Children Being Safe Around Dogs

Children Being Safe Around Dogs: A family with children will often consider getting a dog as a family pet. When a child and a dog meet each other as part of a family unit this is often where the problem of safety starts.

With literally millions of dogs available around the world, the benefit to a family of picking the right one is a wonderful bonus. The benefits they can bring to their children are immense, if treated with some good old-fashioned common sense.

As with any pet and especially dogs, children need educating into understanding that they are dealing with animals and they look at things differently to us.

Children need teaching how to react and behave around all dogs and not just the family pet. No two dogs are alike or behave the same, especially around children. With any dog, all children need teaching about what they can and cannot do. They must learn to treat all dogs with the respect they deserve if they are to stay safe around them.

They have to learn (or be taught) that a dog thinks like a dog, acts and behaves like a dog, sleeps like a dog and eats like a dog. They do not think like we humans and this is an important difference. Many people will tell you that their dog is almost human, almost but not quite. We want to think of them as being like us, but they are not and when people learn this simple lesson then dogs and people get on well together.

The benefits of owning the right breed of dog for your particular lifestyle can bring untold rewards to a family.

Children brought up with pets have better self-worth, greater empathy and greater social skills that help to their becoming a better citizen.

A dog, of the right type, can teach loyalty, which is very important to a child especially in later life.

Children can learn about responsibility, compassion and respect for another living thing just by helping to look after their own dog along with advice from their parents.

Evidence suggests that if a young baby has cat or dog in their home in their first year of life that they do not suffer as much from allergies like asthma and also it improves their immune system.

The simple action of a child either stroking or cuddling a dog can reduce stress.

Dogs now help children with both mental and physical disabilities to get back on the right path.

Being involved with the day-to-day activities of owning a pet can help you, along with your children, become more relaxed and that alone is a bonus in the hectic world of today.

The benefit of a regular daily dose of exercise while walking your dog is great for helping to keep your heart in better working order.

Dragging children away from their computers and electronic games is always a problem and often they will offer to help when walking the dog.

Teaching children to get along with a dog must come from the parents. A child naturally trusts a dog without reserve until he or she does something the child dislikes. It is up to the parents of the child to teach respect of their pets' needs and the dangers of becoming too familiar with the dog concerned.

It is a balancing act between the needs of your child and the basic needs of your dog.

Owning a dog should be fun for the child concerned, which helps to create a greater bond between the two.

You have to be always aware that your dog is an animal and no matter how safe you think they are around young children, never leave them alone together without the supervision of an adult.

Ian Nicholson has been passionate about dogs for over fity years and you can learn more about children and dogs at http://www.choosebestdogbreed.com/children-and-dogs and also download a free gift on how to prolong the life of your aging dog.