Protecting Your Child From Dog Bites

According to Pinellas County Animal Services, last year 1,520 dog bites were reported.

Other interesting statistics cited are:

• Dog bite injuries are the number one childhood public health problem reported each year.
• Approximately 70% of all dog bites involve children.
• Almost 50% of all children are bitten by age 18.
• Dog bites represent 5% of all emergency room admissions.
• 585,000 dog bite wounds require medical care each year.
• Approximately 1 out of every 20 dogs bites someone each year.
  

If you are considering getting a new puppy for your child or currently have one, there are a few simple steps you can take now that will prevent a dog bite in your families future.

1. Properly socialize your puppy. A well-adjusted dog is not a biting dog. Before the age of 16 weeks, your puppy should encounter all of the things he'll see when he's an adult dog - young and old people, disabled people, cars, restaurants, loud noises, other animals, etc.

2. Teach your children to respect life. Don't let you're young child hold the puppy. They don't know who to do it properly. This scares the puppy. Show them how to properly touch, pet, and handle a dog. Teach your older children to respect and love the puppy.

3. NEVER leave your young child alone with your dog or puppy. No matter how well trained your think your child or dog is don't leave them alone together. Children will experiment by poking a dog's eye or pulling an ear. Because you are not in the room to witness the behavior and the dog bites, you are the one to blame.

4. If you have toddlers, create a safe "haven" for your dog. Use a baby gate or something that the dog can get over or through that the child cannot. When the dog does not want to be bothered with the child, he will escape to his safe place, and everything will be fine.

5. Don't tie your dog out. Tied dogs are frustrated dogs. They experience "barrier frustration" all day long. This tends to make them hyper and testy. If your neighbors tie their dogs out, don't let your children go near these dogs. They are an accident waiting to happen.

6. Don't play "idiot" games with your dog. Some people think it's cute to tease dogs by pretending to beat up another family member (or a date) in front of them, or by playing "games" like "slap-boxing" with the dog. These mindless games are non-productive, and could cause the dog to become aggressive, or at the very least, teach him to snap at hands.

7. Enroll your dog (and family) in a home obedience course. This will help establish you as the leaders and give the dog a job to do. If your dog knows how to perform a few simple control behaviors on cue, you can have him "go to his pillow" or "lie down" when company arrives, so that he doesn't get over stimulated in a barking frenzy at the door

8. Get your dog used to having you touch and groom him at an early age. Dogs have to have a lot of care and grooming throughout their lifetime that involves touching, stroking, holding or restraining. As soon as you get your dog, accustom him to having you hold and touch his paws, stroke him and hold him on his side. By teaching him that this contact is non-threatening and not harmful, he will accept it without a second thought

These words of advice come to us from Cheryl Carlson, a dog trainer in Michigan who provides Dog Bite Prevention workshops to postal workers, meter readers, dogcatchers and delivery personnel.