THE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN
Even if you don’t have a dog in your home, there are plenty of them
outside your door. If your child is frustrated in trying to get a dog
into the household, he or she will be that much more eager to meet
any dogs that present themselves. Teaching the child how to meet
dogs is both essential to safety and a good indication of the child’s
level of control.
If a dog is in the company of humans, children should first
politely ask permission to pet the dog. If the human says no for
whatever reason, that’s the end of the matter. (The dog may not get
along with children, the owner may be afraid of liability issues or the
dog may just have been brushed for the show ring.)
If the human says yes, the child should extend a hand for the dog
to sniff. This is a friendly gesture, akin to a human handshake, and
avoids startling the dog with a sudden pat on the head.
Once the dog has sniffed the hand, the child may pet the dog. The
front of the chest or anywhere along the sides of the body will generally
meet with the dog’s favor. Some dogs feel intimidated by a hand going
over their heads, so the top of the head is best left alone. (Children seem
to have a tendency to want to pound rather than to pet here anyway—
another reason to teach them not the touch the dog’s head.)
Unknown dogs should not be hugged. While you can desensitize
your own dog into accepting, even enjoying, this gesture, other dogs
may not tolerate it well. Being restrained in such a fashion may raise
the automatic “fight or flight” response in the dog.
Children should not stare at dogs. Though this may be natural
behavior in human children, it is impolite and potentially challenging
in canine parlance. Stable, well-behaved dogs will recognize the lack
of ill intentions, but other dogs may not. Teach children to play a
game of looking at dogs out of the corners of their eyes.
Impress upon children that they should move more slowly around
dogs and should speak more quietly. Tell them that wild dogs have to hunt to eat and that the easiest things for them to hunt are injured
animals, which is what kids look like to dogs when they jerk their
arms around and move in fits and starts. The child needs to help the
dog recognize him or her as a small human.
When encountering unaccompanied dogs, a child’s behavior is
even more critical. Children should never initiate contact with dogs on
their own, even if they know the dogs. A dog behind a fence in her
yard may act quite differently from one out for a walk with a member
of the household. Or the dog may be suffering an ear mite infestation
and be very reactive to being touched on the head. For any
number of reasons, dogs alone are best left alone.
If an unsupervised dog approaches a child, the child should stand
still, avoid eye contact and in a whisper, as if telling a secret to a good
friend, recite a nursery rhyme or a song or anything that comes to
mind. Quiet rhythmic talking can have a calming effect on both the
child and the dog. This is not a natural reaction for an adult human in
such a situation, let alone a child, so the idea must be planted deeply.
You can practice when you’re out with a child and you see someone
walking a dog. Have the child demonstrate the aforementioned stranger dog safety response, and reward him or her with being allowed
to pet the dog (with the dog owner’s permission, of course).
When on her own, a child should stay in the safety posture for a
few moments, then if the unsupervised dog is not approaching, back
slowly away. Children should never run within sight of a strange dog.
The first dog bite I ever received, at the age of seven or eight, was in
the back of the leg from a very nice young dog who simply couldn’t
resist chasing and grabbing when I ran.
If the dog does approach and seems aggressive or is growling or
barking, trying to edge away may inspire an attack. If adults are in the
area, a single shout for help may bring some assistance without setting
off the dog. Shouting brings its own risks, however, and should
be reserved for serious situations. Holding something as seemingly
insignificant as a sheet of paper or a notebook between you and the
dog may direct the dog’s attention to the object rather than to you.
Back away while holding the object out in front of you.
Children must understand not to bother dogs that are eating or
in possession of some object they may not want to relinquish. While
the rules for dogs (in the next section) within the household are that
no objects, including food bowls, are guarded, outside dogs aren’t
subject to these rules. Children also should not disturb dogs who are
sleeping. The phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” has good safety sense
behind it, because a dog who is awakened suddenly may be startled
into defensive behavior.
Under no circumstances should a child hit, poke or prod a dog.
Those looking for trouble are likely to find it.
If you approach all of this in a calm, matter-of-fact manner and
present these techniques as the proper way to converse with canines,
you can educate a child without going overboard and making him or
her afraid of dogs.
