Child Safety: 4 Tips For Teaching Safety Around Dogs

Teaching Safety Around Dogs

There is nothing cuter than watching young children interact and play with small puppies. But those puppies grow up to be full size, adult dogs. And with that aging process for a dog comes the canine instincts for survival that can make the once harmless animal dangerous.

Over 1,000 dog bite injuries occur each day around the United States. Half of the victims are children under the age of twelve. To prevent your child from suffering the trauma of being bitten by a dog, here are four tips recommended by experienced dog handlers to teach children safety around dogs:

Child Safety: 4 Tips For Teaching Safety Around Dogs
Image: Donnie Ray Jones, Flickr

1. Stand Like A Tree

This is a unique safety lesson that works and is easy to learn. Tell your child that dogs find trees boring. By pretending to be a tree if a dog takes an aggressive act, the dog will usually just sniff and then go away.

It’s a four track process. Stop and stand still. Hold your arms down by your sides and clasp your hands together to form the branches of a tree. Lower your head and watch your feet (roots) grow. Now count slowly to yourself until the dog walks away.

2. Make Like A Rock

If a dog ignores the “tree” stance and jumps on your child and knocks them down, you need to teach them how to protect themselves. Become a “rock” by curling into a fetal position with their face down. Use your arms and hands to cover your neck and face areas and lie still. This is the same technique given to hunters in the case of an attack by large animals like bears.

3. Leave Dogs Alone

There’s a time to play with a dog and times not to. Teach your children that dogs don’t like to be startled and never to approach a dog when it’s eating, sleeping or nursing it’s young.

4. Don’t Kiss Or Hug

Contrary to popular belief and Disney movies, dogs do not like hugs and kisses. This is especially true with strange dogs the child doesn’t know. This may be one safety rule that is hard to enforce, but children can be taught how to pet a dog gently to avoid danger.

For the most part, dog safety is a matter of common sense. To teach children safety around dogs means to respect dogs and treat them like humans. It’s important to be aware of your kids and their surroundings, to help prevent them from getting into dangerous situations with dogs or other animals. If a dog attacks your child, you may consider using professionals like those found at Clearfield & Kofsky to help you receive appropriate help and compensation. Teaching dog safety to children is a perfect example of the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Child Safety: 4 Tips For Teaching Safety Around Dogs

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A QUESTION FOR YOU: Do you have any tips to add about teaching safety around dogs?

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Emma Sturgis
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1 thought on “Child Safety: 4 Tips For Teaching Safety Around Dogs”

  1. Thanks for that information. Don’t know that dogs doesn’t like hugs, too bad that is exactly what kids like to do.

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