A Guide to Showing Your Kids How To Safely Interact with Dogs

It is important to teach your kids how to safely interact with a dog. Whether they are your kids, your dog, or a new puppy, this is an essential lesson. Even well-tempered dogs deserve to be treated appropriately. So, read below for a guide to showing your kids how to interact with dogs.

Break It Down

Teach your kids to interact with dogs in simple steps. Start with explaining respect. This includes no hitting, yelling, pulling, climbing, or rough petting. Then, move on to boundaries. Tell your child to give the pup their personal space while eating, sleeping, or chewing on a toy. It all comes down to explaining expectations, setting an example, and staying firm on those expectations.

Permission, Calm, Gentle

Additionally, teach your little one to always ask permission before petting someone else’s dog. Also, demonstrate that they should be gentile with all pups. Teach your kids that the best place to pet a dog is the chest or upper half of the back. Make it clear that they should not touch a dog’s feet, legs, tail, or head.

You should also instruct your children to remain calm while interacting with a dog, even if they are excited. They should always approach a dog calmly and never run towards or away from a dog.

Pat, Pet, Pause

A good practice to teach kids is the pat, pet, pause doggy consent test. This helps to analyze a dog’s body language and how enthusiastic they are about wanting to be pet. So, first, pat your leg or the floor in front of you as an invitation for the pup to come to you. If the dog doesn’t come, he is not interested and the child should leave him alone. But, if the dog approaches, they want attention! So, gently pet the dog then pause to see how the dog responds. If Fido turns away to doesn’t move, do not pet them any longer. However, if the four-legged friend looks at you, leans in, or paws at you, they want more pets!

Remember, make these lessons simple. The safety of your child and your dog is important!