Children and Dog Safety

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Kids usually love animals but might also be afraid of them, especially if you have a dog that is larger than them. Perhaps your dog is well behaved and won’t harm anyone but there are some things they you still shouldn’t do around them, so here is our children and dog safety guide.

There are many cases of dog bites throughout the globe and it might not always be the dog’s fault that violence occurred. Children might consider pets as their toys, especially if they don’t have one of their own and this is what leads to injuries most of the time.

The Body Language of a Dog

The bare teeth shown toward someone isn’t a smile, but a threat, so teach your children to see this properly. Overall, if you see the dog standing tall and focused on you that means that he is waiting for you to move and is on alert, so it’s better to leave that dog alone.

Another thing is that when a dog wags his tail it means that he is content so that is a good time to interact with the dog. If you see him yawn or looking away that means that he isn’t interested in being touched, so respect his space.

Approaching a Dog

A small child should always know to ask your permission before approaching a new dog and never leave a kid around them unsupervised. When the dog is eating, sleeping or playing with a toy this is a good moment to leave the dog alone because the dog will consider this an invasion of their privacy.

When you approach a dog for the first time do this slowly with a closed hand and allow the dog to sniff you beforehand. If this works then you can try patting the dog on the chest but don’t do this on the top of the head until you are used to one another.

The Tree Routine

This is something you everyone should know. When a strange dog approaches you and he looks hostile the thing you have to do is to stand still with eyes cast downward, silent and have the arms by your side.

If you or someone else start running and screaming then the dog will probably charge and attack, so it’s better to have the animal come near and see that you are not a threat. Only move when the dog looses interest and goes away.

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