KY - Justin Mozer, 6 wks, mauled to death by dog, Lexington, 18 Jan 2008

What a tragedy!
Where is the commom sense? You don't leave a baby where any dog would be able to get to it.
 
Oh how horrible! Poor baby! The dog never gave any indication that it didn't care for the baby?
 
This is awful!!! I have a Jack Russell Terrier and he is now outside. They are VERY jealous dogs.
 
Having owned a JRT who was the love of my life, I can tell you I would never have left her unsupervised with a baby or young child. They're bred to hunt and they could hear a baby's whimper or cry and go into full blown hunt/kill mode. They're extremely aggressive with their prey. That's probably what happened here. From what I read about this, it's the first lethal attack by a JRT. I believe this was totally unnecessary if the parents had been more educated by their breeder.
 
How horrible. I have a Rat Terrier. He wouldn't harm a baby would he? They are both terriers...
 
JRTs have a reputation for being very aggressive hunters. As much as I adored my Sam, she could change in a flash when something triggered her prey instinct. The odds are probably slim that your little terrier would hurt a baby. But, it's best to avoid ever putting yourself in a position to find out because nobody can say for sure what an animal might do.

Here's another article with more info: http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/291759.html
 
My MIL has a Jack Russell/Rat Terrier Mix, her name is Diva...she lives up to her name completely, she is jealous of any dog or person that is getting more attention than she is getting..she can get plain evil. I myself have a Rottweiler, and between the two I feel I can trust him more than Diva..JMO..God Bless this poor family of this baby, I for one cannot predict my dog and I do not think there is anyone that truly can.
 
How horrible. I have a Rat Terrier. He wouldn't harm a baby would he? They are both terriers...

I would ere on the side of caution and never leave any dog alone with a small child.
That being said I have left my golden retriever alone with small pets and children.
He simply does not have an aggressive bone in his body. (I can say that having had him since he was 12 weeks old and he is now 9)

I think pet owners tend to know if their dog is capable of aggression ..Some just choose to ignore it.
 
No dog should ever be left alone with a baby, especially any dog in the terrier breed. People need to realize that no matter how sweet, loving and loyal their dog seems, they're still an animal.
 
When my baby comes, my 2 huskies will NEVER be alone with him.
Have they ever showed agression, no. Are they cabable of killing a baby or small child, yes. I have told BF I dont even know if I will let them in the same room as baby. I am sure that will change once baby is older. Any dog can kill a child and it only takes a second for it to happen. I look at it the same way you do other things. Would you leave a baby in the tub alone for even a second, no you wouldnt.
 
When my baby comes, my 2 huskies will NEVER be alone with him.
Have they ever showed agression, no. Are they cabable of killing a baby or small child, yes. I have told BF I dont even know if I will let them in the same room as baby. I am sure that will change once baby is older. Any dog can kill a child and it only takes a second for it to happen. I look at it the same way you do other things. Would you leave a baby in the tub alone for even a second, no you wouldnt.

Indy, when you have the baby, have your bf take the cap home to the dogs. The doctors will put a cap on the baby right away. This is important. Tell him to give it to the dogs so they will recognize the smell when the baby comes home. Also, be careful about alienating the dogs, let them smell the baby so they know what it is or their curiousity could get the best of them. (Of course, never let them do this when you're not holding the baby)
My hubby gave my boys the cap and we let them smell the baby so they wouldn't be so curious. A friend of mine made her dog stay in another room all the time and he became extremely jealous of the baby and never learned the "pack" order. He ended up nipping the baby later.

ETA: Don't be surprised if they tear the cap to shreds either. My boys took it and my rottie layed down on it and was trying to roll all over it.
 
I have six dogs. Two of them large breeds- Golden and German Shepherd, the other four- two Yorkies, a Maltese and a Shitz Zu they are as sweet and lovable as they can be.

That being said, I would never ever leave a baby alone with them. No matter how gentle the breed or what size the dog, you just don't know how they will react with a baby.
 
I would never leave a baby sleeping on a bed unless i was awake and in the room. There's too many dangers, they could roll off during sleep; we've always used cribs.
My sister's exboyfriend had a rat terrier, it was a little hyper thing ran all around, didn't show aggressiveness with other dogs, cats, or animals.
My dog is a large breed mix, and is quite a huntress. She can differentiate between cats and other dogs and wild animals; so knows the difference between stray cats and wild animals even. Gets along fine with adult cats yet anything small her hunting instinct kicks in. It depends on the temperment of individual animal; yet i would never leave a baby alone sleeping with any animals of any species (human children included) unless the baby was securely in a crib.
 
Indy, when you have the baby, have your bf take the cap home to the dogs. The doctors will put a cap on the baby right away. This is important. Tell him to give it to the dogs so they will recognize the smell when the baby comes home. Also, be careful about alienating the dogs, let them smell the baby so they know what it is or their curiousity could get the best of them. (Of course, never let them do this when you're not holding the baby)
My hubby gave my boys the cap and we let them smell the baby so they wouldn't be so curious. A friend of mine made her dog stay in another room all the time and he became extremely jealous of the baby and never learned the "pack" order. He ended up nipping the baby later.

ETA: Don't be surprised if they tear the cap to shreds either. My boys took it and my rottie layed down on it and was trying to roll all over it.
Thank you for this great advice:blowkiss: I would have never known!
 
Thank you for this great advice:blowkiss: I would have never known!


My friend told me about it and my doctor brought it up too. She had a Dachsund and he completely ripped the cap to shreds but has always been excellent with her daughter. I had my Rottie and a female Pit when my son was born, they both sniffed it and the Rottie would lay on it, the Pit had no interest after the first sniff.
You should also let them check out any of the new clothes and furniture. If they think the baby's room is off limits, they'll always be overly interested about what's going on in there. We also had a cat when I was pregnant. I had more of a problem with him since he thought the crib was his new bed. I had to put those carpet guards in it with the spike side up so he'd lose interest. It ended up not working, I'd always have to shoo him away or he'd try to climb in with the baby. He was 100 times more viscious than both my Rottie and Pitt combined so that wasn't going to fly!
 
More info http://www.realcities.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/states/kentucky/counties/scott/18248195.htm

This dog was around other babies in the famliy and had been a trusted pet for six or seven years without prior incident. This is so sad. It could've happened to any of us. As much as we try to bestow human qualities on our beloved dogs, they don't think or react like humans.

The article states that the baby killed was the couple's first. So, the dog may have been around other children in the family but was never around a child that joined "his" family and threatened his rung in the pack order. Some dogs are also fine around other dogs as long as they don't come on their property or in their house. You never know what an animal would do, every circumstance is different. I won't let my dogs go upstairs when my son is up there playing unless I'm up there too and he's 4 and could care less about those dogs.
One sudden move, weird noise or smell... you just never know.

ETA: I see the baby was the couple's first but there were other children from her first marraige albeit older than a newborn.

Also he kept a pit bull in the backyard for protection. Hmmm....that could've been a recipe for disaster right there. Unsocialized pit kept in back yard.
 
The other was widowed just a year (January 2007) ago leaving her with a 1 and 3 year old boys.....so this momma has had to deal with two deaths of immediate family.....I hope she can eventually get on with her life.
This is just sooooo sad.
 

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