Dog Bite-Proofing Your Child

Posted on Mar 20 in Small Dog Aggression, Small Dog Behaviorby Jeff K.Print

From the ASPCA: May I Pet the Dog?

There will be many times when your child encounters a dog and no one will be around to provide guidance on whether it is safe to approach that dog. The dogs that cross your child’s path will be perfectly harmless under most circumstances. As bad luck would have it, one day there will be a dog who tries to give your child the signals that say “Leave me alone!” Will your child be able to recognize those signals when the time comes? Here are some basic rules any child can learn to avoid getting bitten by a dog.

This information is directly quoted from an article by the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

“Did you know that 50 percent of all children in the United States will be bitten by a dog before their 12th birthday? Did you know that 800,000 bites a year are severe enough to require medical treatment, while 1 to 2 milion go unreported?

“The vast majority of dog bites are from a dog known to the child—his or her own pet, a neighbor’s or friend’s. You can help prevent this from happening to your child. Please discuss with him or her the appropriate way to behave around dogs. The following activity will help you and your child understand the difference between safe and potentially dangerous interactions with dogs.

“The following is a list of pledges that you can recite with your child:

1. I will not stare into a dog’s eyes.
2. I will not tease dogs behind fences.
3. I will not go near dogs chained up in yards.
4. I will not touch a dog I see loose (off-leash) outside.
5. If I see a loose dog, I will tell an adult immediately.
6. I will not run and scream if a loose dog comes near me.
7. I will stand very still (like a tree), and will be very quiet if a dog comes near me.
8. I will not touch or play with a dog while he or she is eating.
9. I will not touch a dog when he or she is sleeping.
10. I will only pet a dog if I have received permission from the dog’s owner.
11. Then I will ask permission of the dog by letting him sniff my closed hand.”

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This is a very good list, but I have to comment on item 11. Dogs have a super-keen sense of smell. (You can read more about a dog’s sense of smell in this article.) They can smell a person from a long way off provided the airflow in the area wafts the scent in their direction. Indoors, they can smell you as soon as you enter the room. Putting a fist, or even an open hand in a dog’s face is not only unnecessary, it is a semi-aggressive move. I would advise parents to teach their children not to do item 11. Better to have the child simply stand in place and let the dog do what it wants. If the dog approaches calmly for a better look, that is a good sign. If the dog appears uninterested in the child, or the dog actively avoids the child, the dog is saying “Leave me alone.”

I also believe it is important to teach your child how to pet a dog. A dog may be perfectly willing to be petted, but if your child touches that dog in a manner that startles or hurts the dog, the encounter may turn sour quickly. The basic rules for petting are these:

1. Slowly and gently.
2. Out in front. (Do not approach the dog from the rear to pet.)
3. On the side or on the chest. (Avoid sensitive areas such as the face, ears, feet and rump.)
4. Pet, don’t grab.

Most children learn well with visual aids. The ASPCA has a very good handout that uses pencil sketches to teach a child about when it is safe to pet a dog. Here is that handout, in .pdf format, which you may click to download and print:

May I Pet the Dog?

Coming up next: How you or someone you know may be accidentally teaching a dog to bite.

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