7 Ways to Encourage Child Safety Around Dogs
You may have seen numerous stories in the news lately about dog attacks against children. While such attacks are scary and heartbreaking to hear about, the truth is most of them could have been prevented. The truth is, there are several safety tips you can follow whenever having children around dogs, and these tips can help prevent any sort of attack or injury. Talking to children about how to be safe around dogs is essential because it keeps not only the child from harm, but keeps the dog safe and feeling calm as well. Fostering this relationship of mutual respect can lead to a lifelong and positive friendship between your child and animals. If you are unsure where to begin, take a look below at 7 ways to encourage child safety around dogs.
7 Ways to Encourage Child Safety Around Dogs:
Tip 1 Demonstrate the hand sniff introduction.
When a child sees a dog, they naturally get excited and want to pet the dog. This sudden movement of the child reaching out can cause the dog to feel threatened. Instead, show your child how to gently extend their closed fist and allow the dog to sniff it. Practice with a stuffed animal so your child can get a feel for how to do this.
Tip 2 Always supervise children and dogs.
Even if you have had a family pet for years, avoid leaving your child and the dog alone unattended. Children can get excited and step on the dog’s paw, or younger children may pull at the fur. This can result in the dog biting out of pain. Supervise children around dogs at all times to make sure they are handling the dog appropriately.
Tip 3 Teach children when it is ok to pet dogs.
Not all times are ideal times to pet a dog. Even the most gentle dogs may not like to be touched when they are eating, chewing on their favorite toy, or nursing their pups. Teach children that dogs should not be touched at this time, that it is their special personal time.
4 Practice how to ask an owner if it is ok to pet their dog.
The plain truth is, not all dogs like to be touched, and not all pet owners want their dogs touched. When walking out in public or at a friend’s house, teach your child how to ask for permission before petting a dog. Practice how to ask and model the behavior so your child knows what it looks like. Simple role playing is a great way to do this! Let them know that if the adult tells them no, it is not a punishment, just a way to keep them safe.
5 Let children know to never run.
Children may feel scared around a dog, but running from it is one of the worse things they can do. Teach children to never run if feeling threatened by a dog, and instead to fold their arms over their chest in an X and stand as still as a tree. Allow the dog to sniff and most likely he will move on.
6 Show how to appropriately pet a dog.
Many children do not know how to pet a dog. They may go for the face or move their hands against the direction the fur is growing. A dog may become uncomfortable with this and act out. Take a stuffed animal and show your child how to pet a dog. Do this by letting your hand be sniffed, then by gently petting in the direction the fur is growing. Stay away from the face.
7 Allow children to feed treats when older.
Children should know to never tease a dog with treats. Nor should they hold the treat between two fingers. Instead, lay a treat flat in your palm and let the dog lick it off. Feed it to the dog right away, and avoid taunting. Both of this concepts are easily understood by older children, so if you feel your child is too young to master these, you might want to wait before allowing her to feed the dog treats.
As you can see, these are fairly simple tips that when utilized can keep both your child and your dog safe and happy. Give these tips a try and see how easy it is to enjoy the dogs around you while feeling safe and secure. It will mean your child stays safe, and it will also mean the world to the dogs in your life!
What other Child Safety Tips do you use when your dogs are around children?
We have a little 4.5lb Morkie and the neighborhood kids always rush to pet her. She is super friendly, almost too enthusiastically friendly, so I am always having to teach the kids about not moving too fast or rushing her. If they act too aggressive our pup will think they’re playing and chew, and Lord knows I don’t need a parent saying my baby ‘bit’ someone. It is something I am constantly working to educate children, and parents on- good dog etiquette. Thanks for the great tips!
Stay away from their food bowl when they are eating. I had a friend whose toddler was bitten because she went near the dog’s food bowl while they were eating.
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My Zorro has never been around kids, but I was surprised at how well he is with the ones he has been around lately. And yes, it has been very important that we teach the little ones the right way to approach and play with the dogs.
Sophie S recently posted..A Visit to the Biltmore Estate & Books for the Journey #Travel
How timely! My son loves dogs and we try to instill in him that he has to approach cautiously as dogs have instincts and he doesn’t want the negative ones to come out!
And he may earn a dog, we find out when he gets his test scores in 1 week!
Mitch
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I wish someone had told me this stuff as a child. I developed a fear of dogs because I ran and they chased me. I still am pretty skittish around them.
Love your idea of practicing with stuffed animals on the sniffing the closed fist!
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These are such great and important tips. My dog is very good around my son but I’m always worried about other dogs.
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Pawesome advice! Woooowooooooo, Ku
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Great advice! I like the idea of a parent practicing with a stuffed animal. It’s so critical for parents to teach their children how to approach dogs.
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Great advice! I have always been scared of dogs, I think I got almost bitten when I was small. Someone should have told me about these tips when I was little.
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Pinned this! Great tips for kids and adults.
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This is a fantastic post! We have been working really hard with our kids and teaching them how to act and interact with dogs. we have a dog, who gets really excited when they kids get excited. And then of course the dog tries to chase them and they freak out. We keep trying to tell them….DON’T RUN! hopefully they will figure it out eventually. thankfully our dog is super gentle to our kids. Each of these 7 tips are super important.
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I completely agree with you about the importance of teaching children to be safe around dogs. I often bring my children on pet sitting jobs with me, so they have heard me go over and over safety rules since birth. You have some great suggestions.
I teach my children to ignore jumpy dogs until they calm down. If kids get all excited when a dog is excited, it’s a never-ending cycle that gets way out of control.
Thanks for your post.
This is a great post – very clear, easy steps to follow. I see kids so often doing the opposite and try to urge their parents to teach them about safety and respect around dogs. Just a couple weeks ago at my dragon boat race a couple let their less-than-2-year-old play with a puppy and get right in his face. The teething puppy became excited and nipped his cheek. The boy was fine after a good cry but it 100% could have been prevented. I plan to keep this post close by to share when I meet families whose children love dogs.
BoingyDog recently posted..The Value of Calm Leadership In A Dog Owner
I think my kids are way too friendly – they want to pet any dog on the street
this is a wonderful post!! I know of so many kids that have been hurt by dogs because they didnt no the proper child safety with them
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Lots of parents don’t know how to read a dog’s body language. It’s important to know when the dog is stressed and telling you to back off. Here’s a good article that discusses this:
http://www.robinkbennett.com/2013/08/19/why-supervising-dogs-and-kids-doesnt-work/
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We have a dog that we rescued about one and a half years ago. He was a working dog on a farm and had been abused. He is terrified of people and kids. He is an Australian Shepherd so everyone wants to pet him so because of this our kids have learned to ask the owners of other dogs if they can pet their dog. I am amazed at how many people just run up to a dog and try to pet without asking.
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