Today’s blog is inspired by a very sad post I saw on Facebook recently from an Irish dog rescue group about a golden Labrador named Sam.
Sam grew up with his family for the past 9 years until a recent incident occurred:
“…..You see, I had a bit of an argument with a kid, nothing major, I just wanted to be left alone and they weren’t listening. Maybe I had a pain somewhere that day, maybe I wasn’t feeling well, who knows for sure. All I do know is as far as I was concerned, I just did a very normal and responsible doggie thing, but unfortunately they didn’t see it like that, so I had to come here…..”
(You can read the full post here – https://www.facebook.com/madradogrescue?fref=ts )
Reading his story both tugged on my heart strings and enraged me. Situations like this can be easily avoided if parents took the time to educate their children on how to interact with dogs. 99% of the time, dogs give warning signals before lashing out, however 99% of the time children do not know to how recognise these signs. Who is to blame? In my opinion the parents.
Every time I see a news story such as “family dog attacks child” a little bit of me dies inside as it is always the dog who suffers. The negligence of the owners goes unnoticed and the dog is either re-homed or euthanized. If your kid hits or even bites another child in the playground or at school, do you immediately try and re-home them or pawn them off at the local pound? If your answer is no, then why should this be the case with your dog, a beloved part of the family? (If your answer is yes…well…let’s not get into that right now!!)
You don’t need a degree in dog behaviour and psychology to educate your children on how to interact with dogs. A bit of common sense goes a long way. Think about it like this – put yourself in the dog’s position for a moment (no, you don’t need to get down on all fours! 🙂 ). Would you like someone putting their hands in your dinner while you’re eating, screaming in your face, pulling your hair while you’re trying to sleep? No? Neither would your dog. I often hear dog owners / parents say such things as “oh my dog is great with the kids, they pull and tug at him and he never growls, he’s so patient and placid.” Just because the dog doesn’t growl or show their teeth does not mean they are not displaying early warning signs. Yawning, the position of the tail and raised hair on the back can all be early indications that a dog is uncomfortable in a situation.
Having checked back on the Facebook post, Sam’s owners had a change of heart and decided to take him back home. It certainly is great news that he’s back where he belongs, but unfortunately most dogs are not this lucky. So parents and dog owners, please take the time to do a little research and share your internet knowledge with your sons, daughters, nieces and nephews. And just in case you want to start right now, take a look at the below charts I came across on Google (images from drsophiayin.com)
