Children
and Dogs – Basic Safety
by Niki Elliott & Kay Aitcheson
www,puppiesingbalance.co.za
Niki and Kay are one of our Recommended Puppy Schools. they run Puppies in Balance Puppy School in Bryanston/Sandton, which is one of our Recommended Puppy Schools. Click here to find out more about them.
www,puppiesingbalance.co.za
Niki and Kay are one of our Recommended Puppy Schools. they run Puppies in Balance Puppy School in Bryanston/Sandton, which is one of our Recommended Puppy Schools. Click here to find out more about them.
Treat all beings as you would have them treat you. "Be gentle" should be a common household phrase.
The importance of teaching your children to respect other living beings be they animal or human, cannot be stressed enough. Treat all beings as you would have them treat you. "Be gentle" should be a common household phrase. This is necessary even if you don’t have your own animals. A gentle hand will carry them through many different situations in life, not only the meeting of animals. .
Our children should be taught the basics for staying safe around animals and how to keep their own animals safe around other children. One day they will encounter an animal, whether it is somebody else's pet in a controlled environment, or a meeting on the street with a strange dog. If they don’t know how to behave around dogs, this could lead to a horrible accident where the child could be killed and the dog euthanized.
It is so important that we as parents take notice of how our children, and their friends, behave around a dog, even your own dog. Often children are very rough and they simply don’t understand that what they do might cause pain. Don't let them pull on ears or fur, but encourage gentle stroking. Don't let them squeeze handfuls of fur or stick crayons in the dog’s ears, and make sure they know that a tail is not a handle! It’s a good idea to introduce your child to a toy dog at first. A real dog might not be as patient with grabbing hands, as you would think. Remember too, that some dogs have no exposure to children and could therefore also be uncertain or nervous of this little person facing them.
The first rule for you as a parent is to approach the dog’s owner first and ask if the dog is friendly and if you may pet the dog! After permission has been given, approach slowly; do not run up to a dog, ever. Turn side ways to the dog and keep your hands down. Let the dog come up to your child and sniff him. Allow the dog to decide how close he wants to get. Please take care not to let your child put his hands or his face right into the dog’s face. This is a simple rule that can help to avoid an accident! Show your child how to pet "gently". Rightfrom when the child starts to get mobile, we need to teach them how to approach a dog correctly! Many dogs love attention, and the correct approach will have the new dog asking for hugs and kisses.
Try not to bring your child up to fear dogs, even if you are afraid. Let’s rather teach them to respect dogs. Encourage them not to scream or run from a dog. Running and screaming can trigger a "prey" response, and a dog that may have been quite happy to sit and watch will suddenly give chase. Even a dog that only wants to "play" could do serious damage when the "prey" is caught.
If you encounter a strange dog, encourage children to be observant and to look and see what the dog is doing. Is the dog just watching, check his posture, ears perked, tail wagging, relaxed body? In this case he is fairly relaxed, just walk away calmly, do not run. Or is the dog standing in a threatening manner? Are his ears laid back along his head, his body tense, his tail up, it may or may not be wagging slowly, (don't be fooled): this a threatening posture. Do not yell or scream. Do not stare at the dog. Walk away slowly … any sudden move may trigger an attack.
Another easy rule is that a child should never approach a dog that is eating. Every child should know this, whether you have pets in your home or not. Children should never try to take the dog’s food bowl away. Food is one thing a dog is most likely to be protective over, and the child could receive a nasty bite.
Parents! NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE AND UNATTENDED WITH A DOG!
Accidents happen in the blink of an eye, and even the gentlest family dog will bite if he is cornered or in pain, or if he has simply "had enough"!
Unfortunately, the dogs can’t speak for themselves and always get blamed for accidents!
Our children should be taught the basics for staying safe around animals and how to keep their own animals safe around other children. One day they will encounter an animal, whether it is somebody else's pet in a controlled environment, or a meeting on the street with a strange dog. If they don’t know how to behave around dogs, this could lead to a horrible accident where the child could be killed and the dog euthanized.
It is so important that we as parents take notice of how our children, and their friends, behave around a dog, even your own dog. Often children are very rough and they simply don’t understand that what they do might cause pain. Don't let them pull on ears or fur, but encourage gentle stroking. Don't let them squeeze handfuls of fur or stick crayons in the dog’s ears, and make sure they know that a tail is not a handle! It’s a good idea to introduce your child to a toy dog at first. A real dog might not be as patient with grabbing hands, as you would think. Remember too, that some dogs have no exposure to children and could therefore also be uncertain or nervous of this little person facing them.
The first rule for you as a parent is to approach the dog’s owner first and ask if the dog is friendly and if you may pet the dog! After permission has been given, approach slowly; do not run up to a dog, ever. Turn side ways to the dog and keep your hands down. Let the dog come up to your child and sniff him. Allow the dog to decide how close he wants to get. Please take care not to let your child put his hands or his face right into the dog’s face. This is a simple rule that can help to avoid an accident! Show your child how to pet "gently". Rightfrom when the child starts to get mobile, we need to teach them how to approach a dog correctly! Many dogs love attention, and the correct approach will have the new dog asking for hugs and kisses.
Try not to bring your child up to fear dogs, even if you are afraid. Let’s rather teach them to respect dogs. Encourage them not to scream or run from a dog. Running and screaming can trigger a "prey" response, and a dog that may have been quite happy to sit and watch will suddenly give chase. Even a dog that only wants to "play" could do serious damage when the "prey" is caught.
If you encounter a strange dog, encourage children to be observant and to look and see what the dog is doing. Is the dog just watching, check his posture, ears perked, tail wagging, relaxed body? In this case he is fairly relaxed, just walk away calmly, do not run. Or is the dog standing in a threatening manner? Are his ears laid back along his head, his body tense, his tail up, it may or may not be wagging slowly, (don't be fooled): this a threatening posture. Do not yell or scream. Do not stare at the dog. Walk away slowly … any sudden move may trigger an attack.
Another easy rule is that a child should never approach a dog that is eating. Every child should know this, whether you have pets in your home or not. Children should never try to take the dog’s food bowl away. Food is one thing a dog is most likely to be protective over, and the child could receive a nasty bite.
Parents! NEVER LEAVE A CHILD ALONE AND UNATTENDED WITH A DOG!
Accidents happen in the blink of an eye, and even the gentlest family dog will bite if he is cornered or in pain, or if he has simply "had enough"!
Unfortunately, the dogs can’t speak for themselves and always get blamed for accidents!