Children and Dogs

A common misunderstanding that dogs will be gentle and loving to infants or a child can cause injury to a child or a pet. This is a very dangerous assumption and putting the child at risk. Unless the dog has grown up with a child it may get frantic at sudden moves or noises. Never leave a child alone with a family dog or pet or a strange dog even if they seem to be ok.

Children can set a dog off with loud noises or sudden moves toward the dog. Parents need to teach their children to respect all animals and approach them with caution even the family pet. Children really don’t know about pets until the parent teaches them how to treat the animal.

Never approach any dog or pet without having the owner’s permission and when you have permission always treat the dog very kind and gentle. Never rush toward a dog or pet as you may scare them into some kind of panic and make them attack.

A lot of dogs are not comfortable around children because they are not around them much. One way to help this situation is to take your dog for walks around playgrounds. This will help the dog become used to the sounds and movements of children. When letting a child pet your dog make sure to hold your dog with both arms so the dog knows that it is safe from harm. This will help your dog become more comfortable with children.

If you have raised a dog and have no children then problems can start when you have friends over that have children. The dog is not used to the noise and movements of children and can cause problems with a normally very calm dog.

A dog can get to a point of panic and strike out in self-defense not knowing that children are just playing. When children pull their tail or ears or mess around with their food dish this is an invasion of the dog’s space. Even playing with toys and making loud noises can set a dog off.

If you think there may be a problem with your dog or something happens to set the dog off then remove the dog from the problem area. If you will make the effort to train your dog to be around children then in most cases you will not have any issues with mixing your dog with friends or children. Remember that animals can even turn on their masters under extreme circumstances.

BlueDawg
http://www.itsyourdogsworld.com

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Posted by mbuhlah, Monday, March 31, 2008 5:17 AM

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