Dog Bite Prevention Myth About Dogs And Kids: A child has to be directly interacting with a dog before a potential problem can occur. This past fall/early winter, I completed a 13-week program to be certified as a Family Paws parent educator. This topic was a discussion point in one of our group calls.
Active adult supervision between a young child and a dog includes more than simply watching their direct interaction. It involves watching the whole environment including what the child is doing and where, what else is going on around them, and the dog’s body language.
I love the phrase coined by Jennifer Shryock and Family Paws, “Invites decrease bites”.
Take a look at these images. You can see how quickly the dog goes from being relaxed to tense when the boy and his car move closer to be near his mom, who is taking the photo.
It is a common scenario. A dog is hanging out with a trusted adult when a young child approaches.
It is important for adults to know how to see and understand the changes in the dog to make adjustments to ensure safety and comfort for everyone.
What can a parent do? There are a number of things depending on the dog and the environment. The parent could teach their dog to go to a place, could get between the child and the dog, could keep the dog inside to begin with, could give the dog something else to focus on like a sniffing game. Again, that depends on the dog.
The Environment Can Add To A Dog’s Stress
A client once told me about a time when their dog, who had been ‘ok’ around a few kids in their home growled and snapped at kids when they took their dog to a family get together. The gathering had much more activity including kids running around, screaming and playing with toys. There were other unfamiliar sights and sounds too. Having so many triggers occurring, really amplifies stress which can cause the dog to be more prone to react to stimulus.
In that situation, there were more than likely lots of ways their dog was indicating stress that were going unnoticed BEFORE it escalated. Now that they know what to look for, they have said they move their dog farther away from the kids to where their dog can relax again.
