Well, in case you haven't noticed we have rasied a bunch of morons the last 20 years or so. Don't believe me? Read the news then you will get the idea. The economy says it all.

This baby was 2 weeks old the mother was undoubtedly exhausted and made a mistake anyone could make under the same circumstances. My heart goes out to this family.

sorry but 2 weeks isnt enough time to establish how your pet is coping with the addition of a baby, some pets are very unsettled, you need at least a few more weeks watching your pet to make sure its ok before you even think abobut leaving the pet alone in the same room as a baby. i have a golden retriever and even i made sure fully that she ok with a baby but i never left the baby within reach of the dog if i wasnt in the room, this woman was negligent although i do feel bad for her because it obviously wasnt on purpose, just a case of not thinking.

oh and this dog needs putting down, why is it in quarantine, once it attacks like that it should be put to sleep??

Chow's are well-known for not liking children.

I hope this incident and similar ones that have occurred get enough coverage that persons learn to never leave a small child unattended where a dog or other family pet can get hold of them.

It is very difficult to watch any child at all times, but parents need to take actions to keep their young children, especially infants, safe from their dogs.

I do sympathize with this family in their loss.

Chows are agressive and breeded as fighting dogs in China. They are not to be trusted with children. For that matter any dogs can't be trusted. I feel for the family. I almost killed my mom's dog when he attemptd to attack my son too...I almsot lost it and at the same time my heart dropped as well.

My neighbors have huge dogs and just had a baby. Before the baby arrived, they obsessed incessantly over whether the dogs would be upset.

Nuff said.

Chow's are types of dogs that take a while to get use to changes once they are established. The are nice family dogs but can be a bit on the aggressive/protective/jealous/territorial to strangers and newcomers like infants. Once the child was older there would be no problems but 2 weeks is not enough for dogs like Chow's to get use to. Not to mention the first 2 months or so the parents are busy trying to determine the baby's behavior. No doubt the baby's crying was another reason the dog attacked it once it the opportunity came up.

My brother-in-law and sister kept their dogs either chained or penned up until my niece was 6 months old. During the time they did little things so both dogs and child got use to each other.

A sad story and my heart goes out to the family.

I don't think this is all that uncommon. For people with pets, the pet is commonly considered part of the family. If the baby was in the crib or cradle, that would be a reason the parent would leave the child alone. It appears from some of the posts that chows are iffy dogs related to children, but I bet it happens all the time. When we brought home our kids from the hospital our dog was instantly protective of the infant. It is a lab though, so I don't know if it makes a difference. I certainly feel for the family, but I'm surprised this hasn't happened more often. Maybe that goes to my rant about how it is an uncommon thing for the dog to attack like that.

Terribly sad story. My heart goes out to this family

We have an 8-year-old Chow-mix and he is the most docile dog ever. Maybe it's the mutt-mutt in him that makes him so chilled. He loves kids and and other animals, too.

Poor dog. It doesn't know any better.

Poor parents, although they did know better.

Sad story.

Berrymountain:

What difference would it make if the family was LDS? Well, you lived in Mesa for 13 years, so must be the expert. In any case, I'd take that bet...and I am not even LDS. It is just offensive that you think that someone's religion has any relevance.

I used to be a professional dog trainer. Once a couple called me up wanting me to train their 2 year old Chow. They said it had bitten their 3 month old daughter in their presence. Mom, dad, and baby playing on the floor of the den and the dog walks in, goes up to baby and grabbed her on the back of the head. Oh and by the way, their dog's littermate killed a baby a few months prior. I refused to attempt that type of training and advised they get rid of that dog but they felt that since the dog was there first they needed to give it every chance possible.

If my dog bites my kid (totally unprovoked) dog goes to doggy heaven.

This is a truly horrific tragedy!!

How could the mother leave her newborn alone with a chow?

I have the cutest mini-Dachchund since he was 2months old, he is 4 years oldnow, even though I know he is a cute little wimp, I still would never leave a newborn alone with him!

My dog is the most gentle creature I've known (beagle-shepherd mix). I don't think she even knows how to bite (unless it's a sandwich, chipmunk or bumblebee). I would trust her with an infant, but still wouldn't leave her alone with one. What if she stepped on the baby, or took its blanket?

