16/04/2025
Such an important topic to consider when bringing a dog into your baby's world or a baby into your dog's world.
I like to say, "keep the dog safe from the baby first".
Safe spaces are amazing and can help eliminate so many accidents from happening before you are able to teach your baby how to interact with dogs.
(This applies for all dog breeds, not just greyhounds)
🐶 It’s National Dog Bite Prevention Week (April 13–19) 🐶
In Australia, kids aged 0–5 years old are most at risk of serious dog bite injuries, especially to the face and head. Most of these incidents happen in everyday settings, at home, and often with dogs the child already knows.
💛 Teach your kids these golden rules to keep them and animals safe:
🛏 Let sleeping dogs lie. Never disturb a dog that’s resting, eating or playing with a toy.
🐶 Respect their space and give dogs a safe zone they can retreat to, and make sure children know it’s off-limits.
🚫 A No Climbing Rule, because children should never climb on, lie on, or sit on a dog, because even the most tolerant dog has limits.
👀 Always supervise, because even the gentlest dogs can react if they're scared or startled.
👐 Be gentle. Encourage calm, respectful play and teach kids to spot when a dog wants to be left alone.
💙 Know and respect your dogs body language. Whale eye, yawning, head turning, lip licking are all signals that a dog communications before a growl happens. Growling is also important communication that signals stress, and discomfort.
Most importantly, remember that bite prevention is about education and not blame. Teaching empathy and understanding goes a long way in keeping everyone safe. Feel free to add to the comments what you've learnt that helped your family grow together, not apart.
