Children and dogs, dogs and children
By teaching our children respect towards dogs, we are actively avoiding bite accidents in the future.
How often do we hear that a dog is totally reliable and “will never bite”? The reality, however, is that every dog can and will bite in certain situations. They bite adults and children, too. It is possible to decrease the chance of a bite and parents are the responsible party when it comes to keeping everyone safe, both the children and the dog. In this article we will delve into the reasons why bites might occur and explain what you can do to prevent such accidents from happening.
Empathy and child development
Children’s brains are constantly developing. This process has many stages and actually goes on well into people’s twenties. One of these development stages is going to affect the relationship between children and dogs greatly. At around 10 to 14 years of age, the brain develops empathy - the ability to understand emotions and intentions of other living creatures.
Dogs also have brains that develop and go through stages. This is important because puppies and young dogs will not be able to respond to children as adult dogs would while they are still growing and maturing themselves. So it is our duty as responsible parties to watch out for everyone’s wellbeing. Children need parents and puppies do, too.
The best way to ensure this understanding is that parents know dogs’ body language (calming signals) and are able to quickly tell when a dog is uncomfortable. This way they can act right away and change the situation before it escalates. At the same time children are learning what dogs like and dislike.
Many of the things dogs dislike have to do with the way we humans communicate. For example, when we greet each other we might hug. We see it as a way of showing love, friendship and trust. But dogs do not communicate such feelings in this way. In fact, hugging is one of those things that a vast majority of dogs not only dislikes, they find it threatening.
Your first port of call when learning about canine body language is Turid Rugaas’ book, On Talking Terms with Dogs - Calming Signals.
A good example of child-dog interaction
In the pictures above the boy Črt and dog Šar are enjoying a moment together. Črt strokes Šar very gently on the side of his body. Šar was the one that approached the boy. He chose to sit by himself and asked to be petted. He knows he can move away at any time. Šar’s caretaker is right there, making sure the situation stays safe and relaxed.
Always ensure that dogs are comfortable around children before letting them have physical contact. The dog should be the one to ask for the contact and the children should be taught how to stroke a dog in a gentle manner. We can teach them to avoid the head and touch the chest or the side of the body instead, like Črt is doing. Make sure children do not overwhelm the dog. If children are sitting down while interacting with the dog, the situation will usually be much calmer.
Children and dogs living together
Dogs and newborns
Yes, children need to get used to dogs and to learn to respect them. And dogs need to get used to children, too. This often happens when a newborn arrives home for the first time.
You can start preparing even before the child arrives. A good idea is to arrange the nursery and make other necessary adjustments to the house environment early. Let the dog investigate the new furniture and be involved in the changes. If there will be changes in the dog’s daily life, for example if a different person is going to be taking her for walks or if the times of these walks will change, you can begin changing the routine gradually. These simple measures will give the dog time to adapt and the shift will not come as a shock.
Before the baby arrives home, the dog may get to know her by smell first. We can offer the dog a chance to sniff the baby’s clothes. When the baby does come to the house, behave in a nice, calm manner and let the dog sniff the baby safely. Dogs usually understand that this little human is part of the family right away.
Dogs and children of different ages
Children can be quite unpredictable, loud and fast. They can be a great source of stress for a dog, even if she loves them dearly. Dogs are very sensitive to everything that is happening around them, the body language of humans included. Thankfully, that’s good news, too, because we can teach children how to behave around dogs (yet adults still need to keep an eye on all interactions!). We invite you to take a look at the resources section below to learn more.
Dogs and children of different ages can get used to each other through calm, slow walks. We can include a calm session for everyone! If the dog is not comfortable with the calm session on the first day, you can stop and try it another day. If you want to know more about calm sessions, what they are and how to achieve them, find out here.
Another great idea is for the child to read stories to the dog, and an even better one would be for the parents to read bed time stories for both children and dogs together.
Children can also help prepare an enriched environment or a sensory trail and then observe the dog as she is exploring.
One thing that we certainly do not recommend is that children give the dog treats. This could end up in a bite even though it would most probably be accidental. If the family wants the child to reward the dog, a better idea would be for the children to put some toys for the dog on the floor.
While on the subject of toys, another thing adults need to teach children is how to respect a dog’s belongings and boundaries. Simple rules like these can prevent a bite:
We do not take away a dog’s toys, take over her bed or other objects.