Key to my dog's disposition is that her crate is hers. The children are never allowed to play in it. Our dog needs a spot where it is, undoubtedly, safe.

I would never own a dog that bites. Never. There are simply too many dogs in need of homes for me to put up with that.

do you know what religion LDS is?

Puck2u, I must agree with you we have very few people in this world any more that has any type of common sense. The sad part about the dog is he might of look at the baby as if it was a toy but now he was put to sleep. Chow are a one person dog and I have own them off and on over the years but I do believe it depend on how you raise them none of our ever attach anyone. I myself can not blame the dog, I feel the parent is the one who should be blame but that is only my me.

There are many parent out there that are morons just like the lady in the new yesterday my boyfriend took my child and he is on drug and has beaten both of us. But yet she stay with him why.

A newfoundland would never do such a thing, they are very protective of their human children.

Tyler is here to monitor the conversation . Thank you Tyler , we are safe now .

they also pick up on the excitement and anxiety of the new baby. Its a shame but these animals should never be in a home with small children I am not blaming the parents here I'm just saying this has happened before these dogs have a history of killing infants and todlers.

Exactly right!

I saw the headline, and before I read the story, I said it was a pit or a chow.

No dog is safe with a baby.

So true. No dog is safe with a 2 week old. Such a tragedy. I'm just glad this one wasn't a pit bull. We have one who is absolutely wonderful, and it disturbs me when the "Breed ban" talk starts.

its not true that no dogs are good with babies, newfoundlands are known for being amazing babysitters, not that i would but you could safely leave a baby with a newfoundland and they babysit literally, ive seen newfoundlands gently pull a crawling baby back in to a room by a nappy when it was crawling near the outside door and they are so gentle, plus my golden retriever has been amazing with my sisters baby and toddler. id just never recomend leaving a child alone where the pet could get to it

I think that you are correct in saying that no dog should be left with a small child. I don't think the breed matters. A poodle could've attacked. I had a miniature poodle and she didn't like kids. She was mean and we never allowed the baby to get near her.

We've had a Portuguese waterdog for about 13 years now . Good animal other than being a pain in my ass every morning . One of my wife's collegues brought her recent newborn over one evening . We knew she was coming so the dog was literally locked in a bedroom ( with a key ) to keep him away from the baby . He goes beserk whenever my wife gives attention to anyone but him . He doesn't pull that sh*t with me me though . He learned that along time ago . She certainly learned the hard way . Animals are animals , unpredictable .

Frankly, I hope these parents are prosecuted for murder.

Give me a break. That's got to be the most idiotic responses ever for this.

Greg, in order to qualify as murder they would have to show intent to harm their child. Such as, ordering the dog to attack the child. Which they probably didn't do, and it would be hard to prove. To qualify has manslaughter, they would have to prove to have a wilful disregard for life. Personally from the information presented in the article there isnt enough to charge them with manslaughter. They didn't know the dog would attack, and it is not a crime to leave a newborn for a few minutes to take care of chores. Accidents happen.

I have run into the friendliest ChowChows to ever walk the Earth just as frequently as I have run into viscious ChowChows. Likewise, I have run into some viscious Labrador Retrievers! And Pit Bulls that are superfriendly with everyone they meet.

Every breed has a 'Breed Tendency', but that tendency isn't 'viscious'. It's protective or loyalty that gets twisted around by people who don't understand the type of dog that they own and how to manage it and train it and socialize it.

People get bit more by their own chihuahua's and poodles than they do getting mauled by a Chow or Pit. Any animal has the potential to be very deadly and dangerous. We just hear more about the 'sensational' news than about the fact that granny is on another round of antibiotics because PreciousLittleFluffykins bit her hand/foot/leg again. An ill-mannered Cocker Spaniel/Poodle/Chihuahua/Jack Russel had just as much chance of killing this baby as did the ChowChow. As would an overly excited hyper Labrador that just wanted to play.

Was it a mistake for the parent to leave her baby where the dog could get at it? Yes. But we don't know the whole story. Maybe they did introduce the baby carefully. Maybe the dog was doing just fine with it. Who knows what happened, except tragedy. Even stupid and irresponsible actions are tragic mistakes when a 2 week old baby has died.

