Do You Let Kids Walk Your Dogs Alone?

[ozzymama]

No because she is 2...

I did not let my step-daughter from my previous marriages walk our dogs, but that had to do with her being used to very small dogs.

Growing up, it was our responsibility to walk the dogs. My mother always told us a dog needed to have at least a daily walk to prevent gas - I'm thinking a wives tale about bloat, but yes, as early at 12 or 13 we were walking our dogs, now we only had beagles at that time. At 10 I started around the horses, I could fully harness and hook the check by 11, started jogging horses at 11, turned and went my first mile by 12 - I got a stop watch for my birthday. I was also tall and very athletic. I could control an animal better than say my own mother who was a city girl through and through and at 5'5" and 130lbs, didn't have the physical strength or animal sense.
For me it will be dependent on the child. To me, as a teen, standing in a 100 degree haymow, slinging bales on a pitchfork, working alongside men, making $2/hour ($20/day) I was in better shape than most of the adults in town LOL and having been raised around dogs, and livestock, had enough sense to handle most situations.

That's not saying at 5 I am sending my daughter out to walk our Saint around the block, or even Ozzy for that matter. However if I trust her by say 12 or 13 to handle her own horse and she learns about our dogs and gains a decent animal sense and I do not believe there to be an issue with off-lead dogs, or wild animals within town, yes she will walk the dogs. I'll go with her at first to ensure she can handle it, but yes, she will walk the dogs. I do not have issues with my dogs on lead. It was a long road and I mean figuratively as well as physically because I logged many miles with Oz to take him from a 6 month old with no leash manners to almost 3 before I was happy with him and graduated him off the prong. Both my dogs know what it means to walk until they are falling down exhausted if that is what it takes to learn the command ignore. I don't physically punish my dogs persey, but I will exhaust them to train them. Having said that, my 13 year old step-son, now way, not ever and if he keeps going the way he is, it's unlikely he would have the stamina to walk my dogs farther than to the neighbors.
To me it is dependent on so many factors, the child, the dogs - mine are just pets, don't crap or pee in my house, sit when I tell you, get off the couch when I say, not a big deal, and we do not have an issue with off-lead dogs in this neighborhood.

[TommyB681]

My 13 year old brother does. He pretty good with her

[dogsnkiddos]

My children walk WITH me and the dogs. Anything that happens on a walk is my legal responsibility...so I am going to exercise control to help mitigate any negatives. I walk the dogs.

[Jo Ellen]

There's actually very few adults I would let walk my dogs, forget about kids. Just too risky, so many things can go wrong -- things that I would have a hard time handling myself, let alone a child.

Absolutely not.

[RocketDog]

My kids are 13, 14 and 17 (wow---my oldest just turned 17 yesterday--feels weird typing that!). Rocket doesn't require a prong for walking, but if they walk him they use it, just to help if they needed more control, since he weighs barely less than they do. They are all extremely dog-savvy and I feel that they would keep him safe, and I'm pretty sure, based on neighbor's reports, no one in their right mind would approach them based on the fact that Rocket "looks mean!" LOL

[Gharrissc]

I've seen numerous kids around here walking dogs with prong collars,but they don't know how to use it. I'm thinking that has a lot to do with the parents not knowing how to use the collar themselves.

[Daisy]

No, she is strong and dog reactive. Once in a while a dog will approach us when walking and sometimes it gets ugly. I can handle, they couldn't.

[peachypan]

Right now Rusty outweighs my kids (ages 7, 5, and 2) so that's a big no-no. Lol, he'd be walking them or would take of into the woods to chase a squirrel. Maybe once the kids are about 16 I'd let them walk the dog.

[Kyleigh]

I let my nephew (he's almost 6) walk Kyleigh with me. I wouldn't let them walk alone (for obvious reasons!) but I do take my nephew with me for walks with Ky and he has the leash in his hands and she's good as gold!

[huntergreen]

another school of thought. i have let my own children walk our gsd since age 9 and 10. they walked our great pryraneese since ages 6 and seven, with supervision. if i couldn't let let them learn what is involved with taking care of a dog and letting them enjoy having a dog, what is the point of a owning a pet.