04/08/2025
Teaching Our Kids Matters, For Their Safety and Our Dogs’ Wellbeing 🐾👣
As parents and now for me, as a grandparent, we do everything we can to give our children the best start in life: education, social skills, empathy, and resilience. But one area that is often overlooked is how we teach them to interact safely and respectfully with animals, especially dogs.
From the moment my granddaughter could interact with our four family dogs, we’ve guided her in how to:
✅ Respect their space when they’re eating or resting
✅ Walk calmly with them
✅ Use a hand target to engage positively
She’s only 2 years old..... YES, 2!!! and already learning to build relationships based on mutual respect.
Working within the rescue sector, and also being one of the Trustees and Founders of UK Spaniel Rescue, I’ve seen the heartbreaking side of when this respect is missing. Too often, bite histories involve young children. Not out of aggression, but because the dog’s signals were missed or misunderstood.
It often starts innocently:
💬 "Aww, look how close they are!"
💬 "So cute, they’re sharing the bed!"
💬 "Look, she’s hugging the dog!"
Then something happens...
💔 “I can’t believe it, our dog bit our child. It came out of nowhere.”
But did it?
Dogs communicate discomfort through subtle signs:
👀 Whale eye (whites of the eyes showing)
😬 Lip licking
🥱 Yawning
👀 Looking away
Often these warnings go unnoticed because we’re too focused on how cute the moment looks instead of how the dog feels.
So here’s the message I want to share:
➡️ Be your child’s AND your dog’s advocate.
➡️ Learn about dog body language together.
➡️ Teach respect, not just affection.
That’s how we build genuine, safe, and loving relationships between children and dogs for life. 💓🐶👧👣 After all, our children will more than likely be the dog owners of the future.
The video below, in the first part is my daughter and granddaughter walking their dog and the second part is a clients son training with their dog in our 'Foundation Lifeskills' course.