Jenn - you covered it all very well! I have a young Chihuahua and ever since we first got her at 7 weeks old, we have had to train her not to bite. Her first tendency is to the bite your fingers. Obviously, she is playing, but she does not know the strength of her jaws, or the sharpness of her (baby) teeth. We have come away with a few scratches here and there. She is doing much better now and does not bite anymore. But that's not to say she won't bite again! These little dog have the David and Goliath syndrome, they are small but they think they are really really big and are not afraid to attack things much larger than they are! They must be supervised or crated at all times for their own protection.

Jenn , I don't know anyone that owns a chihuaha or a poodle . I like real dogs . If I owned one of those oversized rodents and it bit me once ...well , needless to say ....

Wow Lew you big manly man!! You'd show that 5lb. dog how big and tough you are?

>I perfer Newfoundlands, but come on dude<

tragic yes, maybe this mistake will teach others to research their pets natures before introducing children, there are so many people who do not understand some pets are awesome family dogs, some are loyal to one person, some are protective over the whole family etc, know the traits of your breed!

For what? It's the mother's mistake, not the animal's. A child should not be left alone with any animal- dog, cat, whatever. The animal might not be mean or vicious but could harm the child by accident. It's the parent's responsibility to make sure this does not occur.

It gets old real quick reading reply after reply defending the actions of the dog and condeming the parents.. uhg. No **** people are irresponsible with animals, but for crying out loud the BABY is DEAD. Some compassion for these poor people would be nice.

ROUNDMAN... If you read the article again, it does not state that the chow mauled and tore the child apart, nor did the dog eat parts of it, etc. The baby had ' bite wounds on her head ' .... possibly the dogs teeth went through an artery; possibly even crushed the skull. The dog might have wanted to pick it up by the scruf of the neck as it would carry it's own puppies. Or, it might have wanted to 'kill that wiggling squirming rabbit'. This article does not provide enough descriptions. Chows, as well as many other breeds, are to be watched around children, especially babies and toddlers. They are one-man dogs.

All of the pit bull attacks that end in fatality? Check the stats, less than 100 people die in an average year from a dog attack. The majority of those attacks do not involve a pit. That is very few for a country with over 300 million people. Pit bulls on the whole are sweet, affectionate dogs. Like all creatures some are not, but that is a result of poor dog socialization and training.

Dogs are territorial animals, they most often attack when they perceive an intruder of some sort. This is a terrible incident, but don't unfairly punish animals that have done no wrong. Pit bulls are used as a scapegoat. Statistically there are more dog bites involving golden retrievers every year than pit bulls. You should wake up.

Excuse me, when you speak of pit bull attacks, do you speak of one specific breed, or the over 20 that fit into that "type"? Because there is a huge difference. There are over 20 different breeds that fall into "pit bull" category, yet all attacks by all of these breeds are lumped into one breed attacking. In other words, tale all the attacks claimed to be done by pit bulls and divide by at least 20. That takes you much more realistically closer American pit bull terrier attack count. Being as uneducated about the matter is almost worse then being one of the idiots training a "pit bull" type to attack.

I knew someone who had their lip ripped off as a child by a golden retriever, and if their father didn't take a bat to kill that dog right away, that person would have been killed at 7 years of age. In May 2000, a Pomeranian killed a 6 week old baby. My sister's friend's cocker spaniel, Kim, was single handedly the cause for more then 4 people needing stitches (my sister's friends were all big "tough" guys too macho to have a cocker spaniel put down).

Dog attacks are not only done by "pit bull" types. No one but the owner of the dog or dogs is to blame for improperly choosing, training, and socializing the dog properly. Buying from a BYB or pet store is a sure fire way of playing Russian roulette with your family. Many of these dogs, no matter the size, are inbred and are mentally unstable due to improper breeding and the horrific conditions they suffer being born in cramped, feces covered cages. Many dogs, especially "pit bull" types are not socialized and are kept tethered, or chained up. Tethering a dog makes a dog 3.5 times more likely to bite. People get a breed which they have no business in having, or have no business owning a dog whatsoever. Dogs need to be walked for at least 30 minutes everyday, minimum, more for higher energy breeds, or they become frustrated. Dogs are very territorial, and if dominance is not established over them, and the owner is weak, the dog will take over. Obviously this dog's owners did not establish their dominance and the dog was the one that ran things. That is why the baby died, pure irresponsibility, by the owners, for lack of discipline, training, and establishing dominance in the household.

