08/08/2025
Kids And Dogs 🧒 👦
What is an appropriate interaction between a child & dog?
⭐ Supervised training - teaching the dog a cool trick 😎 puzzle games, trick training etc.
⭐ 1, 2, 3 stop the “cuddles” - no cuddling involved, just stroking.
Count 1, 2, 3 then move your hand away - this gives the dog freedom to move away should they no longer want interaction. If they want more, they’ll either nudge, paw or move in (remember every dog is different!)
⭐ ALWAYS supervise, if you can’t supervise use management - EG baby gates, play pens etc.
⭐ Teach children how to read dog body language - I believe we should do this BEFORE getting a puppy/dog. (Even important when you don’t have a dog in the family home)
⭐ Go for an adventure walk🚶 🐶 Go out in nature, play find it games with a ball or treats - this will massively help build the bond between the dog and child.
❌ No cuddling! Wrapping arms around a dog is NOT an appropriate interaction between and dog and child, I would never teach any child that this is a way to interact with a dog. I get some dogs are “okay” with this (I don’t know many that are!) but this is something I teach kids not to do.
I always find my dogs want to chill with the kids when they’re calm and watching TV etc, it’s on the dogs terms and I never force interactions, if they want to get down or move away they can.
We need to remember that not all dogs like touch. And relationship building is built on trust, if stress signals are constantly being ignored, the dog won’t trust the person and a head turn, or lip lick could escalate towards a snap or bite.
🐶 🐶 🐶
