As many of you know I have a Doberman. My Doberman isn’t a fan of most people. When I became pregnant, I was terrified of what my beloved dog would be like with a baby.
Surprisingly enough, she was great when we brought him home and still to this day, she is great with my baby boy. I still do not trust her to be left alone with him, but everything with a fearful dog is all about baby steps. Below is some information to teach your child.
A sucky girl to family, Marley.
Most children love dogs and will almost always want to pet a random dog walking with his owner. We must remember that our family dogs grew up with us and our kids, so they had the opportunity to get to know you and your family. You wouldn’t like it if a random stranger ran up to you, suddenly hugging, squeezing, and kissing you without your permission. The only time in your life when people could do that was when you were a baby, and you didn’t have any control over it. It is the same with dogs. When they are puppies, they allow cuddles and kisses, but when they grow up, they might not like it anymore.
These simple rules will help your child to be able to interact with dogs without getting bitten.
• Do not run towards a dog that you don’t know. Calmly walk up to the owner of the dog and ask if you can pet the dog. This is important because not all dogs are used to children, and the dog might interpret your excited little angel as a threat and snap or bite your child to protect itself.
• If the owner gives you permission to pet the dog, take your child’s hand and slowly allow the dog to smell the child’s hand before moving your child’s hand to lightly stroke behind the dog’s ear.
• Tell your child that dogs don’t enjoy hugs as much as we do. Dogs really like it when we rub behind their ear and will sometimes even lie on their back for a belly scratch.
• If the dog seems nervous, don’t let your child touch the dog. Explain to your child that not all dogs feel comfortable with being touched by people that it doesn’t know, and that the dog needs time to get to know them before they will allow them to touch them.
• Please make sure to keep your child’s head away from the dogs’ face. If the dog feel threatened at any time, it will snap at whatever is closest to its teeth.
• Also, tell your child that dogs don’t like it when we climb on top of them, but if we are nice to dogs, and we allow dogs to get used to us, they might come and sit on their lap one day.
• Please don’t let your child feed any dog without asking the owner. Most dogs will try to snatch the food out of your child’s hand, accidentally biting your child, or the dog might be allergic to whatever you are trying to feed it.I hope that this guide will help your child to grow up admiring and loving dogs.