Dog Safety

Schools and hospitals hold 'safety days' to teach kids about various aspects of safety - with bicycles, fire, stranger danger, etc. Over the years, most of us have come to expect this. But, I will say I was surprised and sobered when one of my children returned home after the latest school inservice - this one had a big component about animal safety, and a large part of this was about how not to get bitten by dogs.

There is something so troubling and saddening when a child is bitten by some one's pet. It's basically the fault of the animal's owner - and if the dog hasn't been socialized well enough, or trained, it makes me think perhaps pet ownership is a privilege given too lightly. But there it is, and pets have been promoted to equal status of human family members. Maybe not in all cases, but more people, it seems to me, are willing to let their dogs go anywhere and get away with anything.

The problem with pets biting people is so widespread, our school distributed a four-page handout regarding it - how to prevent attacks and what to do if it occurs. Here's some important tips to teach kids:

1. If you see a dog running loose, leave it alone. Or call your local animal control department.

2. Ask permission before petting some one's dog or cat. And those of you with dogs that have to be watched, or they'll snip at or bite someone - why do you still have that dog? Is it worth it?

3. Be 'still like a tree' if a dog you don't know comes up to you.

4. If the dog knocks you over, roll into a ball and stay 'still like a log.'

5. Never run from, or scream around, a dog.

6. I've seen more detailed instructions, such as - if it's biting you, cover your face and ears the best you can with your arms. Ok, I understand the need to give tornado and fire drill information to kids. But have we lost this much control over a sane society that kids have to negotiate the streets with dangerous dogs? Help me out here, people. This is just not right.

There is something in this handout I like very much. It's entitled "What's he saying?" and it's an explanation of dogs' body language with pictures. It goes into detail - the first one is "Teeth are bared, lips are curled back, dog may be snarling or growling, body is fluffed out with hair to look bigger than it is", etc. Obviously, this dog is angry. But I like the idea of going through the detail with kids, who would like to disregard their logical thought and go with, 'forget all that, I'll make him like me and want to play with me.' A lot of us like to think we have some personal magic power in which we can win over many types of animals, but the truth is, we are deluding ourselves. The truth is, animals are unpredictable (as we are) and animals can, and will, bite. It happens. It sends people to emergency rooms all the time.

This picture display also shows frightened dogs (ears tucked low and back, tail tucked under, dog is crouching or shaking). And finally, happy, playful, excited dogs. Sorry, this is still no guarantee that you won't get bitten. Situations change, and chaos happens.

Sometimes kids get bitten when they are playing with a dog's food. Oh, they are just trying to connect with the dog, maybe grab a piece of food to try and hand feed it - but dogs instinctively protect things, including their food, territory and masters, and may suddenly bite if you place your hand too near the food bowl. Kids have to be taught this stuff; they simply don't have the experience to know better.

Dogs and other pets enrich our lives. I don't want that to change. I just have intimate knowledge of a child who was meeting a shelter dog that was up for adoption, and the child was bitten in the face. She had to have stitches in the emergency room. So please, be vigilant. And help me help others work on this problem. I don't have all the answers. I just want people to be responsible, and keep their wits about them.