6 Important Safety Lessons For Children On How to Avoid Dog Bites

By Mike Allred
One of the most frequent questions from dog owners is "How do I stop my dog from biting?" Or even more common, how to stop a puppy from biting. First we need to know why do dogs bite people?

Most dog bites and aggressive behavior happen in six common situations. It's very important that we teach our children about these common situations and how to avoid them. A dog can bite when:
A dog can bite when it's disturbed. Dogs can often bite when disturbed or startled. This usually occurs when a family member disturbs a resting or sleeping dog, picks it up, tries to hold it, or takes something from the dog. More often this happens when children pull a dogs tail, or pull on its ears. Remember the old saying "Let sleeping dogs lie?" There's a lot of good advice in that old idiom.
Lesson 1: Teach children not to disturb resting or sleeping dogs.
A dog can bite when it's afraid. Frightened or scared dogs are acting instinctively when they bite. They're doing what comes naturally, protecting themselves. Unfortunately, a scared dog will snap at you and bite instinctively. This usually happens when someone approaches the dog too quickly or startles a dog.
Lesson 2: Teach children not to sneak up on dogs, especially strange dogs unfamiliar to your family. Even a gentle small dog will bite defensively if startled or frightened.
A dog can bite when it's protecting its territory. Most times we're glad when our pooch protects our property. After all, he's guarding the home front and the family. However, for visitors to your home, the meter reader, or the postman, it can be a different story. These people can be bitten by your friendly pooch.
Lesson 3: Teach children not to go on private property without adult supervision. A forty pound child is no match for an adult dog protecting its territory.
A dog can bite when it's in attack mode. We've all seen examples of this behavior. A dog's natural instinct is to chase small running animals, running children and adults, and even cars. Have you ever noticed what a dog does if it catches a car? It tries to bite the tires. My first lesson from my GrandDad as a child was to never run from a large dog.
Lesson 4: You can't outrun a dog pumped up with adrenalin and in attack mode. Second, if you do run, the dog's instincts kick in and they're after you in a flash. And third, the dog could seriously injure you, or even worse, (through biting) when they catch you.
A dog often bites when it's suffering or in pain. When a dog is suffering or in pain, leave it alone if at all possible. Our natural instincts are to pet or comfort the dog. Even our best intentions and motives can backfire on us, especially a strange dog unknown to us. As much as we want to comfort a suffering or injured dog, we must be careful.
Lesson 5: Teach children not to pet dogs that are in pain, or suffering. Even the beloved family dog can snap and bite when in pain.
A dog can bite when it's punished or abused. Unfortunately, dogs can and will bite when someone abuses or mistreats them. Dogs will bite their owners, small children, or other family members, when mistreated. Think about it. If you were a dog and someone is physically mistreating you, wouldn't you bite? It's natural instinct for a dog to protect himself.
Lesson 6: Teach children not to abuse or mistreat dogs, or any animal for that matter. Abused animals do bite, and have been known to kill.
Our pets, especially our dogs, are our loyal, faithful, and loving friends. They're our family. They'll give you unconditional love whether you're homeless, or live in a mansion. And when we lose a beloved pet, we mourn, we cry, and we remember. But, we must also remember our pets have natural instincts. And one of those instincts is to bite. Discuss these six lessons with your children. Someday your kids may be face-to-face with a dog in one of the above situations. Then, hopefully, they'll remember these lessons, and thank you.

Mike Allred, the author, learned his lessons the hard way. He suffered many dog bites as a child and teen--mostly from trying to comfort and aid injured animals and dogs. Mike lives in south Florida, is an avid outdoorsman, and writes on many topics. For more information on dog behavior problems, and how to prevent dog biting behavior, visit http://www.ProDogTrainingMethods.com

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