Pets · 10 min
Teaching a child to meet a dog
Ask first, let the dog come to you, stroke the side and not the head: three habits that help keep children and dogs safer.
Many dog bites to children involve a dog the family knows, often at home, and many happen after the dog has tried to show it was uncomfortable. Teaching children a few simple habits for meeting dogs, at home and outside, helps keep both of them safer.
The steps
Four small steps,in your own time.
Teach the first rule: always ask the owner, and the adult with you, before touching a dog, and leave dogs alone when they are eating, sleeping or chewing a toy.
Try out the greeting with a toy dog, or with a calm dog you know: stand still, let the dog come and sniff a loose fist, then stroke gently on the side of the neck or the back, not the top of the head.
Teach the signs that a dog wants space: turning away, licking its lips, yawning, showing the whites of its eyes, going stiff, growling. When the child sees them, they step back calmly.
At home, give the dog a place of its own where children do not follow it, and never leave a young child alone with a dog, however gentle.
The reason
Why it helps
Children learn best by doing, and a calm, rehearsed routine becomes a habit. Knowing a dog's signals means children can step back before the dog feels it has to warn more strongly. A safe space gives the dog a way to leave.
A gentle variation
If a child is scared of dogs, start by watching dogs from a distance, then meeting one calm, older dog, with plenty of time and no pressure.
WE · TRIBE
Try itwith someone.
Make it a game: one person plays the dog and shows a sign, and the child says what it means. Grandparents and older brothers and sisters can learn the same rules, so everyone says the same thing.
Try it today
Today, teach a child to ask before stroking a dog, and show them where to stroke.
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