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Community Corner

Lessons From Dog Bite Prevention Week

How to keep your dog and your children safe.

This is Dog Bite Prevention Week. Why is such a thing even necessary? Because dogs are a part of our lives and while most of our dogs are loving family members, every dog has the ability to bite. The latest estimates state that 4 million Americans are bitten every year. About half the children in the U.S. will have been bitten by a dog by the time they are 18.   

Why do dogs bite? Usually because they are afraid or have been hurt.  It is very rare for a dog to bite because he’s mean or aggressive.  

Why do dogs bite children? For the same reasons: fear and pain. Although everyone likes to think these bites are caused by “stranger” dogs, unknown to the child. The exact opposite is the case. Kids are almost invariably bitten by a dog they know.  

Children may not intend to cause pain or frighten a dog. But they do tend to pull tails, poke dogs in the eyes, put things in their ears, chase them, scream, go near the dog while he is eating or sleeping, put their hands or face near the dog’s mouth and hug and kiss their dog.   

Every single one of these inappropriate interactions are completely preventable. Parents cannot supervise every second, but we can and should educate both ourselves and our children to read dog language and to behave respectfully around dogs.  

For their own protection, children must be taught that while dogs experience many of the same emotions humans do and definitely feel pain, dogs are not furry children. That’s why human actions meant to express affection, such as hugging, kissing, making eye contact, can be perceived as threatening to dogs.

If a dog feels threatened, if his “get away from me!” signals have been ignored, if he is cornered or can’t run, a dog may feel impelled to bite. These bites often result in surgery for the child and death for the dog.  

Most bites are completely preventable. It is our responsibility to not only teach our children how to behave around dogs, but also to manage our dogs AND protect our dogs from situations where they might feel impelled to bite.  

To protect your dog:

1.  Never ever leave your dog tied outside on a leash, tie-out or chain, where he can be approached by adults or children. If a dog has no place to run, he is much more likely to bite.

2.  Neuter or spay your dog. Many bites are from intact and unsupervised dogs outside on chains.

3.  Train your dog and yourself! Take him or her to positive reinforcement training classes. Learn to be pro-active in managing your dog’s interactions with children.  

4.  Don’t assume your dog loves being with children. Learn about body language and closely observe your dog. (Further Reading: and )

5.  Never allow your dog to roam free.

6.  Give your dog a “safe place” of his own, where he can go and not be bothered by children.  This could be a crate or a bed in a quiet corner. 

To protect your children:

1.  Teach them to ask permission before petting a dog.

2.  Teach them to read dog body language. Kids are much better at this than you might think. (Dog Bite Prevention)

3.  Practice with them how to react around a stranger dog. “Be a tree” is usually the best action. (PreventTheBite.com)

4.  Teach them to respect the dog by not rushing up to him. Instead teach them to observe the dog’s behavior before touching the dog.   

5.  Teach them to leave the dog alone when she or he is in the “safe place.”

6.  Keep crawling babies and young toddlers away from dogs by using baby gates and exercise pens. (dogsandstorks.com)

7.  Consider attending these two free talks in Potomac: “Listening to Your Dog’s Body Language” on June 4 and “Dog Safety for Kids” on June 11.

Education and practice are the best ways to keep your kids, yourselves and your dog safe, happy and bite-free.

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