THE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR DOGS
Just like everyone else in the family, the dog should have a place where
she can go when she doesn’t want to be disturbed. This might be a
roomy open-door crate or a laundry room. Whatever area you use,must not be bothered. Relate the dog’s special space to the children’s
own rooms, and remind them that they don’t want people just bursting
into their private space all the time. If you see the dog starting to
get stressed, take the dog to her place, offer a toy or a chew and leave
her there to calm down (but free to come out when she wants). The
dog will soon learn she can go there on her own.
If the dog has access to the yard, make sure that she won’t be at
the mercy of passing children. Dogs behind fences tend to be a little
more guarded about who can come near them, and some children,
usually boys, can’t seem to resist trying to get the dog to bark and
lunge at the fence. By fencing a dog yard within the outer fence, you
provide a buffer zone for the dog and remove most of the temptation.
Do not tie a dog in an unfenced yard. That frustrates the dog and
leaves her an unprotected target for teasing. If you must restrain a dog
without a fence, at least use an overhead cable runner so that the dog
has more freedom of movement. Bear in mind, however, that a great
percentage of dog bites to children are inflicted by tied-out dogs.
It doesn’t matter whether you adopt a puppy or an adult dog; you
must gently and gradually accustom the dog to as many people, places
and situations as possible. Being used to children is certainly a major
socialization issue. Even if you don’t have children in your household,
you should still take the time to introduce children to your dog. Not
all parents teach their children to approach dogs slowly and ask permission
before petting. Sooner or later you will probably see a child
running toward your dog yelling, “Puppy, puppy!” and flailing and
grabbing at the dog. If your dog has had no experience with such
behavior, there’s no telling what her reaction will be. All dogs should
be accustomed to being handled in ways typical of children—hugs
around the neck and tugs on ears and tails—and the sights and
sounds of children at large.
After your new dog has had a few days to settle into your household,
start inviting people over. Don’t have a party for a hundred
guests, but have two to five people at a time. Try for as much variety
as possible—men, women, children, tall, short, boisterous, refined,
with beards, hats or glasses. Enlist the services of your mail carrier or
package delivery person if you can. If they take time now to introduce
themselves and provide a few treats and pats, it could prevent the dog from barking at these people for the next 10 or 15 years! This
also allows your dog to get used to seeing people in uniform, a subtle
nicety that dogs recognize quite readily.
It’s best not to force people on your dog, but simply have the dog
in the room and let her make the approach. Give your guests treats
they can use to reward the dog when she initiates friendly contact.
Gradually let kids behave more like kids so that the dog gets used to
shrill voices and spastic movement.
If you find that your dog does not react well to children and
doesn’t seem to be improving over time, you will need to manage such
encounters for the life of the dog. My newest dog, Nestle, a shelter
adoption, showed me almost immediately that young boys drove him
wild. Just seeing boys running and playing in the distance was enough
to start him leaping in the air and screaming. I enlisted my nephews
to start on desensitization, and we got Nestle calmed down, but he
still does not trust or accept the advances of boys he doesn’t know.
I’ve taught him to come to me and let me handle the matter if a boy
approaches him. Part of our pet therapy visits consists of doing tricks
for the children in day care at the convalescent center we visit, with
the children safely behind a fence.
Nestle will probably never like young male children—he may
have reason, given that most of his facial whiskers were cut off and
one ear bore the imprint of human teeth when I got him. As long as
I’m with him, his response is safe and reliable, and I’ll never put him
in the position of being around children without me present.
Even these kinds of problems can be managed, but it’s best to see
that they don’t arise in the first place.
Puppies need to stay with their mothers and littermates until at
least 8 weeks and preferably 12 weeks of age. They receive nearly all
of their training in how to communicate with and act around other
dogs during this period of life. Dog trainers are discovering a connection
between puppies leaving their litters too soon and all sorts of
behavioral problems later in life. The breeder of the litter should be
taking care of early socialization during these first dozen weeks, too,
so that puppies are eager to explore the world when they go to their
new homes.
This is the ideal situation, of course, and not always the one
with which you’ll be dealing. Even without this excellent start in life,though, you can help your dog to learn the three basic skills that will
see her safely through life—be slow to react, be quick to recover and
inhibit any bite.
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