BATTERSEA DOGS HOME
Helping children
and dogs to be
best of friends
Children tend to have a natural affinity towards animals – dogs in particular. Here’s how to ensure a happy relationship
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Not only do children enjoy time with dogs, but research shows they also gain important skills, such as empathy, and that it helps to teach them about responsibility and caring from an early age.
Unfortunately, due to the high frequency of contact between dogs and children, not all experiences will be positive and bite situations do occur – albeit rarely. This is usually due to the dog’s own fear of the child, which leads to aggression and the child not knowing how to interact appropriately with the dog. Most of these situations can be avoided with the right knowledge. It is therefore extremely important that everyone knows how to minimise the risk of being bitten by a dog.
Surprisingly, the majority of dog bites occur within the home and nearly half involve children being bitten by the family dog. This is why it is vital that children know how to behave around dogs. Remember that dogs don’t speak the same language as us and this can lead to confusion. They nearly always give us a warning for their behaviour – we just need to learn to recognise the signals.
General rules
Children can learn how to interact with dogs in a variety of ways but, whatever you do, it is vital that all interactions are supervised. Young children should never walk or feed a dog unsupervised. Teaching a child a few do’s and don’ts is a good place to start. These are general points that children (and adults) should know before interacting with dogs.
DO
- Be gentle and quiet around dogs at all times – treat them how you would like to be treated
- Have respect for dogs
DON ’T
- Sneak up on a dog – you could scare them
- Tease a dog – it’s not fair
- Stare at a dog – dogs can find this intimidating and scary
- Disturb a dog who is sleeping or eating
- Assume a dog wants to play with you. Just like you, sometimes they may want to be left alone
- Approach a dog who is without an owner as you won’t know if the dog is friendly
Developing your child’s relationship with a family dog
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Daily routine
To help their relationship develop, children
should be encouraged to get involved in a dog’s
day-to-day routine wherever possible. You
must ensure that all interaction is supervised.
Training
Take your child with you to dog training
classes and encourage your child to get
involved, for example by teaching the dog
to sit, beg or roll over. Children should enjoy
this and find it rewarding.
Games
Games can also contribute to the development
of your child and dog’s relationship.
Again, it is important that interaction is supervised
by an adult. The supervising adult
should ensure that the child stays in control
of the game to prevent unintentional injuries
and the dog learning bad behaviour. A
good game to start with is a simple game of
“fetch” as this can be easily controlled.
Remember that children can often unwittingly tease a dog, for example by waving a toy around in the air, so it’s not just the dog’s behaviour that needs to be supervised! Discourage games that involve the child rolling around the floor with the dog as the dog may view the child as a member of his pack and this will give him the impression that he is above the child in the pack. If the games do get out of hand and the dog becomes too boisterous, stop the game immediately. If the game is stopped every time this happens, the dog will soon learn that this behaviour does not bring any reward.
Essentially children and dogs need to base their relationship on respect for each other. Positive, controlled and safe interaction will build a mutually rewarding friendship.
Meeting a dog outside
Many children grow up in homes with doggy companionship and most delight in their relationship with “their” dog – hugging, petting and playing with the dog. Unfortunately, not all dogs are as gentle and friendly as their own dog and so it is important that they are aware of how best to approach a dog they don’t know when out and about.
Dogs are sometimes frightened by humans (including children) as they are usually bigger than them. A frightened dog is more likely to behave aggressively, so it is very important to teach your child the following rules.
- Always ask the dog’s owner if you can stroke the dog before you actually do. They will know whether their dog is friendly or not
- Walk up to the dog calmly and quietly – do not shout or scream as this may frighten the dog
- Curl your hand into a fist, and gently offer it to the dog to sniff first (this is a dog’s way of saying hello to another dog)
- Stroke the dog under the chin, where he can see you
- D on’t try and pat him from behind as you may startle him
Children should be taught never to approach a loose dog without an owner present. If a child does see a dog running around loose in the park, encourage them to tell an adult. The adult should then contact the local dog warden service who will come to collect the dog.
What your child should do if a dog scares them
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Dogs like to have fun and on seeing children playing may want to join in. Unfortunately, this can be frightening for some children. It is therefore important to prepare them for this and give them the following advice on what to do, should this happen.
- D rop anything you are holding that the dog may want to play with. An adult can always get this back for you later
- D on’t run away from the dog. They may think it’s a game of chase and want to run after you
- Stand still, with your arms folded and “act bored”. Waving your hands around or making lots of noise will attract the dog’s attention further
Top tip: If a large dog jumps up on a child and knocks them over, the child should roll into a ball, keeping their head and arms tucked in. Do not move until the dog gets bored and goes away. Once he has gone, move away slowly, keeping an eye on the dog. You must tell someone what happened.
Other resources
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home runs an on-going Education programme visiting schools and colleges to talk about dogs, cats and responsible pet ownership. We have also developed a range of literature designed for children concerning issues such as being safe with dogs and understanding dogs and cats. These, and a range of other educational materials and teaching resources, are downloadable from our website. Alternatively you can contact our Education Officer to receive them by post.
If you are interested in finding out more about
our work, contact our Education Officer on:
Tel: 020 7627 7875
Website: www.dogshome.org
E-mail: education@dogshome.org
