The Dogs Trust has recently launched a dog safety campaign. The campaign was the result of a survey, which shockingly revealed that a third of parents would let their child approach a dog they don’t know and one in three children were scared of dogs.
The safety of children around dogs is something I feel very strongly about. I am a dog person and most of my life has been spent with a least one dog at home. I adore them and truly believe that children benefit a huge amount from having dogs in their lives.
What worries me is the increasing number of pictures I see on social media of babies and small children draped across dogs. When all said and done, no matter how much you trust your dog, it is still an animal and until your child id old enough to not be unpredictable around the dog, then caution should be exercised. I would be mortified of Baby grabbed one of our dogs and the dog retaliated, and yes, I do trust my dogs. They would be entitled to react if they felt pain or discomfort.
Sadly the occurrences of dog attacks is on the rise. During 2013 1,160 children were hospitalised due to a dog attack.
This is where this campaign comes in; to educate people, especially parents, on how to stay safe around dogs.
Some worrying points highlighted by the survey;
- Over half of children surveyed believed a growling dog was a smiling dog (children aged 5-11).
- Almost a third of parents would let their child approach an unknown dog
- A fifth of parents have seen their child sit/lie on a dog, 19% have seen them kiss a dog’s nose, 18% pull a dog’s tail and 14% hit or shout at a dog.
Dogs Trust Guide To “Be Dog Smart” is just 10 simple steps.
Beware of disturbing dogs that are eating or sleeping
Even if for fun, don’t ever tease a dog please
Don’t approach a dog with no owner around
Only stroke a dog when the owner says ‘Yes, you can’
Get the dog to sniff your hand first, then stroke gently
Strange dog approaching? Stand still, look away, cross your arms
Move calmly and quietly around any dog
All that hugging and kissing – you might like it, dogs don’t!
Remember all dogs have teeth
Treat dogs with respect and they will respect you
You can find more information and download a family safety pack filled with great ideas here.
Do you have dogs at home? What do you think of this campaign?
Comments 16
What a great idea. It’s so hard teaching kids-especially my daughter that not all dogs are like our dog.
Unfortunately our poor dog is teased beyond belief but boo has known from an early age that Rosie cannot be approached when she is eating.
It doesn’t bare thinking about what could happen does it?
My 6 year old will approach any dog. I’ve told him so many times not to. He has finally learnt to ask the owner first. I am still worried though. It seems a lot of dog owners in Ireland let there dogs roam and he has no fear of them. Great post.
I saw something recently (sorry can’t recall where) about having different coloured collars for dos to show they are friendly or not.
I’d also point out that as well trained as your kids are there are some terrible dog owners out there who have no realisation that their lack of control on a dog can be frightening to kids (I walk a lot and the amount of dogs that run free of the lead and hare up to you barking or jumping is a disgrace to dog owners everywhere, oh and I was one once bt always kept my dog on the lead).
Sorry just realised how angry that comment sounded (bad experiences with dogs recently).
Your post is a really good one and will go a long way to helping kids stay safer around dogs, I’ll be sharing it now to help promote dog safety 🙂
I completely agree! No matter how gentle a dog is, he can still snap. Children shouldn’t approach a strange dog, or lay on top of their own dog. Definitely treat all dogs with respect. Very informative post!
This is something I feel strongly about too. I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback so I understand big dogs. I was astonished a few years back when our previous dog had had a major operation (he was a ridgeback/Great Dane cross) he’d had both of his ears operated on and bandaged and a cone on. I was taking him for a gentle walk on vets advice and I was astonished when this little girl ran straight up to him shoved her hand into the cone and started stroking him by his bandage before I could stop her. I was terrified as he was so sore he would snap at her. Lucky he was a gentle soul, but it could have so gone the other way.
Great post – as you know we have a new puppy, and Mummy is very careful with me around her. We are NEVER alone together. I would never go up to a strange dog. Mummy is teaching me to respect Bella, and leave her alone when she needs to be x
This is such an important campaign. We totally trust Tin Box Dog and know she would never intentionally harm one of us but we would still never leave her alone with Tin Box Tot. We couldn’t forgive ourselves if something happened. We also want to educate the Tot that not all dogs are like our own and that she needs to be careful around animals. The messages in this campaign are spot on x
Fantastic that you posted this, lots to be aware of
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It is so important that people are aware x
Great post! My youngest is nervous around dogs, but they seem to sense his nerves as aggression, and so dogs tend to growl at him before anyone else the poor boy! I would never let my children stroke a dog without checking with the owner who should know them best, and I’m working on making him less nervous!
Stevie x
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I hope he gets more confident xx
Very important. Especially for my family as we have a puppy and are training him and learning our selves to be Dog smart! Thanks. Angela last post is about Dogs. It’s called Do Tongan’s Eat Dogs. An interesting read!
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I think it is such a valuable message x
Such an important post and campaign that deserves to be shared far and wide! So many bites/bad experiences could be avoided if we were all a little smarter regarding kids with dogs. Cute pictures are cute but I feel that same anxiety when I see a picture of a kid grabbing on to a dog. I think the worst picture I’ve seen is the one floating around on social media sit with a baby grabbing the lip of a dog (yes it’s a yellow lab, they’re lovely and nice) but STILL!
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Some of the pictures are truly shocking. I was scared to learn that a lot of kids think a growling dog is smiling! X