Hey people we need to talk!

Why do so many children get bitten by dogs every year?  Perhaps because too many grown up people just do not understand  us dogs? or  maybe even worse, they don't understand kids either? I don't know but did you know this?

Millions of people – most of them children – are bitten by dogs every year in the United States.   

I think we need to look at this. It is bad enough when the human kids bite each other. But I think we are getting a bad rap!!!!  We dogs keep getting blamed and it an't fair, nope, not fair at all!!!

The majority of these bites, if not all, are preventable. How much do your really know about dog bites?
Now if we could get a little cooperation we could prevent a bunch of trouble of those hairless human kids.  So I brought in a few friends to help me..

Children shouldn't run up to strange dogs!

Never approach the dog head on but from the side as the dog looks at this as a challenge!

• Only allow children strangers to pet your dogs on there sides or back.
• If a child is swinging  their arms or kicking screaming, this can aggravate a dog.  Walk away, or ask the parents to pick their child up!
• Never allow a child to remove food from a dog or try to play why their eating or a bone!
• Some human kids toys look just like dog toys and that can start a tussle over a toy.
  
•  A ball  a child can use is safer so teach kids to play with a dog with a toy,  not food.
  
• If your dog has an abusive issue seek out a trainer before allowing a child to use a toy to play!(oh and how about a trainer for the kid too?)
  
• Teach your child. Do not run this makes you look like pray! If a bite was to happen to ball up on the ground head into knees put there hands over the back of there necks to keep the neck safe and face! If they cant ball up lay on there belly face pushed into the ground and hands over the back of neck!

Dog Bite Emergencies

If you are bitten by a dog, here is a checklist of things you should do:

o    If the dog's owner is present, request proof of rabies vaccination, and get the owner's name and contact information.

o    Clean bite wound with soap and water as soon as possible.

o    Consult your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if it's after office hours.

o    Contact the dog's veterinarian to check vaccination records.

Fear Biting
HEY GUYS WE ARE HERE TO TELL YOU WHY SOME OF US GET WHAT YOU GUYS CALL AGGRESSIVE... SOME TIMES THAT JUST MIGHT DEPENDING ON WHAT SIDE OF THE PICTURES YOUR TALKING ABOUT.

NOW first you need to remember we are dogs, and we have thousands of years of love for humans but we are not human we are dogs... so there are some dog behaviors that are normal for dogs that would not be acceptable for humans..

We think we are just totally misunderstood at times...For instance FEAR Biting...

This is a separate problem, caused by a fearful and submissive dog that feels cornered. It indicates an extremely poor temperament and possible abuse.(This is probably not a safe dog to have around children either!)  To deal with a fear-biter (evidenced by a dog that bites/threatens to bite but has its ears laid back along its head rather than facing forward), first you have to deal with the insecurity and temperament of the dog. This kind of dog has no self-confidence at all, hence its ready alarm at normally innocuous situations.
You need to build up its confidence: pay close attention to understand exactly what sets it off (some are afraid of men, men with beards, people holding something in their hand, small children, etc) and for now, remove that from its environment. Do some training or other work with it to build up its confidence (the training in this case becomes a vehicle for praising the dog). Then work slowly on its fear.  You should really enlist professional help to deal with a fear biter unless you are experienced with dogs. This kind of dog takes lots of patience and careful reading and may never become trustworthy. If you cannot resolve its problems, consider having it destroyed; don't pass it along to someone else to become a problem for that person.

Biting:   It is natural for young puppies to bite and chew on people; however DON'T let them do this.

If your dog is a puppy, yelp pitifully when it chomps on you, and replace your hand with a chew toy; praise heartily when the chew toy is used instead. If it persists, stand up and stop playing with it. It is no fun for the puppy if you stop interacting with it, and it will learn to stop chewing on you fairly quickly.

With older puppies and dogs, say "NO BITE" sternly and withdraw your hand.
If the dog goes through a cycle where it seems to be infuriated by your correction and returns ever more aggressively to chew on you, call a timeout and put the dog where it can't get to you, preferably its crate. When it calms down, let it back and be prepared to interrupt the cycle if it starts again.

Never put up with a puppy biting or mouthing you. When they are adult, the problem will be far more severe. Teach your dog that people have higher status than she does. Do not allow the dog to be on the couch or bed or in other places where humans sit or sleep. Do not let your dog stand up and put her front paws on your shoulders. (And teach your kids respect for us dogs !!!)

Do not let your dog jump up on people jump up on people at all. If the dog is going to jump up, ask her to sit or to lie down. When you come to a doorway, ask the dog to sit; then you go first and the dog follows. You should be the one to initiate playtime and decide when it will end.

Avoid any games like 'tug-of-war' that may encourage your dog to be possessive about a toy. Practice having your dog come to you and 'drop' or 'give' whatever she is carrying. Any game of fetch should end with the dog giving the toy back to you, so that you 'win.'  This would be very important if children are around..

At mealtimes, prepare the dog's food, but do not give it right away. When the family has finished eating, make the dog sit and wait until you place the dish down and say "ok."  For any of these exercises to help, they must be used consistently, and the whole family needs to be involved. Owners need to  be prepared to work at it for the rest of the dog's life. Once a dog has learned to defer to people, there are additional exercises which can be used. These are designed to 'desensitize' the dog to the situation in which it has shown aggression (for example, at feeding time or during grooming). These exercises can be very effective if done correctly.

Also be aware that older dogs when they have a puppy bothering them will first growl to tell the pup to go away when it doesn't it will nip at the pup, until it stops the behavior... well the dogs see the young kids as pups and tries to tell the kid to leave him alone And what do humans think.... they scream the dog bit my child..... well if the child was not in the dogs face that would not happen...

NOW LETS PLAY SAFE   and enjoy each others company.....

You might like to read more from these links
Directory of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists - www.animalbehavior.org
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior - www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/