Through the COVID-19 outbreak, dogs and children are together – often unsupervised – more than ever.
Training and Behaviour Advisor for Agria Pet Insurance, Carolyn Menteith, shares her top 10 tips on keeping both happy and safe.
Carolyn says: “Our current position in ‘lockdown’ creates an unusual situation for families with children and dogs spending more time together than usual, while many are preoccupied with trying to earn a living and worrying about the future.
“If well managed, this could be a time when owners can deepen the bond between the whole family and their dog. But it could be a time when the dog is put under a high degree of stress, often without anyone even noticing. “
Most dog bites happen in the home from the family dog, and the most usual victims are children. This usually happens either when the parents aren’t supervising the children and dog closely enough, or when they aren’t able to read the dog’s body language.
We’ve all seen old Lassie films and expect dogs and children to somehow have an instinctive bond, With some dogs, and with some children, it does seem to be a natural thing – but for most, this will only come with teaching them both now.
How to read dog body language
Dogs give very clear signals when they are feeling uncomfortable – it’s just we often aren’t very good at reading them. Humans are a verbal species. We communicate with each other vocally so many people don’t recognise that a dog is feeling uncomfortable until they get to the point of saying something – i.e growling. Actually, the dog was giving warning far earlier, but no one was listening.
Not all dogs show all of these, and they don’t happen in the same order for every dog – but if you see any of the following while your child is interacting with your dog, you should recognise them while they are very low level, and stop the interaction immediately before the dog feels they aren’t being listened to, and has to do something about it.
These signals inclide:
- Lip or nose licking
- Yawning
- Blinking
- Turning their head away
- Showing the white of their eye (whale eye)
- Moving their body away and if possible, trying to walk away
- Lowered body language with ears back
- Standing crouched with the tail tucked underneath them
- Lying down (but not relaxed) or lifting a leg
- Standing stiff
- Growling
- Snapping
- Biting
Carolyn adds: “Some of these ae quite subtle and you might think hard to spot but start looking at photos on social media and you’ll be stunned by how many of these ‘calls for help’ you’ll see form dogs.”
Always:
1 Make sure the dog is exercised in the morning before you strat work. This way they’re likely to be quieter during the day when you need to concentrate – and not be so boisterous.
2 Keep the dog beside you while you’re working so you know exactly where they are. If they’re crate trained, you can use their crate and if not, use a 2m training lead to clip them to your desk.
3 Give them something comfortable to lie on and something to keep them occupied – such as a stuffed Kong or a safe chew. Make sure children know not to disturb the dog while they are enjoying their treat.
4 Take regular breaks for indoor games or training with the dog that you can all join in with. The whole family can have lots of fun with these – and even enjoy teaching the dog new tricks.
5 If another adult is available to take their permitted daily exercise, give the dog another walk at lunchtime.
6 Once you finish work, continue to supervise all interactions and always be mindful of the dog’s body language.
7 Make sure all handling is gentle and that the dog always has an easy escape route if they need it.
8 As people are getting used to less contact, use this time to remind your children that dogs don’t enjoy hugs or being grabbed and teach an alternative greeting like a hand touch or just a sit.
9 As much as you can, keep your dog’s routine the same as usual so there is some predictability in this strange new ‘everyone’s home’ world.
10 Give your dog some ‘on their own’ time too – so that when everyone goes back to work, the dog doesn’t have problems adjusting to not having constant access to you.
Carolyn concludes: “Remember to always supervise all interactions between dogs and young children while you’re working from home or self-isolating. One silver lining from thus strange situation is the chance for the family to learn more about their dog and how to interact with them, for happier and safer relationships – far beyond the pandemic.”
