Kids and dogs: bite prevention at home

The AVMA says millions of people in the United States are bitten by dogs each year, hundreds of thousands of them seek medical attention, and about half of all victims are children. The CDC adds that children are more likely than adults to be bitten, that their injuries tend to be more severe, and that most bites to young children happen during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs. Having a dog in the household is itself linked to a higher chance of being bitten.

Breed does not predict it. The AVMA's position is that any dog can bite and that a dog's individual history and behavior matter more than its breed. The reasons it lists are ordinary: defending itself or its space, being scared or startled, sensing a threat, guarding food, a toy or puppies, and feeling unwell or in pain. Veterinary behaviorists writing for VCA add that most aggression toward children is fear-based, and that children under 6 are often bitten in situations involving food or possessions.

The rule every authority agrees on is supervision. The AVMA says never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog, and the CDC says to supervise young children around dogs, even trusted family pets, including while they play. Supervision means an adult in the room watching the dog, not a parent on the phone in the next one. When nobody can watch, the dog goes to its retreat or the child goes somewhere else.

The other four are about the dog's space. Leave a dog that is eating, sleeping or caring for puppies alone, which both the AVMA and the CDC say. Skip wrestling and tug-of-war between children and the dog, which the AVMA says raise the risk of a nip. Let a dog that walks away go; VCA tells children not to pursue it. And give the dog a retreat, a crate or a gated room, that no child enters, where it eats and chews its toys, so the food and possession moments VCA warns about happen out of reach.

Private dog training at Dogtown is one-on-one work with Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist, from $94 a session, and it is the right call when your notes show growls, freezes or guarding around the children. The method is fear- and force-free, and the work starts from why the dog is worried, because a fearful dog needs a different plan from an overexcited one. Polished Pup, 10 weeks and 20 sessions, is built for complex cases including resource guarding. Our private dog training page explains how sessions run.

Start with the vet. The AVMA notes that dogs in pain are more likely to bite and advises seeing a veterinarian if fear or aggression seems unprovoked or excessive. If your dog has bitten anyone, tell us before the daycare evaluation, which decides whether a group suits the dog. Daycare can give the dog a calm day away during Gloucester's February and April school vacation weeks, but it is a break, not a treatment. Keep the city license and rabies certificate current; the AVMA's checklist for anyone bitten begins with asking for proof of rabies vaccination.