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Preschoolers and Pooches
Take Precautions to Ensure a Peaceful Coexistence By Johnathon Allen
Although a dog may be man's best friend, the relationship between dogs and children is a bit more tenuous. Many parents idealize the notion that their child will naturally form a lifelong and loyal kinship with the family pooch, but the reality of dogs and children living together can be considerably less than ideal, even dangerous, if proper precautions are not taken to ensure their peaceful coexistence.
According to Dr. Larry Lachman, animal behavior consultant and author of Dogs on The Couch, dogs are social pack animals by nature and, in order for them to live happily with kids, they must be "properly socialized into the family's pack hierarchy."
"It is important that a dog recognizes the parents as strong benevolent leaders -- as the Alpha Wolves in its pack -- and that the children are seen as non-threatening," says Lachman.
Lachman recommends parents hold off bringing a puppy into the family until their youngest child is at least 7-years-old. This is because children under the age of 7 have poor eye-hand coordination and reflexes, which can make it difficult for them to safely interact with a dog.
"In addition to inadvertently stumbling over pets or grabbing large handfuls of their fur, very young children tend to have an egocentric view of the world that prevents them from empathizing with a puppy that is being hurt by their actions," says Lachman. "Children under the age of 4 sometimes exhibit a 'stuffed animal syndrome' where they treat a pet abusively, as though it were a stuffed animal. A puppy mistreated in this way quickly learns to fear the child. One day, out of fear and a need to protect itself, the puppy snaps, growls or bites. The child instantly stops tormenting the puppy, and the dog-child aggression dynamic is off and running. The pattern continues until the child is injured or becomes noticeably frightened of the dog. Then the parents must make a choice and, naturally, the puppy loses."
