Kids and Dogs

How are they around children?

This is a question I hear a lot as a breeder. How are they around kids? My fist instinct is to ask how the person's kids are around dogs?

Small puppies will chew on anything, including kids. Gawky teenage puppies who don't have control over their fast growing legs will run into and knock over anything, including kids. An injured scared dog has the potential to bite anyone, including kids.

Everyone loves the site of a child and puppy growing up together. A few basic things have to happen for this to work out. You have to teach your children how to behave around dogs. And you have to teach your dog how to accept children.

Teaching children the do's and don'ts regarding animals is among one of the most important lessons you'll ever teach them. Animals are everywhere and though many are domesticated, this does not automatically make them safe. For example, in the U.S. alone, 1-2 million dog bites occur annually.

Today many homes are raising children along with the family dog. Naturally kids delight in hugging, petting, and playing with their pets. But unfortunately, many children grow up believing that all dogs are gentle and friendly like their pets, and commonly fall victim to a dog attack, simply because they'd never been taught when it's not okay to approach a dog.

In my experience, the most important things to teach your puppy when you bring him home is that anyone can take anything away from him. This includes food, a shoe he shouldn't be chewing, or his favorite toy. A lot of kids get bitten when they go to pet a dog when he is eating. A dog naturally wants to protect his food. Get your puppy used to you taking his food away mid meal, then returning it. Get him used to you reaching into his food dish while he is eating. Sit with the dish between your knees while the dog eats, and occasionally hand him a treat. Give a bone or chew your dog likes, then take it away. Or give a bone and you just hold onto one end of it. Pet your dog while he is eating. Touch his feet, tail, ears. Get the dog desensitized to anyone approaching while he is eating. And teach your kids not to bother a strange dog while they are eating!

Dogs instinctively set up an invisible "fight or flight" boundary around themselves. The size of this boundary depends on his level of confidence and tolerance. A fearful dog will give itself a wider area than a more stable one. When someone who the dog perceives as threatening or unwelcome enters that area, the dog has two choices -- it can run away or it can defend itself. If it feels that it can't run away, it will fight instead, no matter how afraid it might be. Some dogs will choose to fight first, rather than run.

A dog should never be chained outside unattended. Most dogs of guard or working heritage suffer personality quirks when tied and many become downright aggressive. Dogs are better off in fenced areas, where they can see the barrier between them and the world, where they can feel somewhat safe from noisy, frolicking children. In addition, many dogs instinctively equate the high-pitched sounds of children with the distress sounds of prey animals, and they react by biting the child as they would have bitten the prey animal in the wild.


Teach your kids how to pick up and carry a puppy correctly

Children should be taught how to behave around dogs, even if their own family does not own a dog. For example, a child should never approach a strange dog without asking the owner if it's OK to pat the dog. If the child sees a loose dog on the street, he should not approach it even if he knows the dog belongs to his friend. He should tell someone that he saw the dog, but should make no attempt to pat or grab it.

Nor should he scream or run away, for these actions can result in an attack by the dog. A running being frequently says "prey" to the dog and triggers the chase response in his brain. Once triggered, this response is almost impossible to interrupt. The dog is reacting to chemical stimulus, not rational thought, and is extremely difficult to sidetrack.

Most dogs, even those that are well-trained, do not consider children as figures of authority. Furthermore, since children frequently stare intently at animals, a dog may feel threatened by this short person who is trying to catch him. Even the best-natured dog may bite to protect himself in these circumstances, especially if he feels cornered.

Once a child is given permission to approach a dog, she should present her closed fist for the dog to sniff. This protects the fingers in case the dog is frightened and tries to nip.

Children should never hug a dog that is not their own, and should only hug their own dog very gently if the dog can tolerate the hug. A small child that's petting or hugging a dog has already intruded well within the dog's flight or fight boundary, the dog's safety zone. If the dog has tried to leave or has issued a warning with no response from the child, the dog (in his mind) has no other recourse -- he bites. This is normal, instinctive behavior -- to the dog. He is responding to what he perceives as a threat and is doing what his instincts tell him to. Remember that dogs don't think in the same way that people do. A child's innocent action, petting the dog, can be provocation for a bite when seen through the eyes of the dog.

Children should be taught to never hit dogs with their hands or an object, to lower their voices when playing with the dog, to leave the dog alone when he's sleeping, eating, or ill, and to never tease a dog in any fashion. Many dog bites occur because the child teases the pet beyond endurance.

Dog owners share the responsibility for bite prevention as well. They should socialize their puppies to small children at an early age. (It helps to buy from a breeder who has started this socialization prior to the puppy purchase, for the younger the puppy is exposed to gentle children, the more tolerant of children it will become.)

Socialization can be as simple as walking the dog near a playground where children are making noise, running about, playing ball or Frisbee or soccer or walking through the neighborhood while the kids wait for the school bus. The dog can be told to walk at heel through a crowd of children, to sit-stay and watch the play or allow the children to pet his head, to down-stay until the end of the game. Constant exposure of this type will accustom the dog to the presence and antics of children.

  1. The dog should never be left alone with a child less than five years of age. A young child may challenge or injure the dog unintentionally and the result could be tragic. Dogs and children should be separated at snack time so the dog doesn't learn to steal food from tiny hands.
  2. The dog should have a place he can call his own, a retreat, a private room, a den. This can be a pen in the back yard or a crate in the house. The children should never be allowed to bother the dog when he is in his place.
  3. If the dog has access to a fenced yard, owners should make sure that neighborhood children cannot accidentally or intentionally tease him. Kids often begin by goading the dog to bark, then to snarl. Or they may throw things at him to chase him away from the fence. However it begins, the end result is usually the same: the kids learn that teasing the dog gives them a feeling of power tinged with the possibility of danger and the dog learns to hate kids. This hatred may be manifest as fear or as aggression, and may end when a child is bitten and the dog is taken to the pound to be placed in a new home, (if lucky).
  4. If the dog does not like the children, the children must change their behavior. Most dogs are wary of staring, of quick movements, and of high-pitched screams, all of which are typical of small children. Here's a few hints to alleviate the tension between dog and children.
  5. Provide a crate where the dog can escape the attention of boisterous or over-zealous children.
  6. Teach children to leave Ranger alone when he's in the crate, to pat him gently--no squeezing around the neck, please--and to leave him alone while he's eating.
  7. Do not play tug-of-war with any dog who has access to children. A dog that learns to tug on any item will soon figure that anything he can grab is his, even if it's a child's toy, clothing, or appendage.
  8. Teach children not to run past the dog and scream, for this can excite the dog and lead to dominant and even aggressive behavior.
  9. Never tie a dog in the yard. Children tend to tease tethered dogs even without realizing it, which can lead to aggressive behavior. Many instances of dogs attacking children occur when the dog is tethered in the yard and a screaming or running child enters its space.

    You don't go out and buy a dog for your young child. You buy a dog for the family. Chances are, no matter how much you think that child wants the dog and will take care of it, most of the time it will be you the parent who feeds the dog, cleans up after the dog and walks the dog.

    Encourage your child's participation in caring for your dog. Both dog and child will gain confidence and trust in each other.

    Do not force a child to care for a dog -- you will have a resentful child and a neglected animal.

    You will be taking your new dog to puppy kindergarten or obedience classes. Find out if there is a 4-H obedience class for kids, and what age they start. Including your children in the training of the dog benefits both.