Keeping kids safe with dogs in the home
I grew up with dogs from day 1, and am so grateful for that. The companionship, development of empathy, responsibility etc are skills that can stick with kids for life. But I also see the flip side where things haven’t gone well, traumatising kids for life & often resulting in the dog being rehomed or in some cases euthanised, often through mistakes that were entirely preventable by taking a few simple steps. Dogs are regularly set up for failure by owners expecting far too much of them, and not enough of ourselves or our child’s behaviour - even the most tolerant, well trained dog shouldn’t be expected to just put up with some of the things I see.
Even if it’s a dog we got for them to “grow up together”, as the dog owners and responsible adults, it is our job to keep everyone safe and out of trouble. There’s a lot of training we can do together to support the dogs ability to behave appropriately around the children such as impulse control work, teaching appropriate house manners, building confidence etc, but they aren’t the only factor involved here.
So with that said, here are some practical guidelines to keep in mind if you have a dog and children in your home.
1️⃣ Supervision - always, no excuses. Young children and dogs should never be left alone together, and should be actively supervised. This means non-distracted eyes on any interactions, watching body language and enforcing appropriate behaviour towards child and dog. If they’re not being supervised, they are separated.
2️⃣ Enforcing appropriate behaviour towards each other. Sitting/lying on, smacking, kissing dogs, face to face contact etc is not appropriate, no matter how calm and lovely the dog might be. Even the most tolerant dog can have a bad day, be in pain etc, and frankly even on a good day they shouldn’t have to tolerate harsh handling from anyone whatever the situation. We also enforce not approaching sleeping dogs - even the best dog can be startled when woken. If this isn’t possible, physical separation is best.
3️⃣ Providing child free spaces. This could be a crate, kennel, room, puppy pen set up - set an area where the dog can go for some space. Discuss this with your child (depending on age), firmly setting the expectation that when the dog is there they must not be disturbed. You can get them involved with this too - creating signs for the dogs space, taping off areas with bright tape etc to really reinforce that this is a boundary everyone understands.
4️⃣ Kids don’t mess with dog things. This can include dogs toys, chews, food in bowls etc. There’s just no need to have that conflict point between a child and a dog, and the best bet is to just leave them be. An easy solution can be feeding the dog in their child-free space, and putting toys and chews away when not being used.
5️⃣ Calm energy around the dog. Kids being kids and running around playing excited games? The dog doesn’t need to be involved - nothing good comes of hyped up dogs running wild with children, and you’re just teaching the dog that kids mean high arousal crazy games. Put the dog away and then enjoy some fun with the kids without the dog getting involved.
6️⃣ Get the kids involved with the dogs care and training at the level they’re capable of. Kids and their dog can be one of the best relationships there is, and has so many benefits - teaching empathy, responsibility, getting them outside, developing curiosity in how animals learn. It’s great. Depending on the combinations abilities, your child could come for walks with you and the dog, or while supervised roll a ball, feed the dog (and walk away), do some clicker training together, or just spend fun time enjoying each others company. Build that positive relationship through well supervised interactions both parties enjoy.
I also recommend the picture book “How to Keep Kids Safe with Dogs” by kiwi author Pauline Blomfield. It’s a good start to open the discussion with your child about dog safety in an engaging way, and makes for a great gift for parents or teachers too. https://www.thebestlittlebookstore.nz/product-info.php?How_to_Keep_Kids_Safe_With_Dogs-pid261.html
