Your Dog and Your Children
2008-08-15

Your Dog and Your Children

Do you just want to get a dog? Do you worry about your new family member can’t get on well with your little children? Facing these head-scratching problems, how do you decide?

Your dog maybe a good member of your family: Our dog is our best friend, a very loyal and faithful friend. They recognize you as their owner, their master, from the very first day you bring them home. They rely on you wholeheartedly and trust you for their well-being. Your pets will become so important to you and they have become part of the family. Children and dogs can be good friends. We have head of so many stories from here and there. One day, a brave dog saved his little host; another day, the little child experiences a move story with his old loyal dog.

The danger you shouldn’t ignore: Dog bites are a major cause of injury. Each year, 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and about a dozen die. Dog bites particularly cause in children. The rate of dog bite-related injuries is highest for children ages 5 to 9 years, and the rate decreases as children age. Almost two thirds of injuries among children ages four years and younger are to the head or neck region. Injury rates in children are significantly higher for boys Dog bite often occurs because of the close proximity of dogs to people. Regardless of the temperament of the individual dog, we cannot read a dog's mind. We can never state with 100% certainty that the dog would not bite if provoked. A dog can surprise you and not respond with aggression. What’s more, children will poke, climb, pull hair and stick things in dog’s faces. Sometimes, children are even tempted to take toys or bones away from dogs. All of these may annoy the dog, which we can’t assure it wouldn’t bite the children.

What can you do to make your dog and your children get on well with each other? Of course, we all want our dog to be loyal, pretty and safe to children. However, we are not lucky enough to have such good dogs all the time. There are a lot of difficulties needing us to get over. It is up to you the parent and the owner of the dog to ensure the safety of both the dog and the child. •First, choose a right dog. For example, a small dog is less dangerous to your children compared with a big dog. •Teach your children. Dogs can be loyal playmates for life even guardian angels. They can also be as jealous as siblings. It is very important to teach children at a young age how to behave around pets. •Teach children not to run past the dog and scream, for this can excite the dog and lead to dominant and even aggressive behavior. •Teach children to leave the dog alone when he's in the crate, to pat him gently--no squeezing around the neck, please--and to leave him alone while he's eating. •The dog should never be left alone with a child less than five years of age. A young child may challenge or injure the dog unintentionally and the result could be tragic. Dogs and children should be separated at snack time so the dog doesn't learn to steal food from tiny hands. •The dog should have a place he can call his own, a retreat, a private room, a den. This can be a pen in the back yard or a crate in the house. The children should never be allowed to bother the dog when he is in his place. •If the dog does not like the children, the children must change their behavior. Most dogs are wary of staring, of quick movements, and of high-pitched screams, all of which are typical of small children. Here are a few hints to alleviate the tension between dog and children. •Provide a crate where the dog can escape the attention of boisterous or over-zealous children. •Do not play tug-of-war with any dog who has access to children. A dog that learns to tug on any item will soon figure that anything he can grab is his, even if it's a child's toy, clothing, or appendage. •Never tie a dog in the yard. Children tend to tease tethered dogs even without realizing it, which can lead to aggressive behavior. Many instances of dogs attacking children occur when the dog is tethered in the yard and a screaming or running child enters its space •If the dog has access to a fenced yard, owners should make sure that neighborhood children cannot accidentally or intentionally tease him. Kids often begin by goading the dog to bark, then to snarl. Or they may throw things at him to chase him away from the fence. However it begins, the end result is usually the same: the kids learn that teasing the dog gives them a feeling of power tinged with the possibility of danger and the dog learns to hate kids. This hatred may be manifest as fear or as aggression, and may end when a child is bitten. •train your dog. Train your dog is also important. When you bring a new member home, the first thing you should do maybe teach it some basic knowledge about how to play safety before your little child. About this, you can read some scientific and detailed method.