""More generally, the human/dog symbiosis is of such long standing that in general it does not need interfering with. Nothing in the world is 100% safe, but if the only way to placate the nanny state is to be crual to dogs I would rather they became extinct.""

In this, we are totally in accord, and I think that to remove dogs entirely from contact with children, would be detrimental to the welfare of both.

Babies and toddlers IMO should have only tightly controlled contact with animals of any species.

By this I mean that both animal and child need to be under a degree of restraint which allows for instant separation if necessary.

In answer, Lox, to your comments about children too small to have provoked attack being dragged from pram or cot, I can only suggest that these animals, barring the one in a thousand which is psychotic, have simply not been trained to defer to all humans in the pack structure. No wolf ever attacks another higher in the pecking order except when challenging the alpha animal for leadership, so a properly trained dog won't behave as the ones you mention have done.

It's not about being soft, or favouring dogs over humans, but about settling pack status.

Owning a dog is a privilege, and I would like eventually to see compulsory training with the dog, as a condition of obtaining a licence. That would prevent the mismatching of dog and owner.

Yeah! I know. Nanny State. But it has to be better than doing away with domestic dogs, and remember, children get nasty bites from rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and pet rats too.

Do we really want to keep them away from all animal contact?......I wouldn't have thought so.

Don T.