Jay had been seeing Sandy for 3 months and she got on well with his German Shepherd Max. However when Sandy began to bring her young son John to visit, Max would exhibit aggressive behaviour towards John. There was no way Jay was getting rid of Max so this left him in an awkward situation with Sandy! Worst of all, he had absolutely no idea what to do about the aggressive behaviour.

Child Aggressive Dogs

What Jay failed to realise is that some dogs will perceive children differently to adults. Children will smell, sound and walk differently to adults and are often easily excitable.

Remember: dogs associate excitement with instability and, it is in a dog’s nature to react to energy that seems unbalanced or unstable.

Take a moment to think about a stereotypical kid’s reaction to seeing a new dog, perhaps even a puppy. Did excitement feature in that scenario? The reality is that the majority of parents do not teach their children the correct way to behave around animals.

Myth - It is ok to greet a dog with excitement and to use direct eye contact

What should I teach my kids to do?

If you’re bringing a new pet into your household you should take time to discuss with your children the appropriate way to behave around dogs.

Ensure any dog you bring around your children is under your control - walking correctly beforehand is a great method for establishing your authority

Instruct your children to always project a calm assertive energy and teach them that dogs may perceive direct eye contact as a threat

For any readers out there I would love to know:

Do you think it’s important for parents to discuss with their children how to behaviour around animals?

Do you teach your kids how to behave?

If so, what do you tell them?