Korean Job Discussion Forums

[antoniothegreat]

several koreans have told me that it is not safe to have dogs in the house if a woman is pregnant or there is a child under age 5.

back home, i know dogs can become jelous and physically attack a child, but here they believe it is because of the dog giving diseases or things like that.

obviously, i would not think bringing in a dirty homeless dog to lick a baby's face is good, but having an indoor dog, is that bad?

is there any truth to this? or is it just a carry over from the dirty dogs living near the farm days?

any thoughts?

[T-J]

I think it is only young dogs you have to worry about.

The disease carrying vermin I recall as being cats. No cats in the house with newborns sticks out in my mind.

[teachergirltoo]

I know lots of westerners that have dogs and infants. Unfortunately, cats can carry a certain disease that can affect some pregnant women if they clean their litter boxes. From what I understand most husbands will clean the litter boxes during pregnancy and then there is no problem.

[bassexpander]

My mom was always fearful of the cat becoming jealous and smothering my brother.

[caniff]

[RACETRAITOR]

[Scotticus]

[Goku]

[VanIslander]

If Koreans are so worried about the safety and health of their children they'd wash their own hands after defecating, not share food bowls to avoid spreading the rampant Hepatitis and H. pylori infections in this country and would put young children in protective car seats.

The rates of liver dysfunction, stomach cancer and child mortality in accidents in Korea far exceed the risk associated with children bonding with a pet.

Geez.

I know, I know. "It's a cultural thing."

[T-J]

Wow, this thread lasted fifteen hours before it turned into a Korean bashing session. I'm sure we all can do better next time.

Not that I don't criticize when warranted, but jeez seems like some go out of their way to find an opportunity.

How miserable are you living here?

[The Grumpy Senator]

Next step is to call T-J a gyopo.

Look at the Miracle Whip thread for an example of the character of Dave's.

[Scotticus]

[polonius]

We have a dog, and last year had a baby. One of our neighbours also had a baby at the same time, and they gave away their dog. The security guard tried to tell me that it wasn't right to have a dog and infant in the house together. I believe that this stems from jealousness that a dog might feel, and may scratch or nip at the infant. Introducing your dog and baby needs to be a gradual process so that the dog starts to associate that there is another higher ranking person in the family. All of this stems from the training of the dog. Dogs need to realize that they are the lowest on the totem pole. The owners need to be the Alpha Male/Female, and the dog needs to know its position in the hierarchy.

Dogs are relatively new to Korea as pets. I know that many owners don't train their dogs (This is of course true to North Americans too.) I hate it when dogs are treated as a family member and eat from the table, or when they are treated as accessories, painted ears and tails. I have also seen the cripple dog syndrome, when the owners refuse to let the dog walk, and they are carried everywhere.

There is no proof that dogs are dangerous to have with infants in the house. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/05/health/webmd/main2230906.shtml

[T-J]

[tfunk]