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Home › Articles › Pets › My Toddler Won't Leave Our Pet Alone!

My Toddler Won't Leave Our Pet Alone!

Keeping Children and Pets Safe

By Keath Castelloe Low

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Role playing is a fun way to teach your toddler appropriate behavior around your pet. "A child can pretend to be a dog or cat while an adult mimics the child," Dr. Feinman says. Take turns playing each role and give your child lots of positive feedback for appropriate behaviors.

Veronica Sanchez, a dog behavior consultant and professional dog trainer in Virginia, states that "one of the reasons children are bitten more often than adults is because normal child body language and behavior are often frightening to a dog." She recommends parents teach their children the following safety rules:

  • Walk, never run.
  • Use a normal speaking voice; no yelling and screaming.
  • Respect a dog's space; walk around – not step over – a sleeping dog.
  • Keep their faces away from a dog's face. Most dogs do not enjoy hugs.
  • Respect a dog's signs of stress. Children need to leave a stressed dog alone.

Sanchez notes that it is important to give your animal breaks away from children. "Just like people, dogs need quiet time," Sanchez says. The same is true of other pets.

If you've tried everything and your child continues to interact with your pet in an unsafe or dangerous way, it may be time to find your pet a new home. This can be a temporary arrangement until your child matures and develops more self control.

"No pet should be made to suffer unnecessarily," Dr. Feinman says. "Every pet has his limits to its own tolerance and even the kindest, most reliably patient animal has a breaking point."

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