Dogs and Kids

Many people want their children to know the joy of loving a pet. However there can be some challenges to having dogs and kids in the same home. The best plan is to start early, before problems arise, and be prepared for things to change over time. Your dog may need a little help dealing with each new phase of your child’s life.

Safety

Both the safety of children and pets should be the number one priority. Most dog bites to children come from a family pet. Young children can’t be expected to interact gently with pets 100% of the time and any dog can react to fear, pain, or irritation by biting. To prevent incidents, an adult should actively supervise all interactions between dogs and babies, toddlers, or young children. Don’t risk your children’s safety and your dog’s life on the false belief that your dog would never, ever bite.

Set Your Dog Up For Success

Even the best dogs need help to avoid making mistakes or getting into trouble. You can help your dog feel safe around kids with these steps:

  • Socialize puppies. Start them off right by giving your puppy safe, supervised, and positive experiences with children of all ages.
  • Create a doggie safe zone. Give your dog a place to retreat to that is away from kids. Enforce this area as off limits to kids. Let your dog go to their safe zone whenever they want to.
  • Train with positive reinforcement. This type of training lets every family member participate and learn to communicate with the dog. Kids can help train as a way of bonding and so that the dog responds to them as well as to adults.
  • Being around children is a good thing. You want your dog to view children as a positive so use food and play to build those good feelings when kids are nearby. Don’t punish your dog around kids or let kids punish them. 
  • Respect your dog’s warning signs. Dogs may get tired or less tolerant of kids faster than adults. Watch for signs that your dog needs a break before they feel the need to escalate. Be comfortable saying “no” to children who want to pet your dog when on a walk. You are protecting both them and your dog.

​ Teach Respect​

As children grow up, they should be taught to be respectful of dogs. Every dog is different in what they will tolerate and what they enjoy but kids that learn to understand and interact with animals in a way that the animals enjoy are safer in the long run. Some recommended rules, especially for young children include:

  • Touch the dog gently. No grabbing, poking, pulling, teasing, etc. Kids should never sit or stand on dogs, even large ones. 
  • Let the dog eat and sleep without being bothered. Kids should never try to take anything away from a dog. 
  • Get down on the ground with the dog. Don’t pick them up.
  • Play in a way that the dog enjoys. While some dogs don’t seem to mind playing dress up, most would rather chase a toy. Show kids how to play so everyone has fun. 
  • Give them a break. Let dogs stop playing when they want to. If the dog tries to leave, let them.​

Young children need adults to help them follow these rules. Be realistic about what your child can handle. If they need help, enforce play breaks by giving the dog their own safe space where they can’t be followed. ​

Special Considerations for Unfamiliar Dogs

Most children won’t just interact with their family pets; they will also meet dogs on the street and at friend’s houses. Unfamiliar dogs deserve the same respect as the family dog but with a few extra rules:

  • First ask the owner, then ask the dog. Teach kids to ask both an adult and the dog if it is okay to meet the dog. Dogs say “yes” to interactions with kids by approaching them on their own with soft, loose bodies and staying close without being held. Dogs that are being held or are tied up should be left alone. 
  • Learn to say “hi” to a dog without touching it. Kids can smile and talk to a dog without petting and approaching it. They should learn that they don’t need to pet every dog they see.
  • Be a tree. If a strange dog approaches off leash, kids should “be a tree” by standing still with their arms at their sides and looking at their shoes until an adult comes to help them. This can prevent chasing and other dangerous behavior. 

Too Much Fun

Some dogs aren’t concerned by kids at all. In fact, they see them as fun toys to chase and play with. The more erratic movement of toddlers and the excited play of running, yelling kids can get these dogs overexcited. A dog might chase, grab at clothes, or mouth on kids. This is normal play for a dog but can accidentally injure a child. If this describes your dog, they may do better being put in a separate area when things get wild. You might also distract them with their own game, such as a food puzzle. Or change the game into something the dog can safely join, like fetch or a training game. 

Dogs can also learn to control themselves around excited kids with some training. Keep your dog on leash at a distance and reward them for relaxing or focusing on you when the kids are playing.

Responsibility

Kids that grow up with pets learn about respect and responsibility and connect deeply with another living creature. They can help with feeding, cleaning up, play time, and training. Ultimately though, an adult must be a dog’s primary caregiver. Subtle changes in behavior, eating, and elimination habits may be your first sign of illness or other issues. Don’t rely on children to catch important changes

 

This material was written in collaboration with dog behavior consultant Jessica Char.
Learn more at   www.CanineEngineering.com