We do not take away a dog’s food, chews or treats.
We never disturb a dog when she is sleeping or eating.
Children and Smiling Leash walks
As responsible adults, we are in charge of the safety of the walk. We do not recommend letting a child handle the leash on walks. Even if you think that your children are safe and know what they are doing, think about all eventualities. What would happen if another dog approached and startled both dog and child? What if the dog suddenly notices something and pulls? What if she escapes? Such situations are difficult even for adults. Imagine how a child would feel if something bad happened while she was “in charge” of the dog.
If your child wants to try holding the leash or if she is almost old enough to start walking the dog on her own, you can practice in a fenced area, a garden or a hired field first. An adult should be present to make sure the leash is loose and both the child and the dog are comfortable.
If you want to know more about leash handling skills, you can watch the video here.
The science bit: some data on dog bites
There are many projects trying to raise awareness on this topic and many sites that can help you on your way.
During one of the recent courses about aggression in dogs, Dr Amber Batson presented some information that she is very keen to share with everyone. Here are some figures on dog bites and aggression and links to useful sites, books and brochures that you can download and give to your family and friends.
Children are a frequent target of dog bites
70% of dog bites happen in the home environment.
Data from reported bites requiring medical attention indicate that most dog bites affect children younger than 15 years old.
Other studies indicate that approximately 60 to 75% of all those who are bitten by dogs are < 20 years old, and most are children 5 to 9 years old.
After the age of 1 year, bite incidence increases through ages 5 to 9.
Food guarding has been shown to be the most common circumstance for bites to familiar children (42%) and territory guarding for bites to unfamiliar children (53%).
Behavioural causes of aggression
Screening of the 103 dogs examined revealed resource guarding (61%) and discipline measures (59%) as the most common stimuli for aggression.
When history before presentation was known, 66% of dogs had never previously bitten a child, and 19% had never bitten any human. Most dogs (93%) were neutered, and 66% of owners had taken their dogs to obedience training classes.
50% of the dogs were found to have disease on clinical examination. Orthopaedic disorders causing pain or skin disease were the most common.
Conclusions
(ref Reisner, I. R.,Shofer , F. S., & Nance, M. L. (2007). Behavioural assessment of child directed canine aggression. Injury Prevention , 13 (5),348 351)
Most children were bitten by dogs with no history of biting children.
Common calming measures (neutering, training) were not effective deterrents.
What can we learn from this?
This data not only shows that children do get bitten by dogs, it shows that this usually happens at home and that it probably comes a surprise to the adults. We believe this is the consequence of humans not understanding their dogs.
We know dogs are highly social beings, and the ability to avoid conflict is extremely important for any animal that lives in groups. Dogs have a rich body language that they use to avoid conflict. They use and understand calming signals from birth, but we humans have to learn about them. Our body language is very different from the canine variant and it can often scare dogs. The data also shows that the incidence of bites is highest between the ages 5 and 9 - this is a time before empathy develops in a child, and we suppose it is also a time when a child is quite active and unpredictable to the dog, making the dog feel uncomfortable.
When dogs are uncomfortable, they first try to let us know about it using displacement behaviours and calming signals (you can find some examples here). When a dog feels she has exhausted all other options of communication and she has been ignored (or worse, punished), she will bite. We firmly believe that if we learn what to look out for and take our dogs seriously when they are telling us they are uncomfortable, we can prevent most bite accidents.
The data also shows that using discipline measures seems to have a counter effect and that obedience training does not seem to solve the issue. We believe communication and respecting each other’s needs and boundaries can.
Growing up with a dog is a wonderful experience. Children and dogs can be the best of friends. All it takes is some responsibility, knowledge, respect and understanding on part of the adults.
Some interesting resources
The following sites, books and brochures are reference materials that can help us understand how children’s behaviour can affect dogs and their relationships with family members.
EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
The Family Dog - videos, dog safety, podcast and blog
Be Dog Smart: Safety (by Dogs Trust) - the basics of safe conduct around dogs for children
BOOKS
Haqihana - What Oliver likes / doesn’t like
Calming Signs - Do you know what the doggy says by Kimberly de Jong, illustrated by Laura Kortekaas-Meijvogel
BROCHURES
