Study highlights the importance of teaching children safe skills around dogs

A recent study published in the  Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research found that the bite risk to small children around their family dog is often underestimated. In addition, researchers from the Institute of Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare at Vetmeduni Vienna found that supervision alone is not enough to keep small children safe around dogs. Pet caregivers need to focus on more than just being present and teaching children safe skills around dogs.

The study set out to analyze parental attitudes about every day interactions between small children and family dogs. The findings included that although parents are aware of the bite risks to small children around unknown dogs, they underestimated the potential risks around their family dog. This assumption that the family dog will tolerate more than an unknown dog sets up situations where parent’s attention towards dog/child interactions are reduced and children are permitted to have unlimited access the family dogs. In addition, many parents and children are unable to recognize when their dogs feel uncomfortable or harassed which can be the events that lead to the dog snapping or biting the child.

Parents can do the following to keep small children safer around dogs:

• Provide your dog with child-free resting and eating areas. These must be areas that your dog has access to at any time, that are off limits to your children.
• Just being in the room is not enough. Parents should provide attentive observation in all interactions between their children and dogs.
• Provide guidance to your child about how to safely interact with all dogs. Demonstrate gentle touch, give alternatives to hugging and kissing the dog, and practice the SAFE game.