Awwwww! Totally adorable and asinine at the same time. (I don’t believe dogs should be allowed to get all up in babies’ grills to this degree, it’s dangerous and horrible parenting IMHO.)
Eh, all things considered, a dog’s mouth is a lot cleaner than most kitchen sinks, most of the doorknobs in your house, and every single keyboard you’ve ever used (unless you just took it out of the factory packaging).
My folks forced me to train my lab not to lick people, and it’s sad. He doesn’t really know how to be affectionate. At best, he leans on you or sits on your feet. That’s doggy, but not doggy enough for me. He has so much love to give, but he knows licking is a no-no.
Nothing to do with the licking, well, less so about that. I’ve had several adult family members severely injured by known, reliable dogs in just the past year or so. Even the best of dogs sometimes make a lunge, and can cause huge amounts of physical damage very quickly. This does lead to severe maiming (and even death) of both children and adults every year.
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-study-dog-attacks-and-maimings-merritt-clifton.php
Now, I’m not a parent, but if I was, I just don’t feel like the “awwwww shucks how cute” would weigh more heavily on my decision making matrix than the knowledge that even domestic animals are, well, animals, and even while playing can accidentally really harm a very young, totally 100% vulnerable small child. The dog in this video was not being very closely monitored by the parent, they were more interested in getting a good shot than, say, maybe holding onto the animals collar, to much more slowly introduce it to the baby, have some level of control over the pet, etc.
How is it “horrible parenting?” Is it more dangerous than driving the baby to the park?
I think it’s nitpicking, and in any case, It’d be an acceptable risk for any dog I raised. Specifically because all my dogs are raised to never bite. They’d sooner let you amputate a paw than bite. They’re very good dogs.
Far more likely in my circumstances: I accidentally drop baby on its head.
This does change things significantly.
I’m so sorry about your family troubles. I hope you have more positive experiences with dogs going forward.
There are some things that it seems to me that we humans have managed to breed ourselves to be irrational about - dogs are one of them. There are some - like NickyG here - who do not have that weakness, and can see this dog-biased insanity for what it is. Oh yes, it’s perfectly reasonable that 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the US alone - most of them children. Perfectly reasonable to spend thousands of dollars on a pet. Perfectly reasonable to let your dog shit on other peoples’ lawns or in the park and sometimes pick it up - leaving a smear of shit. Sure, just let it piss everywhere. Perfectly reasonable to hear barking dogs all throughout suburbia at all times of day. This video too, perfectly reasonable. After all, your dog is well behaved.
No, I’ve never been bitten by a dog, and yes I did grow up with a wonderful, loving dog, I just don’t have the dog-crazy gene.
Is it crazy to appreciate an animal who loves you with every last bit of strength it’s got? Even if it can’t love you in the same way a human can? I’d say that’s still worthwhile.
Soooooo… 1 in a million. I like those odds.
Over 80% of those 4.5 million dog bites do not result in an injury, according to a CDC study from 1994. I know 1994 isn’t that recent, but it’s the same study the 4.5 million number comes from, I suspect (it actually says 4.7 million). Fewer than 20 of those resulted in fatalities. By contrast, in 2013, 32,719 people died in automobile accidents. Clearly, therefore, we shouldn’t let babies ride in cars. They’re way more dangerous than dogs.
You made me want my Stupid, so I went and got her. 
When I was three I was bitten on the nose by the neighbor’s beagle. For some reason our front door was locked and by the time my mother reached me I was covered in blood and she thought my face had been ripped off.
But, to be fair, beagles are bred to hunt small animals.
As I said, perfectly reasonable - perfectly reasonable for 800,000 people to have to receive medical treatment for a dog bites - about 1 in every 400 people in the US. A small price to pay to keep man’s best friend around.
I’ve seen dogs, including mine, do the “hunker down and look safe” pose when meeting puppies. Putting the little guys at ease.
That’s a play bow.
This is something different. Lying down and flattening out, so they don’t loom over the pup.
Yep, saw that (and came back to say so). Sorry.
Beagles are odd ones. A lot of them do what I’ve come to call “the Superman” where they lie belly down, and splay their back legs behind them rather than tucking their leg along side their body the way most dogs typically do.
I think they have something akin to hypermobile joints like what “double jointed” people have.
I’ve known labs that did this.
Had a lot less time with beagles.
