I think that's a good theory!! Did you know I raised all my kids around animals and only two are real animal lovers? Lol the others just see the work that put in them and want nothing to do with it ever. Hahahaha
my toddler cannot be trusted with the birds, or small animals unsupervised, so he's always restrained around fragile animals. LOL
with supervision, and practice, he's getting better... though he did give his sister a black eye from throwing a car to her. LOL he's a work in progress.
I find that starting them early, really helps teach them to be good with animals and just have it be second nature. Did you know that I've never worried about my kids being hurt the way some people do, but did worry more about them hurting an animal??? I figure if they respect animals, they aren't likely to get hurt.