a5074b3d   
   From: jo-wolf@webtv.net   
      
   Crate the dog when you can't supervise, which it sounds like you intend   
   to do.  I'd keep the dog on a leash when not crated.... just in case.   
   You can stop the dog from running by stepping on the leash, if you   
   aren't holding onto it.   
      
   My cats always introduce themselves to a new dog.  Dog on leash held by   
   an ADULT (the youngster will want to  hold the leash.... but has no clue   
   about 'reading' animal body language).   
      
   The biggest danger would be  if the dog was loose and no way of easily   
   grabbing it, and a cat started running.  A cat is still Reletively safe   
   with a small dog if it has easy access to high places...... if the dog   
   can't get there, too.   
      
   One concern with a youngster that age is open door safety.... not being   
   used to dogs in the house.  You need to get the idea across that no   
   outside door that isn't into a secure area (screened patio) can be open   
   unless an adult has the loose dog in physical contact, or the dog is   
   crated.  Kid should NOT take the dog for a walk alone.  If an adult   
   holds onto the end of the leash, kiddo can safely hold onto it between   
   adult and dog..... OR adult holding middle of leash to control the dog   
   and kiddo holds the end.  (And I have sometimes put a second leash on   
   the dog... one for kiddo and one for me.)  If your child had more   
   dog-with-family experience or was older and less impulsive (a fact of   
   AGE), kiddo could hold leash and adult walks alongside.  Maybe next time   
   the dog comes to visit.  Maybe.   
      
   Small dogs are amazingly strong!  One of my 18 lb dogs almost pulled a   
   tiny Japanese lady over,, and I've had a nasty shoulder pull from one of   
   my small guys taking off after a cat during a walk....I didn't see the   
   cat....  Some of the strength comes not from the dog's weight, but from   
   angle..... physics is involved.... between human holding leash and dog   
   on the ground..... and how far the dog runs before it hits the end of   
   the leash (acceleration rate....).   
      
   Kids running around dogs can be a disaster....  This WILL be hard for   
   your kiddo to remember.  I just spent most of yesterday afternoon with a   
   troop of 9 yo Girl Scouts and a 7 yo brother, at a demonstration of dog   
   training and tricks with safety-around-dogs and what different kinds of   
   dogs were developed to do for humans.   I could tell which ones came   
   from homes with dogs; they didn't run.... and they didn't walk up and   
   shove a hand in the dogs face.  Petting is best begun on the dog's   
   shoulder or side, not reaching out to the top of the head.  (Think about   
   a huge hand coming into your face or over your head......  and use this,   
   hand as a claw to teach your youngster.... have him do it to himself.)   
      
   Jo Wolf   
   Martinez, Georgia   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)