How Children’s Interaction With Dogs Should Be
Attack statistics
The numbers are clear: Most dog bites on humans occur in children. Also, these bites are more common in boys than girls. Experts have a clear read. These situations occur because children still don’t know how to treat dogs with respect.
Therefore, it is very important for parents to know how children should interact with dogs. If the child knows the basic rules of respect and safety with dogs, this can be avoided. That way, she won’t bother the animal until it feels like it needs to defend itself. Through some basic rules, the child can be taught to respect the animal. Thus, the dog will not feel fear, discomfort or being threatened.
Interaction of children with dogs: basic rules
It is very important to establish ground rules for children’s interaction with dogs. These rules must apply to unfamiliar dogs. However, they must also be observed in relation to the family dogs.
1. The dog cannot be disturbed when sleeping or eating
Dogs suffer the same way we do when they wake us up. We should never wake up a sleeping dog , whether puppies or adults. Dogs can also be in a bad mood and feel bad about being awake.
Although, in general, the dog has no problems with food. There are a few things to remember. Removing food from the plate or putting your hand in the bowl can be a very violent action for the dog. If the dog understands that his food is in danger, he can try to defend it.
2. Do not pull ears, tail or whiskers
It can be fun for children to explore the bodies of dogs, but for animals it is not. In this sense, you should teach your child that he cannot always satisfy your curiosity. Therefore, you should not pull your tail or look into your canine companion’s ears. After all, this can bother or cause pain in the animal.
3. If the dog wants to go, let him go
This is a step that adults should also take. When a dog doesn’t want to be on our side anymore, we must respect his decision. A dog can feel overwhelmed when there are too many people in the house. This happens when we are paying close attention to them or when there are strangers in the house. Another cause of discomfort is noise when people are at home.
No matter the reasons: if the dog wants to go away to relax, we must let him. Especially if we are touching him, stroking him or hugging him. If we hold them against their will, they can get nervous and act without thinking.
4. Do not enter the rest area
Related to the previous point, it would be beneficial to create a resting area for the dog. In this place, he should never be disturbed. This resting area should have at least the bed and some space around it. It will all depend on the size of our house.
In this place, we must never enter or disturb the dog. After all, it’s our pet’s haven. Children should never lie in an animal’s bed or play while it sleeps. In this place, the dog knows not to disturb him. So they can use it to run away when they feel uncomfortable.
5. Don’t play to irritate the dog
This rule is clear: making a dog feel bad is not a game. Toys cannot be removed by force. In addition, the animal should not be offered food and not given later. Nor should objects be taken out of your mouth. Also, avoid giving long series of orders without offering any reward to the animal.
For children they may seem like games, but for the dog they are attacks on our part. Though they might have more patience with children. Remember, they can also get overwhelmed or overexcited. So they can have a bad reaction.
6. Don’t punish or hit
Punishments are not an effective tool in raising a dog. A child should never deny a dog something, punish him or correct him. Education, guidelines and standards must be established by adults so that children never impose anything on the dog.
Of course, it should be completely forbidden to hit or hurt the dog. Even if children and dogs are playing. Even if the child believes he is acting in a kind way. It is necessary to remember that for the dog it is a violent situation and that they can hurt it.
supervision and example
In all cases, children’s interaction with dogs must be supervised. Children, especially younger ones, still don’t control their strength or body well. That is why it is essential that there are always adults present.
Of course, the best example a child can have of how to treat dogs is the adults around. If you want your kids to interact safely with dogs, show them how to do it with your example. Treat your pet with respect and teach your child to act gently and not to disturb you.
These precautions must always be taken into account, even with domestic dogs. Although they can always tolerate children well, it is possible that they are having a bad day. Animals can get nervous or something can upset them and they end up reacting badly. If a dog bites a child, it is the responsibility of the adults who did not prevent this situation.
