How To Teach Kids To Interact with Dogs

We have all experienced the "awwwwww" moment of seeing a cute dog and wanting to go up and grab it around the neck. If you are a parent, you have probably also experienced the anxiety of having your child run up to a strange dog and wondering if the dog was friendly.

Teaching a child how to safely approach and pet a dog is incredibly important for parent and child alike. The Victor Valley Daily Press has a great article with valuable tips:

Some experts suggest having the child putting out a closed fist or a hand with palm upraised, others say just stand there. But all agree: let the dog decide whether to approach the child. Don’t hold a dog still in your lap for petting, and respect the dog’s decision if it turns away or moves behind the owner.

If the dog does approach, observe the body language. Don’t concentrate on the tail, it can be hard to read. Pelar says, “I tell people that if they’re looking at the tail, they’re watching the wrong end of the dog.”

Instead, the mouth can give a lot of clues. A dog that’s licking lips, panting excessively, or yawning, is showing that he’s not comfortable. These are oral self-soothing behaviors much like sucking your thumb, says Pelar. In contrast - opposite of the common maternal fear of the teeth showing - if the dog’s mouth is open, that’s a sign that it’s relaxed.