When dogs speak ‘dog’ to young children

There are millions of dogs living in millions of homes in Australia, most of which will never give their owners anything but pleasure. But for a handful of families who experience a dog bite, it can have a devestating effect on the family simply because those most at risk are small children.

Noah Springall (right) was playing at his aunty’s house when he went to pat their dog. The dog bit the two year old causing a cut his forehead and on his cheek. The dog was reported to be a ‘pitbull’ owned by a family friend.

18 months old Grace Woutersen was attacked in Woodcroft earlier this year by her grandmother’s german shepherd cross siberian husky. The family reported that the dog had a history of ‘jealous’ behaviour.

A 20 month old boy was bitten on the face by his family’s dog in Narre Warren. He received puncture marks on his cheek and under his chin. The dog was reported to be a german shepherd-bull mastiff cross.

Toddler Aleaha Jobe (right) was outside having a lollipop and patting the back of a dog when her father Mark Briffa began to feel the dog was acting “a little bit funny”. He asked her to come inside. Moments later the dog would turn on Aleaha and bite her on the face. The dog was reported to be a ‘pitbull’.

A three year old boy was attacked by two doberman pinschers at a farm near Bishopsbourne, south-west of Launceston. The boy was flown to Melbourne for treatment for serious lower body injuries. The dogs belonged to his grandparents.

A three year-old girl was holding fishing bait and playing in the backyard on Saturday when the family’s rottweiler set up upon her, grabbing her head with its mouth. She was left with a gash to the top of her head which was fractured just above her eye and a deep laceration on her cheek.

6 year old Isabella King was running to her mum when she was attacked by a great dane-cross. Her mother said “She knew the dog. She had played with it countless times before”. The dog ripped the crown of her head and bit her shoulder and left elbow to the bone.

A 20 month old girl was in with her father while he had a haircut. The salon owner’s dog, a husky, was also in the store. When the toddler approached the dog, it bit her on the face causing serious facial injuries.

Zoe Mills, 7, was playing with her families blue cattle dog at home when it attacked her, biting her on the forehead. Zoe’s father John Mills said aid the dog, which has lived with the family for eight years, was not aggressive. ”He’s normally such a placid dog,” he said. ”I don’t really understand how it happened. I never thought anything like this would happen. He’s a very friendly dog.”

All of these attacks occurred this year in Australian with several similarities. All of the children involved were in the ‘high risk’ under 12 age group and in all cases the dog was known to the family. In most a parents was nearby, suggesting a threat to the child hadn’t been registered. But all resulted in a child being seriously injured.

‘A Recipe for Human-Canine Disaster: When Dogs Speak “Dog” to Infants and Young Children‘ outlines the reasons why so many of these attacks involve both a dog whom the owners felt hadn’t shown signs of aggression, and a bite directed towards the childs face:

… when dogs want to communicate with other dogs, they grab them in two very specific places: by the muzzle or on the head behind the ears. So if, for example, a pup wants to communicate to a littermate that he’s superior (Image 2), he makes this point by grabbing the littermate’s muzzle. Similarly, adults who want to communicate to overly rambunctious pups that their behavior is rude and unacceptable will do the same thing. (Image 3)

Meanwhile, dogs who are playing with other dogs will also try to grab each other this way. (Image 4) However, in this case, they’ve made their playful intent clear before-the-fact.

For as horrific as this grabbing with teeth appears, dogs often use their teeth the way we use our hands. Who hasn’t seen a child using his hands to grab and/or pin a sibling to force the latter to give up a toy or secret, or an adult grabbing and holding an out-of-control child to calm her, or kids grabbing and pinning each other in make-believe games of cops and robbers or earthlings and aliens?

While the media whip into a frenzy any attack which involves a ‘pitbull type dog’ the sheer diversity of the breeds involved in incidents make it easy to see that it’s not ‘breed’ which causes a dog bite, but a series of unfortunate circumstances and a lack of dog owner knowledge which enable them to happen. Rather than these bites coming out ‘out of the blue’ most dogs give their owner plenty of precursors that they’re uncomfortable or aroused and that there is going to be a problem; but these are overlooked or ignored. By focusing on breed we’re missing the things that could actually reduce the number of children hurt by their own dogs; education on dog care and the warning signs that lead to a dog bite.

In Victoria, The Petcare Information and Advisory Service and The Royal Children’s Hospital Victoria have released an education program to help keep kids safe around dogs.

Memories of a childhood dog attack have left swimming great Matt Welsh all too aware of the need to teach kids about the right way to deal with animals.

The former world champion and his wife, Lauren Newton, lent some star power to the launch of the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Dogs ‘n’ Kids kit last week. The Dogs ‘n’ Kids kit teaches parents and children how to introduce kids and animals to each other safely.

Veterinarian and animal behaviour specialist Kersti Seskel, who was also at the launch, spoke about the need to teach both animals and kids manners.

“A lot of people don’t realise that a wagging tail doesn’t mean the dog is friendly, it means it’s willing to interact. And a lot of people don’t know that patting a dog on its head is not what most dogs like,” Dr Seskel said. ref

The dogs ‘n’ kids brochure for parents outlines the basics of dog behaviour and how to ensure safe child/dog interactions. A more comprehensive guide outlines how to introduce a dog to a new baby, the importance of socialisation and risk minimisation;

Dog ownership within a family brings with it the risk of dog bite. Around 10,440 people each year attend hospital emergency departments in Australia for dog bite injuries. Children under the age of five are most at risk of dog bite injuries and are most frequently bitten by their own family dog or by a friend’s dog, usually in or around the home. Incidents are commonly triggered by a child’s interaction with the dog such as playing or approaching the dog while it is sleeping or eating. There needs to be close supervision at all times when dogs and children are together.

All dogs can bite, but most of them do not, despite the myriad of reasons we give them to do so. I think One Bark at Time put it best when he said;

While dogs are wonderful creatures, they are not plush toys. They can bite but a bite doesn’t always mean the dog is bad. Very often, it happens because the dog knows no other way out. It sees no other way of resolving a dire situation. In those cases, it’s our job, as responsible and ethical dog owners, to put away the emotional baggage we have with dog bites and figure out how to give our dogs a way out of the corner, something that works for everyone.

As dog owners we must acknowledge that our pets aren’t perfect and take steps to ensure they are protected from those things that they can’t cope with. Parents must take the time to get educated on dog behaviour and step in the moment a situation becomes unsafe. We have been setting our dogs and our kids up to fail and we need to now set them up to succeed in their lives together.

Because every kid should have a great childhood dog.