PS

I have several friends and family members that have pit bulls, and not one, not one has ever attacked someone. 3 of my friends have very small children, and the dogs are very attentive and gentle. One of the females even started lactating when Christine came home with her parents, and offered her services as a nurse maid all the time by exposing her belly.

where do you come up with your statistics that more golden retrievers bite that pit bull your so full of crap!! go to the CDC website and check the number of fatal attacks between 1979-1998 shows 66 pit bull-type deaths and 0 golden retriever deaths.

ww.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

http://wAccording to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states

Bites and fatalities are different. When a pit type dog bites it is often fatal, but pit bulls are one of the least likely dogs to bite. Golden retrievers are more likely to bite a person period, not kill a person. You should read what is written and not infer from what is not there.

And if you read that report, you will note that rottweilers are responsible for the most fatalities (over half in the study) where pit type dogs tally about one third. Like another poster mentioned pit type breeds encompasses a large group of different dogs (AmStaff, pit bull terrier, bull terrier, etc) and the rottweiler is only one breed of dog. Statistically they are the most dangerous. Some of these fatalities are misleading. They are from instances when a dog was used a tool for murder or a person dying from an infection after a bite. All of that is in the same study.

Like I said before though, dogs attack because their owners are irresponsible. They neglect the animal, chain it, abuse it, and otherwise mistreat it. Dogs, like children, must be reminded constantly of what is and what is not acceptable behavior.

STEPHANIE.... so true! Thank you for a great post.

Stephanie , a dog started lactating because a newborn baby was brought into the home ? You don't really believe that crap do you ? Obviously spend too much time in the supermarket checkout lines and read the tabloids .

Stephanie --- the dog started lactating at the sight of the human baby??? Thank you for giving me my first real good hard laugh of the day. I can barely type now as I am crying hysterically over your story. A wonderful story it was! Really.

Great post ,Stephanie. Excellent point about the pitbulls.As others have said, chows are not generally good around small kids.I had a chow mix (neutered male,well trained and socialized) when I had my first child, along with two rescued rotties.The chow mix was never overtly aggressive as I am very alpha and he knew the rules about no teeth on humans.What he was was sneaky.He curled his lip once when my son was a toddler, and was soundly disciplined.It was what an adult dog would do to discipline an annoying pup,but I saw him and corrected him for even thinking about it.He realized his options were to steer clear of the kid, or be tolerant,so he generally avoided my son (unless my son had treats),but he was never given an opportunity to misbehave.We had that dog for thirteen years,so it can work,but I doubt I will ever get another like him.

When my three kids were babies, we had a mesh tent that went over their cribs and zipped closed completely.This was to keep our overly affectionate cats from sleeping with a helpless infant.I don't feel that it is ever worth the risk with a young baby or child.Our dogs have all been fixed and socialized/trained, but always closely supervised until the kids are old enough to control the dogs(voice commands) on their own.Our female rottie was very maternal and fostered a litter of feral kittens(just washing, not nursing),so she was devoted to our babies, too, and slept close to the crib in our bedroom.Our male didn't get as much freedom(he had jealousy issues with my husband,so the dog slept elsewhere, in a crate),but he never showed aggression towards the two kids we had before he died of old age.

