Behavior

Summertime Safety with Kids and Pets

Stacy Mantle 11 years ago

Summer is upon us which means the kids are all going to be hanging out at home all day. That can result in some elevated stress levels for your pets. It’s your responsibility to make this change as easy as possible on your dogs, your cats and your kids.

Here are some ways that you can implement responsibility and training into one fun and easy lesson.

(Don’t forget to download our free .pdf below that you can keep posted on your door when visitors arrive in your home).

[heading style=”1″ color=”#996633″ style_color=”#996633″]Having Children in Your Home When You Have Pets[/heading]

It doesn’t matter how well-trained your pets are, there are circumstances that can try the most patient of pets. Play dates can be super stressful on animals and that’s when most dog bites occur.

Nearly 4.7 million dog bites occur each year, and over 70% of dog bite fatalities occur in children under ten years old. Not only is this dangerous for the child, it’s dangerous for the owners who face certain legal prosecution and the possibility of being sued by the parents of the injured child.

Since many children have no experience in dealing with other animals, it’s important to set up some ground rules from the second they walk through your door. We have created a graphic that we invite you to display in your home.

As soon as children come over, review the rules of playing with your pets. Doing this just may save you a lawsuit, a trip to the hospital or worse, long-term damage and even death to a child.

Remember that other children may not know how to be around animals, particularly your animals. Some have never had dogs or cats at all, so it’s always a good idea to introduce them slowly and train them thoroughly (the kids and the animals).

[box title=”These are some of the rules we have in our home:” box_color=”#996633″]

No tail or fur pulling
No chasing or running away from pets
No rough handling of pets
Never put your face near the face of an animal
Never disturb pets that are sleeping
Never feed an animal without adult supervision
Never take away a toy or food bowl from pets
Never leave doors or windows open

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Whenever you have other children over, it’s important that they understand the rules and the first rule begins teaching your own kids to work. Here are some things to implement easily and effectively that will help your two-legged kids take responsibility for your four-legged kids.

Download this helpful chart to train visiting children what is expected in a home of animals.