Children Need to
Learn about Dogs
Summary: Wonderful things
happen in the human mind and heart when a person learns to understand dogs and
treat them kindly. As an example, research has shown that learning to handle a
dog properly helps prepare humans to be good parents.
The best time to start
developing these relationship skills is in childhood, just when kids are most
vulnerable to “rubbing dogs the wrong way.” In this article we’ll look at 18 specific
things parents should never allow their children to do to dogs (or allow to
happen), as well as some tips on helping to foster a positive relationship
between your child and your dog.
* * *
When a parent says, “My child is good with dogs,” what does
that mean? Should people be pleased to observe that the family dog “will let
the child do anything to her”?
The huge gap between how dogs and humans perceive child
behavior causes ruined dogs and injured children. Training the dog is not
possible as long as children are allowed to carry out what is tantamount to dog
abuse, although the parents may not be realizing the abuse for what it is.
Home Base
No child under school age should be left alone with a dog.
Supervision by an older child is not sufficient: the person supervising needs
to be capable of governing both the child’s and the dog’s behavior. If there is
doubt about the steadiness of either one, you need a capable adult for the
child and another one for the dog.
This concept destroys one of the favorite images people have
of dogs with kids, which is the dog as perfect babysitter. It’s just not safe
to put a dog into that position.
On the child’s part, the mental capacity for empathy – awareness
of hurting another being – doesn’t happen until 5 to 7 years of age. The child
doesn’t understand that certain actions can hurt the dog. The child can give
the right answers and behave properly when supervised, but let the adult so
much as turn a head away and you’ll often see the child start to experiment.
This is simply how the human brain develops, and will be a
problem with “good” kids as well as “bad” kids.
Older children can have problems dealing appropriately with
dogs too, due to childhood inability to understand the consequences of actions.
Boys up to age 9 years are prime candidates for serious dog bites. The idea of
giving a child sole responsibility for a dog’s care does not work.
Specific Behaviors
A parent watching a child and dog interact is at a
disadvantage when that parent doesn’t know which behaviors from a child are
threatening to a dog. Yet this is exactly the situation in which most parents
find themselves.
You should never allow a child to:
·
Pull the dog’s ears
·
Poke eyes or other parts of the dog with fingers
or anything else
·
Swing objects at the dog – whether the child
realizes the object is going toward the dog or not
·
Pull the dog’s tail
·
Grab any part of the dog’s body
·
Chase the dog
·
Tug or otherwise compete with the dog for toys,
food, or other items
·
Suddenly get into a dog’s face
·
Run up to a bed or other furniture where a dog
is resting
·
Disturb a dog who is sleeping or eating
·
Pet someone else’s dog when the person is not
there for the child to ask permission
·
Pet a dog through or over a fence or when the
dog is tied out.
·
Enter the private area (crate or special room)
designated as a childfree zone
·
Go near the nest where a mother cares for her
puppies
·
Run in the sight of a strange dog (start running
when within sight of a strange dog)
·
Provoke a dog to become agitated (including a
dog confined behind a fence or on a tie-out)
·
Ride a dog like a horse, lie down on a dog, or
otherwise put significant weight on a dog.
·
Be present in any situation that causes a dog to
feel pain or fear (this would include someone punishing the dog, an electric
collar shock, or any other painful or fearful event that can then become
associated in the dog’s mind with a child)
From the Dog’s Point
of View
When a dog becomes convinced that children inflict pain or
fear, damage has been done to that dog’s trust in children. If the dog believes
you will stand by and let this happen, or will leave the dog at the mercy of
the child without you being there, eventually the dog will have no choice but
self-defense.
By the time the dog shows a reaction, the damage may have
long been done. This is especially true of dogs raised from puppyhood with
improperly supervised children. As the dog’s defense drives mature, and the dog
is ready to do something about the kids, the dog’s beliefs about kids are set.
Parents didn’t realize what they were allowing to happen to the dog by being so
pleased that the puppy or dog would “let the children do anything to him.”
Social Issues
Dogs hugely benefit children when both are properly managed.
A great deal of research indicates that children growing up with well-cared-for
dogs have mental and emotional advantages that extend throughout life.
On the other hand, an abused dog in the household is a
warning sign that there may also be child or spousal abuse occurring.
Authorities are aware of this connection and watch for it.
Learning to handle a dog properly helps prepare humans to be good
parents. People learn in many of the same ways that dogs do, so
learning how to teach a dog will help you teach your children and manage your household.
Because managing a household with preschool-age children and
a dog in training (especially a puppy) is complex, people often decide to wait
until children are school age before adopting a family dog. Another option is
to adopt, raise, and train a dog to positively perceive children before having
your first child. Another choice is to seek out an adult dog to adopt who is
great with kids and no longer a puppy.
To be successful, any option you choose of bringing a dog
into the family with children will require teaching the children how to treat
dogs properly and supervising the kids with the dog. These skills will go
through life with the grown-ups your children become. Wonderful things happen in the
human mind and heart when a person learns to understand dogs and treat them
kindly.
