Dogs and Toddlers - Can They Get Along?

Dog bites are the second most frequent cause of childhood visits to emergency rooms. The vast majority of dogs bites involving children are from dogs the child knows or lives with. And when a child less than 5 years old is the victim, the family dog is usually the attacker.  

Young children who are just beginning to walk can be quite unsettling to some dogs. From the dog's perspective, "these little people are noisy, they throw things, they fall on me or trip over me, their movements are erratic and their behavior is unpredictable."

The risk is even greater in homes with old, sick or arthritic dogs, or with under-socialized dogs who never learned to enjoy children while they were puppies.

If your dog has growled or snapped at your child, seek professional help immediately. And of course,  it's always better to prevent aggression in the first place, by following these guidelines:

- Children should be taught not to approach the dog; instead the parent can invite the dog over to the child.

- Children must NOT approach a dog who is eating. 

- When the child is eating, the dog should be crated or  resting in his gated area.

- Learn to read your dog's body language. Pay close attention and learn to notice things like  stiffening, whale eye, hard eye (staring with dilated pupils), lip curls, lip licking and  stress yawns. Your dog is always communicating through body language. Learn to read these subtle signs, and give your dog some distance from the child when you see them. Don't wait for a growl, snap or bite to occur and then try to "correct" your dog. You can't scold aggression away. Instead, try to prevent it by noticing early warning signs like the ones above.

- A child must never be allowed to approach  dog who is tied up/tethered.

- While the parents are away and a baby sitter is on duty, the dog should be crated. It's too much to expect a babysitter to watch your dog and your toddler.

- Set your home environment up for success. Provide gated areas where your dog can rest peacefully without fear of being tripped over or jumped on. 

- Keep your child away from your dog's food, toys or beds.

- Always supervise interaction between your dog and your child, and teach appropriate boundaries to both. Never let kids and dogs play together unless you're right there in the middle of the action.

- Certain areas of the home can be highly prized by dogs. These places include:  a dog bed, under the coffee table, between the coffee table and the couch, on the couch, etc.  Use extra caution when high value places such as these are involved. If necessary, move furniture around or use gates to to prevent access.  

- Gates and crates can be a big help in creating safety zones - but never let a child reach through a gate or tease a dog who is in his crate or behind a gate.

- Never let a child play in a  dog's crate. 

- Dogs learn by association. These associations are powerful and can work for you or against you. Scolding your dog every time the toddler is around ("Get away from Junior's toys! Play nice! Put that down! FIDO NO!") teaches your dog that the child gets him into trouble. Instead, set your dog up for success by proactively arranging a safe environment. Form positive associations by using praise and play to reward good behavior when Fido and Junior are together.

Emotional Support Dogs for People with Alzheimer's

Choosing the right dog and the right trainer are two critical steps involved in the process of successfully bringing an emotional support dog into a family.

In her book  "The 24-Hour Rule: Living with Alzheimer's" Cheryl Levin-Folio writes, "Dogs offer unconditional love...comfort and a calming influence influenced by his emotional support animal training. 

The physical contact, we've discovered, is as important and effective as the emotional connection that comes with having dogs in the family. Lack of touch is devastating to anyone, particularly someone suffering with Alzheimer's."

Cheryl and her family worked with Carol Ross, CDBA,  to help  train Oliver, their English Creme Golden Retriever for his job as an emotional support dog for Cheryl's husband Michael.  In Chapter 8, Ross, a certified dog trainer and Director of Training for Canine Dimensions North Chicago region, describes some of the work she did with Oliver:

“I started working with Oliver when he was about eight weeks old. The window for socialization runs until they are about five months old. My first goal was to get Oliver up to American Kennel Club “Canine Good Citizen” standards. I wanted him to have good manners, be polite, and act appropriately wherever he went, no matter whom he was with. He had a little more training specific to being an Emotional Support Animal, so he’d stay close to Michael, literally touching him much of the time, place his head on Michael’s lap to help keep Michael calm as needed, and do things like “hold stay” for two hours so he could go on plane trips.

We were laying the groundwork for all of this starting at two months old. But the key piece when he was so young was introducing him to as many people and situations as possible. While working with me, he was exposed to at least 300 people, 60 friendly dogs, and wide range of environments, medical equipment, and behaviors. We went to all kinds of dog-friendly events, stores, schools, and parks, anything I could think of. We spent time downtown. We went to the airport.

A lot of this socialization was before we began to work on specific skills with Michael. In the early days, their job was just to form a strong bond. After that, we started the more formal “obedience” training. Like humans, dogs learn best when the process is simple. In this case, keeping it simple meant breaking the process down into smaller piece, and more repetition of each skill. Consistency is the key.

Through this process, Oliver and Michael learned the commands “Come,” “Sit,” “Down,” “Stay,” and “Drop It.” In addition, they mastered “Look” (for Oliver to make eye contact with Michael), “Touch” (for Oliver to gently touch Michael’s hand). “Enough” (Stop what you are doing!), and “Away” (give me a little space). Oliver and Baxter both learned “Go to Your Place” for when someone comes to the door who doesn’t really need a high-energy canine greeting committee.

This collection of commands covers most things that come up for most dogs and their people. Many dogs need additional training in this or that, specific to their situation and depending on their personalities, behavior and circumstances. A small dog that lives in an apartment and annoys the neighbors with barking can be taught to stop barking on command, for example.

Some dogs are trained specifically as service dogs for people with Alzheimer’s, which is mainly to help with a person who wanders or gets lost. But Oliver’s job is different – he’s for company, calming and comfort."