I have seen
tons of pictures recently showing babies and toddlers face-to-face, lying on
top of, or tightly hugging their dog. Babies and dogs together aren't anything
new—and the photos are sweet, but have
you ever noticed how uneasy the dog often is? Perhaps these photos stand out to
me because I am both more aware of how a dog communicates and I have two new grand-(great?) nephews (1 year and 9 months). More
often than not, the poor dog looks like it is tolerating the interaction and
gratefully, is well-behaved enough to suffer through the interaction. But how
many people unknowingly subject their dog to the discomfort and their child to
the danger? It seems like a lot.
I came
across this video showing very subtle
dog communication around a wee one. I sent it off to both new sets of parents.
They may be comfortable with the interaction between their baby and their dog,
but do they know their friends' dogs as well?
After Lucy passed
away, we briefly trialed-for-adoption, a male pup around a year old. He was a
sweet, young thing, but I realized almost immediately he harbored more issues
than I was skilled to deal with. Although he suffered several bizarre
personality traits, the clincher for his return was nipping a neighbor's young
daughter. The little girl, around eight at the time, came over to see our new
pup. She was shy and stood quietly by her mother, when Jake came up and nipped
at her shirt. No one had anticipated that. He didn't touch skin, and neither the
mother nor her daughter was bothered by it. The little girl was unharmed. However, I was
greatly concerned! We travel a lot and are in many different situations which
include children. I did not want a dog that needed constant monitoring; I had
already experienced that with Lucy. After much distress on my part, the young dog was
returned to his foster home for more evaluation.
Lovely Bella
is as sweet as can be, but she isn't used to babies who grab her fur for
balance or grab her neck to hug or topple accidentally on top of her. Whenever
we are around small ones, I monitor her and the babies like a hawk and do not
allow close interactions. I am guarding Bella as much as the baby. Bella is far
more quick than I and a baby's face is far closer to Bella's teeth.
On the
street, there are several things I do when a child runs up to Bella, as often,
the parent with the child does nothing.
- First, I safeguard Bella. I make sure she is not anxious (never the case) and next to me.
- I explain to the child they should never run up to a strange dog.
- They should always ask the owner permission to pet the dog.
- They shouldn’t shout or grab at the dog—all things that can frighten it and precipitate a bite.
- When greeting a strange dog, they should extend a fisted hand, fingers down, for the dog to sniff (safe-guarding small, tasty fingers).
- When leaving, it is wise to walk, not run, from the dog.
A bit of
overkill, perhaps, but if the parent is non-responsive, I assume the child
hasn't been taught how to behave around an animal. Better to know how to
approach an animal safely, than risk a bite.
Recently
I read the article, Why Some Pet Photos Make Me Nervous, by Dr. Nancy Kay, DVM. In it she advises parents to:
- Actively teach young children how to interact with animals in a gentle, respectful fashion. Role model this behavior every chance you get.
- Be reminded that every animal is capable of unpredictable behavior. Never leave a young child unsupervised with an animal, even if that animal happens to be the beloved family pet.
- An eating or sleeping animal is wearing a “do not disturb” sign which should be respected.
- If your pet enjoys spending time in a crate or other small, enclosed shelter, consider this to be their sacred space and bar young children from entering.
- Avoid subjecting your pet to unnatural, uncomfortable poses
for the sake of a photo!
Respect a
dog's sense of space—and be responsible for your child’s interactions with
pets.
