How to Prevent Dogs Biting Kids (huntingforheart.com)
If you are a parent, a Grandparent or just someone who loves dogs and/or children, you need to read this article. (linked above) For the sake of the children. For the sake of the dogs. For your sake too.
I’m sure a lot of people would look at the picture on the left and think: Awww, aren’t they so cute. They must be best buddies. They look so happy. That dog is so patient. And on and on. After all, dogs and kids go together, right?
But I see something different. I see a problem. I see a stressed dog. I see a dog with too much weight on its back that could be hurting his spine leaving him with chronic pain. A dog in pain could lash out and bite a child. I see the potential for fear in the dog and for the dog to bite. And….maybe he won’t. Maybe he is a super tolerant dog, I don’t know, but it is not worth the risk. In the picture at the top, you see my dog, Harriet, with a young child. Harriet is one of those super tolerant dogs but still, I don’t take any chances. Here we see Harriet is relaxed to the point of going to sleep. She laid herself into the child’s lap because she wanted to, not because she was told to. She is being allowed to do what she wants with a child who is receptive to her and who is being taught to honor her.
Did you know that 75% of all dog bites involving children, come from the family dog or a friend’s dog that was known to the victim? People, this is not OK. We are not honoring the dogness of the dog when we allow this to go on.
Ellen Landauer has written one of the best articles I have read on children and dog bites. I found this paragraph quite profound:
“Parents are shortchanging their child’s emotional development if they do not raise them to honor their pets’ needs. Putting their pet’s needs before their own whims and impulses teaches a child to be a better person. A child not mentored in these things can mature into a grown-up more selfish and less compassionate, attuned, and understanding than they would have been. When children are taught to be emotionally sensitive to the needs of their pet, it benefits everyone.” [1]
Read the article below. You will not regret it.
[1] Ellen Landauer: “How to Prevent Dogs Biting Kids” Hunting For Heart
