For Educators…
…Parents Against Canine Killers
A survey by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta ("CDC") concluded that dogs bite nearly 2% of the U.S. population -- more than 4.7 million people annually. (Sacks JJ, Kresnow M, Houston B. Dog bites: how big a problem? Injury Prev 1996;2:52-4.)
Many of the bites and attacks could be prevented with
- “Dog bite safety” education of the prospective victim, usually the school aged child or younger child. Read More: 5 year old first grader from Simi, California killed by a dog at friend's house.
Many others could be prevented by
- “Dog owner responsibility and identification” which often involves parents of school aged children. Educational materials for the parents could be sent home with the children.
Dogs are pack animals with a dominance hierarchy and a communication system of their own. Read more on pack behavior
Dogs communicate with physical gestures as well as vocalizations and have different agendas than "Disney Dogs". For classroom materials, pictures can demonstrate dogs in angry or dominant positions, contrasting dogs exhibiting submissive gestures. We are currently creating a compilation of static images and video clips of dogs in the process of communicating different intents and warnings that a child should understand.
Dog bite prevention week is May 18-25. Please plan a time for dog safety education while it is still early in the school year.
Depending on the grade level and maturity of the students, the following list can be used as a reference on topics to be included:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT CHILDREN
- What you should know about PACK behavior and dominance hierarchy
- What your children should know about dogs
- Scenarios to discuss with children
- Adding a dog to the family
- purchasing a dog as a family pet
- dual purpose family pet and guard or protection dog
- guard or protection dog that is not also a family pet
- found a stray
- expecting a baby and already have a dog
- purchasing a dog for my baby, toddler, or young child.
Scenarios to discuss with children: possible ways to include in already packed curriculum: topics for classroom discussion, topics for paper writing, or topics to act out.
They come upon a loose, stray, or unfamiliar dog:
[- Warn them never to approach a stray dog, in the same way you would not approach a strange person.
- Also, explain fear biting: a fear biter will bite if he feels cornered or pursued. Even an outstretched hand meant as a friendly gesture can be misconstrued as an attack. Instruct them to keep their hands to themselves.
- A truly friendly dog tends to sidle up along side a person, offering their more vulnerable areas.
- A dog that stops in front of you regarding you with suspicion is quite likely to bite if you reach toward him.
When a child attempts to pet a dog that someone is walking on a leash:
Ideally, the dog owner should first kneel down next to the dog with the child. Then the parent should pet the dog first. Next, the parent and child should then pet the dog together before the child attempts to pet the dog alone.
- The dog may be submissive to the adults, but then growl or lash out if the child attempt to touch him.
- Avoid the dog’s face.
- Dog owner’s permission alone, is not sufficient. There have been instances where the child asked permission only to be mauled by the dog and the dog owner just walked away. It is not currently against the law not to stop a dog attack that is in progress.
Warn children that presence of more than one dog can indicate grave danger:
- Explain pack predatory behavior, how packs hunt in the wild, and how the presence of more than one dog can activate primitive hunting instincts.
- Explain the extreme danger present to them if they are alone with more than one dog . Tell them never to play with more than one dog of a friend or neighbor, even if they have done so many times in the past, and never to play with a dog alone. [Dog attack rescue - Reader's Digest]
Show them the physical characteristics that may indicate extreme danger in a dog.
While there are wonderful dogs in any breed, people have deliberately selected for aggressive and predatory traits in dogs created for certain uses. It is the intended use of he dog rather than the specific “breed” of the dog that should be emphasized.
The specific use of the dog is the result of the genetics, socialization and training put upon the dog by people. Certain physical characteristic have been linked to dog used for aggressive purposes, such as size, body strength and bite strength. Most children have an innate sense that bigger dogs are more dangerous.
The problem with most dog bite stats is that they say the total number of bites from a breed without stating the prevalence of a breed. For instance if 100 attacks are from a certain breed, but there are only,say 200 of these in the country, the danger present from an individual of that breed is much greater than from a different breed that is highly represented in the population.
Some general types of dogs were created by un-natural selection. Humans have selected for traits among the parent dogs such as attacking without provocation, bite strength, tenacity, increased muscle mass, and a tendency to bite and not let go.
[- Even friendly dogs with no history of aggression have been known to cause serious injury when startled from a deep sleep . Be very careful not to accidentally or deliberately disturb a sleeping dog.
Dogs are more dangerous when they are eating.
They are much more likely to bite if they are disrupted, even by petting, when they are eating. The same applies if the are jealously guarding a toy or other preferred item. If they need it, they need to have an adult get it for them. Read More: 23 month baby fatally mauled by chained dog that was eating. Dog had been considered friendly. Article can be found in archives
A dog nursing her puppies is more dangerous:
If you approach or disturb them they may think you are going to hurt or take one of their puppies. They are just trying to protect their babies, but are more likely to bite when they have nursing age puppies.
The parent needs to hand the puppy to the child and stand between the puppy’s mother and the child to assess any potential danger to the child.
What Children Should Know About Dogs
Dogs are more likely to bite when they are in a car or the back of a truck.
[- This is a form of TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION. The smaller the territory that they are guarding, the more vicious they tend to be about it. A small dog may bite from fear, while a larger dog may sit sedately, only to quickly lunge when you are within the perimeter of his territory.
- When walking in a parking lot, avoid getting too close to cars with open windows.
- Never attempt to pet a dog through an open car window.