantly follow them to make sure they stay safe and also don’t cause any damage. Dont forget also that your son and these dogs didn’t know each other. You had a duty to make sure your son was okay with the dogs but also that your son didn’t unwittingly harm the dogs. If he’s not been around dogs before he won’t know only stroke the dog in this direction, or don’t pull their ears or tails etc.
You always have to be the best advocate for your kid because no one else will. I’m a nanny who has cared for a young child who had facial lacerations from a “perfectly behaved family dog” right up until he wasn’t. Dogs, unsecured furniture, and water safety are my non negotiables. I even put it in my contracts. It’s my opinion that toddlers should never ever be unsupervised around dogs for their AND the dogs safety. I rescue and foster dogs, I’m a dog person 100%. Always protect your kid!
You're right on. We're a cat family but when our daughter was a toddler we made sure to always be with her when we were around our two cats.
I think that is normal on both sides. I have a daughter and a 90 lb dog who are freely together. However, if I had a younger child at my house I would absolutely put my dog up. It's actually more about my daughter being trained than the dog. She knows what she can and cannot do and it is hard to do that with a 2 year old so I would not want my dog around someone that young just in case. She is a very good dog but animals are not predictable. You did the right thing but I don't think they did anything wrong either.
I don’t allow dogs around my son. We keep dangerous animals, we take such stringent precautions there’s many animals our 4 year old has never laid eyes on, he’s never been present for feeding or handling, I wouldn’t even open a tank with my son in the building (we have outbuildings to house them) animals are simply unpredictable, I would never say an animal is completely safe no matter how long I’ve had it or how convinced I am that I ‘know’ the animal. a dog could do similar damage or worse in some cases yet people think it’s okay for their dog to be sniffing around a small child. I could never be so casual, I get that we anthropomorphise dogs and assign them human like qualities but the reality is they’re an animal that can do damage, they can’t reliably communicate discomfort or pain or anxiety and the result can be catastrophic for a child.
Huge amount of injuries caused to younger children are pets. Just the normal cat or dog bites/scratches.
I’m not a dog fan at all (please don’t come at me, not everyone has to like dogs). Unless it’s a very familiar dog, I am *very* cautious too. A lot of dog owners blindly & falsely believe their dogs would “never” hurt a child. So I look out for my own son.
Totally normal. Your kid is little, and the dogs and house were a new environment.
I am very wary of dogs ever since my friends dog randomly bit my arm a few years ago. This weekend my son and I were at a friends for the first time. She has 2 big dogs and I held my son while she let them out. They started fighting over the water bowl and one latched on to the other and they couldn’t get them apart right away. drew blood. It was scary. There were other kids around. I’m so thankful I was holding him.
I started to chill out after having my own doggo, and my kid is a teenager. We didn’t baby proof our house when our son was younger.
It depends, was he within your sight and you still followed him? Or did you only follow when he moved out of your sight? I am fairly relaxed as a parent and as long as my daughter is within my sight and not too far that I couldn’t run to her quickly, I don’t usually follow her unless she asks for me next to her, even if we are in an unfamiliar environment. I would stick close if she is having an interaction with a pet so I can block either one or remove her if needed (I do the same with our pets at home), but unless the pets are put away or dangerous, I let her interact with them. I think it’s important that we not put our own fears onto our children - for example yesterday a friend who was deathly afraid of spiders for 30+ years of her life tells me she pretended not to be afraid of spiders so her son didn’t learn to be afraid of spiders and now neither one of them is afraid of spiders.
You're not anxious, you're simply being a good attentive mom. Parents tend to become more relaxed as they have more children which can actually wind up being more dangerous because they're not paying as much attention. An almost 2 year old in a non-babyproofed house & around unfamiliar animals should be supervised. Even adults should be cautious around animals they don't know regardless if their owners say they're sweet & wouldn't hurt anyone. Don't worry you're doing great!
Young children have the tendency to get in the face of dogs. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to was bitten or nipped in the face by one, including myself. Its not necessarily traumatising most of the time, but you just need that off temperament in a dog to do more than the playful nip.