When children and dogs get along well, it is a beautiful thing. The trust and connection between them is quite profound. As a parent, it is your responsibility to teach your child how to act around dogs. If you properly educate your child about dog behavior and how to properly interact with strange dogs, disasters- such as dog bites- can be avoided.
Most dogs will not attack anyone; however, any canine that feels threatened may bite, and children are the most common victims. Most experts say that you can look for signs before a dog attacks. The canine is usually young, male, and unsocialized. If a dog is usually kept on a chain all day or in a small cage will be inadvertently conditioned to be aggressive. To this end, you should never leave your child alone with a dog, especially with a strange one. It is also equally important to ensure that your child knows how to behave around canines to avoid getting attacked or bitten.
What Not To Do Around Dogs
As a parent, you need to teach your child that even the smallest and most tamed dog has basic instincts that can override their training and friendly behavior. To protect your child from possible disaster, you should teach him what he should never do around dogs:
- Never approach a canine without getting permission from the owner.
- Never disturb a sleeping dog. If your child startles the pooch awake, it may incite a negative reaction without meaning any harm.
- Never disturb dogs that are eating. Some dogs may become possessive and aggressive if they think that the child wants to take his food away.
- Never chase a dog that wants to get away.
- Never approach strange dogs, even if it looks friendly.
You should also teach your child how he should behave if a strange dog approaches him.
- Stand Still: You can teach your child to “be a tree” when a strange dog approaches. He should stand straight with feet together. He should also keep his fists under his neck and his elbows into his chest. Your child’s natural instinct might be to run; however, this will trigger the dog’s natural instinct to chase, attack, and bite. To this end, teach your kid to stay still until the dog walks away.
- Do Not Make Eye Contact: Staring at an aggressive dog for too long might cause him to attack. Dogs view eye contact as a direct challenge.
- Use A Jacket Or Backpack To Fend Off Attacks: You should also teach your child to always stay alert whenever there is a stray dog. Teach him to feed the dog a jacket or backpack when it attacks. In doing so, your child can protect himself from the dog’s fangs.
- Act Like A Log: If a dog knocks down your kid, teach him to curl like a ball, keep his face down, legs together, and use his fists to cover his neck. This position will protect his vital areas and can protect him from fatal attacks.
Most young children do not have the patience and attention span for lengthy discussion about the do’s and don’ts when dealing with dogs. To this end, you need to make the discussion fun and interactive. As a tip, you can role-play how to approach dogs and what to do when attacked. You should also be a role model for your young one.
Teaching your child the proper way to approach and behave around dogs will protect him from possible dog attacks. If in case your child gets bitten by a dog, immediately seek medical treatment. To claim damages, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer who specializes in dog bite injuries.
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Kris Hopkins is a pet enthusiast who encourages her readers to learn how to properly approach and act around animals to avoid disasters. In case of animal attacks, she suggests victims to seek legal help from law firms with credible lawyers, such as the one at http://zavodnicklaw.com/ .