The year before we had our third child, we rescued(literally) a young pitbull mix from off the street.He was scared, injured, and underweight,but so stoic throughout the medical care he needed.Some butthead had left a rope on this poor guy until it left a deep gash on the underside of his neck.He never showed any aggression when I had to give him meds and clean and bandage his wounds.I had done some dog rescue in the past, but never with a pitbull, so I was nervous.He wasn't allowed around our kids or other pets at first, but he had such a mellow personality and seemed so grateful, we had him neutered and have had him about six years now with no problems.When our youngest daughter was two, she was hugging and kissing him while he stood quietly,with me a few feet away watching.Suddenly, SHE(my daughter) bit HIM( the pitbull mix).He jerked away from her as I realized that she had bit the dog,so I corrected her for her bad behavior, and he ran away and avoided her for about a month afterwards.She had bitten most of us at that point( a phase that passed, thankfully), but we never expected she would bite a dog.Still, this could have had a bad outcome if he had a bad temper or poor training.My heart goes out to the parents in this case, but all parents do need to remember that dogs ARE dogs, and see things from a different perspective.It is always better to err on the side of caution when a child's safety is at stake.It is entirely possible to have kids AND pets, but it does take planning and effort.Any dog can hurt a baby,intentionally or not.If the dog truly has temperament problems ,whether from lack of training or poor breeding, it may be better to have it rehomed or put down, even if it is hard to do emotionally.It is not fair to pass on a truly aggressive dog, it is better to be responsible and have it put down.I have done that twice with rescued dogs I felt sure would hurt someone eventually,and I am an experienced owner who has done substantial training with large dogs.We have had Great Danes who were so exuberant at times I had a fat lip and my husband had one plop on him in bed and put her leg across his throat to kiss him.He could have been suffocated if he wasn't able to move her(she weighed 160lbs), but she wasn't trying to hurt him.She wasn't allowed on the bed anymore after that ,either.

A mother dog tells her puppy to not cry by gently biting them, she increases the pressure until they stop. Apparently, puppies instinctively understand and stop--however, babies tend to just scream louder, which confuses the dog and they apply even more pressure.

However, this is just sad, the mother made a mistake and has paid the ultimate price for her mistake. Besides losing her child, she can now hear how it was all her fault, she was stupid, etc. Have some of you ever read the definition of compassion or empathy?

Agree. i doubt there will be any arrest or citations for child endangerment. Tragic yes, but the parents need to be more responsible. They should know better

Protect Yourself......

I thought I was the only person who hated dogs.....Glad to know there's someone else out there.....I can't stand dogs, even when I was a child.....They are loud, irritating and stink......I also could never understand how a person could think of an animal as a "family member" or risk a lawsuit due to injury or death caused from their beloved animal.......I also can't stand people who claim that their dogs are loving and sweet....No thanks! I stay far away from dogs.....Yuck! I hope this family feels that losing their child to their dog was worth it......I hope that baby didn't suffer too much......

A friend of mine has two dogs. They stay inside all day, locked in cages. Why? Because they will tear the house apart. So why not keep them outside? Because they'd tear the lawn apart. He let's them out when he gets home, and they run around and jump on everyone. They bark like crazy when they see people outside......good for protection at night (I guess) but so incredibly annoying during the day. And then he yells at them to stop barking. He can't go on vacation without hiring a dog sitter. He can't even enjoy a night out without worrying that the dogs might need a bathroom break.....etc...etc. Then there's the vet bills....one of them needs hip surgery. It's around $6,000......this is exactly what I think about when people say "get a dog for protection". I don't think so.

Protect yourself---they bark like crazy & they would tear the lawn apart because they are abused---being kept in a cage all day & yelled at for barking doesnt exactly make for a happy dog---why idiots like this have dogs is beyond me---they are social creatures who need love & attention & space to roam. UGH!!!

You are the smart one here when you say I dont think so!

Yes Roy , I agree . They also should round up every english / grammar teacher you had in school .

f - you tyler

Where does it say that the dog ATE THE CHILD ALIVE!!!!!! Drama queen!!! Dog could have been carrying the child and dropped it. One hold by huge jaws can puncture an artery!

Janice - once again you have vomited stupidness in your posts...come on---give this poor women a break. I agree - stop being such a Drama Queen!!! I hardly think the baby was eaten alive. Have a little compassion--this poor women just lost her child---to her own pet----this very well could have been a dog that has been in the family for years & years. Who even knows if this dog ever even showed any signs of aggression before......this women was 2 wks post partum ....she made a tragic, tragic mistake. One she will deal with for the rest of her life.

Some people should be content with a goldfish to start . Possibly graduate to a hamster if they show they are responsible enough . It's a shame octomom didn't just buy a few mice . She'd have a thousand by now .

I agree. If I had found my baby dead, or bitten, that baby would have been in my arms while I called 911 and never put down again till they arrived!