Dogs and Children: How A Dog Sees Your Child

George De Martini
Jul 22, 2017 · 2 min read

Dogs and children need your guidance and supervision to live together happily ever after.

How A Dog Sees Your Child

Most dogs see children as littermates and treat them as such. Your dog might know not to jump up on you, the pack leader, but she may decide it is alright to do to your children. Dogs are easily stimulated by the exuberance of children. To a dog, a running, shrieking child is an invitation to chase and play rough. In addition, children love to hug dogs. Unfortunately, in dog-language, a hug is an attempt to dominate. If your dog resents your child’s dominance move, she might become aggressive. It is up to the adults in the household to supervise all child/dog interactions to ensure a safe and respectful bond develops between the two.

Before Getting A Dog, you need to know…

If you don’t have a dog now but are planning on getting one soon, start exposing your child (or your children) to dogs and how to act around them. Help them learn to respect each dog’s space and preferences. Teach them to only approach leashed dogs, always ask the dog’s owner first, and then to move slowly. Explain that the dog will want to sniff them that’s how a dog identifies you. The old method of meeting a new dog is to offer an outstretched hand for her to sniff. Experts now recommend keeping hands down along the sides of the body. Dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they don’t need us to hold hands out and if a dog has been abused in the past she may snap at a hand coming towards her. It is safer to let the dog approach and sniff where she wants.

continue reading at https://types-of-dogs.com/dogs-and-children

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