All the information in the below guide is from Polite Paws Ireland. Niamh Lynch is a qualified Canine Behaviour and Training Technician. 

Kids & Dogs: A Match Made in Heaven?

Children and dogs are portrayed in media, movies etc all the time as this beautiful pairing. There are lots of benefits to having both dogs and children in our homes. There is some evidence to suggest that dogs help children develop more compassion, they can support children as they further the development of their social skills and can even help children with autism to cope with difficult tasks.

Socially and culturally our expectations of children and dogs relationships are quite intense! Their relationships are romanticised in movies such as Lassie and Homeward Bound. There are lots of canine support and companion charities who provide dogs to assist with children’s development both emotionally and physically. However, often we don’t really consider the dogs in these partnerships.

There is little research on how our canine companions feel about and experience these relationships. Certainly there are a lot more studies looking at the benefits children obtain from close relationships with dogs, but not so much the effects of these on the dogs!

Dog Bites: Who is at Risk?

There have been multiple studies carried out on evaluating and researching the data of dog bites. Questions have been asked such as: Who gets bitten? Who is more at risk? Where do most bites occur? From all of the data that has been collected, we can identify risk factors that may leave certain individuals more vulnerable to bites.

The research has highlighted that: Dog bites most frequently occur from a dog known to the victim; be it their own dog or a neighbour’s dog. Children under the age of 14 are more likely to incur a dog bite (49% of dog bites requiring hospitalisation are to this age range)*, with children aged between 5 and 9 years old at the most risk (28% of child dog bites)*

Male children seem to have a slightly higher risk of getting bitten*, and children in general are more likely to require medical attention from a dog bite*. They are also more likely to get bitten on the upper torso, neck and head, compared to adults who are more likely to be bitten on the arms and legs*. Dogs are also at risk from dog bites; dogs that bite are often euthanized or their welfare seriously compromised through further confinement, rehoming or isolation.

Why are Children More at Risk?

Underdeveloped Cognitive Function: Children have underdeveloped cognitive functioning meaning that their social skills, problem solving and co-ordination are different to those of adults. Children tend to approach people and animals face on and have smaller personal bubbles meaning they are more likely to intrude and make contact with others, including our pets.

Social Skills: Adults often turn away slightly when greeting and talking with other people (something you mightn’t have been aware of until now!) and rarely stand directly in front of each other for long durations. Similarly, pro-social dogs with good communication skills will often arc around other dogs and angle their bodies away before saying hello; they rarely ever face other dogs head on as it is considered inappropriate in the dog world.

Adults are also quieter and less chaotic in movement than children; you only have to spend a few minutes with children playing to know that it can go from calm to crazy in a flash! Because children are less predictable in movement and sound, they’re more likely to frighten, intimidate or worry a dog compared to an adult.

Clash of the Species

It's nobody's fault. By their very natures, children and dogs clash. They are both so different in their behaviours, and don‘t always enjoy how the other may behave. They are two different species, and both are made to do very different things, no one is to blame.

By highlighting these differences, we can get a better understanding of where conflict might arise, and we can arrange both of their worlds so that they are less likely to upset each other and cause distress. This doesn’t mean we isolate dogs from children or vice versa. Each family member can have a beautiful relationship with our family dog, it‘s just up to the adults to ensure there are safety measures in place so that we can all be happy and comfortable.

The key to reducing dog bites is in understanding dog behaviour, childrens’ behaviour and active supervision.

How Can We Tell When a Dog Might Bite?

How comfortable are our dogs in these relationships? Are the dogs seeking a break or feeling overwhelmed by the interactions that happen in the relationships? Are the children in these interactions at risk? How can we tell?

Dog Body Language. It’s important to learn how to read your dog so that you can see earlier subtle signs that something might not quite be right, and to understand how your dog is feeling. One of the things that is regularly discussed after someone has been bitten is the ‘lack of’ warning signs. Often, it is reported that the dog may have given a growl prior to biting, but that it felt unexpected.

The reality is, dogs are incredibly subtle communicators, and generally only use big signals such as: growling, snarling, snapping or biting when they’ve used other signs but they weren’t heard.

It’s understandable that you might miss the subtle stuff, we don’t see what we aren’t looking for! Let’s go through some of the more silent body language signs so that you can learn about other indicators that a bite may be en route.

The Ladder of Aggression

What's the Context? The ladder depicts what behaviours we might see when our dogs are beginning to get uncomfortable with an interaction or situation. These behaviours are normal, and many of them can be seen in dogs who aren’t in tricky situations. In fact, we can see lots of these behaviours in dogs who are happy, or excited, or anticipating something pleasant! Context is key!

Happy Dogs?

Things to look for in happy dogs:

• Tongue lolling out of the mouth, often at the side of the mouth.
• Mouth open, but whole face and body relaxed.
• If tail is wagging, it’s side to side (not up high) and the whole rear end might wag with the tail.
• Ears will be forward and relaxed.

Dogs can also display other signals that we might note as discomfort if seen in other contexts. For example, dogs might fold their ears back at the sides of their head when they see you arrive back home after an absence, but they’ll also often show other happy behaviours alongside that too. We take our information from as much as we can see.