Positive, loving relationships with pets help children become responsible, respectful, humane and caring adults. Children who are bitten by dogs are scarred both physically and emotionally -often for life. All children, even very well behaved and well supervised children, will eventually do something to the dog relentlessly, invasively, and beyond the point of what is fair or tolerable. We at the shelter want to make sure your child does not get bitten or hurt at that moment. We want your dog to be as happy with your family as your family is with your dog.

In our evaluation process, we look at the dog’s responses and thresholds to normal, everyday circumstances. We consider how tense he gets when approached, nudged, or petted while chewing on a pig’s ear or rawhide; how the dog tolerates having his body handled, being hugged, longer than he may want; how he copes with being restrained, and how he reacts when he is made to do something he doesn’t want to do or prevented from doing something he really wants to do. We test for his predatory excitement levels. We look at how roughly he plays, how sensitively he handles his body and whether he is gentle and respectful of his size and the size of others. We see how affectionate and sociable he is.

But what we are doing is evaluating how a dog may behave in a home while he’s still living in a kennel. We handle and work with each dog and provide the most complete assessment we can before placing a dog in a home with young children, but this is not foolproof. Please take the following suggestions seriously. They will help you keep your child safe.

• Never leave a child alone with your new dog, not even for a second to turn your head and answer the phone.

• No one in the family should encourage rough play or wrestling. No one should let the dog play with human body parts or clothes. If an adult plays with the dog in this manner, the dog may be stimulated to play as roughly with a child, putting the child at risk for injury.

• Feed your dog in an area completely protected and away from children, as much to give the dog a bit of peace and privacy as to prevent guarding behaviors. The dog should also be fed portions that are quickly finished so there is nothing left in the bowl for the dog to linger over and guard. Empty bowls should be put away so the dog can’t guard the feeding area.

• Watch your dog closely when your child has company. Most children are bitten, not by their own dog, but by a friend or neighbor’s dog. Many dogs will tolerate a lot from their own family’s child but not from a visiting child. Visiting children often do not behave as well as, or behave differently from your child and can provoke your dog.
• If your child’s friends have dogs, you need to meet the friend’s dog before you allow your child to visit their house. Check to see if the owner of this dog allows unsupervised interaction between children and the dog. Ask when and where the dog is fed and check to see if there are any chewable toys or bones lying around. Ask that they be put away while your child visits. Unless you are sure that their dog has no possessiveness problems, insist that an adult supervise at all times when children are with the dog.
• Give your dog a safe haven in the house where he can go to take a break from the children. This can be a room or his crate, but it’s important to help your children understand that when the dog is in his safe place, he’s not to be disturbed, no matter what. If your dog knows he has a way to take a break from the kids, he’s less likely to snap or snarl when he feels overwhelmed.

Watch out if your dog uses his mouth in play or to move or control the child. Any dog over five months of age should not use his mouth to play, and is probably not playing. He may be trying to control humans with his teeth, no matter how gentle he appears to be. Watch out if your dog cuts in between you and your child during hugging or any other affectionate interactions. This can indicate jealousy, rank aggression, or guarding of you, the owner.

"Let sleeping dogs lie" is a saying created by someone who really knew dogs. Teach this to your child and keep an eye on visiting children. Never allow anyone to startle, wake, or hug a sleeping dog. Also, dogs by nature are grouchier and testier in the evenings and at night. If your dog drops off into a heavy sleep in the evenings, put him in a private room or into a crate so that you can prevent a child startling the dog.

Watch for any growling. Dogs growl to warn us of biting. Owners have often commented that their dogs growled all the time, yet they were shocked when they finally bit. Owners believed that the growling meant the dogs would never bite. Growling is never a vocalization a dog makes just to talk. Dogs don’t talk by growling---they growl to let us know that they need help; they are warning us that they are preparing to bite. Determine carefully if the growling is ONLY during play. Make sure it is mild, and make sure the games between the child and dog seem "cooperative" rather than competitive and serious.

Watch for combinations of events like these: Your dog may be fine if approached by your child while the dog is chewing on a rawhide, and, separately, your dog may be fine when approached and hugged while resting on your couch, but your dog may growl or even bite when approached by your child AND hugged WHILE he lies on the couch chewing a bone. Your dog may be fine being hugged by your child in general, and your dog may be fine when held by the collar and restrained from chasing the cat or bolting out the front door, but your dog may growl, snap or bite when hugged WHILE restrained or keyed up or frustrated.