To think learning how to behave around dogs should be part of the national curriculum

[Itsadogsworld]

I think schools should teach children how to behave around dogs, canine body language and so on. I think it would significantly reduce the number of children that end up in A&E each year due to dogs bites. I’ve seen some dreadful behaviour in my local park where children will run up to my dog and one child was continually trying to bear hug her own dog. Children clearly aren’t being taught this at home so I think they should include it in schools. I welcome your thoughts on this.

It's 100% a parents responsibility. But the issue is loads of parents think it's ok for their DC to maul their dogs or other peoples dogs because they themselves have no clue about dogs.

My dog has been trained. He recalls on command and sits, stays etc. It is up to me to keep him away from others, it is not up to me to keep children wanting to maul him away. That is the parents job and the vast majority of the time they're lacking.

If I’d wanted to learn about and teach children about canine behaviour, I would have chosen a career working with animals-not teaching.

I would much rather dog owners have to get a licence and attend mandatory training before they can buy a dog.

I'd rather we got rid of kids tbh

@Fomofo

Why own an animal that could do that to kids

Because some dogs are working guard dog breeds (I had one) and when not being poked and messed around by some out of control oik (or someone's little darling that can do no wrong) they are fine. Because mine was trained well I would shout at the child to back off and the dog would bark to order (just like the police use in crowd control) and the child learned a brief and important lesson. I got some odd looks from parents at the back off then panicked dragging away of child at the bark. Although at all times the dog is under control the only thing out of control is the child who learns to respect the dog. This was a very well trained dog who was a good pet and it is absolutely up to the owners that their dog is trained and not off a lead when appropriate. However it goes both ways and other people need to respect the dog. If your dog is the sort that will bound up to people or has no recall then it should be leashed.

Oh please OP! It's an owner's responsibility to train their dog properly, and a parent's responsibility to train their child properly. I mean, it's not like schools don't already have enough to do...

I would be much more interested in focusing on owners responsibilities to keep their dogs under control.

Ive had 3 dogs try to jump up on me in 2weeks. It's ridiculous. One was on a lead! Owners need more control of their dogs. As families should be able to go for a walk in the woods/fields without this happeni ng. I dont like it. It scares some kids and makes the dog/owner seem out of control. some
And obviously muddy paws too.
My youngest was very scared of them.for no real reason but may have been dogs approaching pushchair when she was little.

Also i recently read though the dog attack fatalities listed on wiki and most were either.
family pet where say they brought a newborn home or young child
Or say someone having an epileptic fit (there were at least 2 of those)!

The more I think about the better OP’s idea seems.

Teaching about dogs, and also maybe about other animals the children might come across, such as horses, deer, birds, while in school and by someone who knows what they are talking about, not some poor sod of a teacher who has been volunteered for it will help children feel confident and comfortable and will teach them to respect other living creatures.
It will also make them better dog owners in the future.

@Howshouldibehave

I can imagine this would eventually lead to litigation cases where it is suggested children weren’t taught well enough to cope with dogs and one still got hurt! Lazy teachers just couldn’t be arsed to do it properly etc

Shall we add it to the list of other things people think primary school teachers should do for their pupils…

Clean their teeth so it’s done properly
Apply sun cream
Brushing their hair
Check for nits
Teach road safety, first aid and Makaton
Teach an instrument to a very high standard (free)
Teach a language to a very high level (free)
Teach a sport to a very high standard (free)

Or, you know, maybe-parents should try doing these things.

I actually saw a job advertised teaching children to brush their teeth.

www.orkney.com/life/jobs

I took DCs to a child/dog safety class run by the Dogs Trust when Ddog was a puppy.
I would recommend for all children.
It was very practical and they had a stuffed dog for demonstration.
Lots of really useful and fun learning which kids still remember 4 years on.
However it is dog owners responsibility to have dogs which are safe.
It is difficult though: Ddog is totally trustworthy, but a neighbours child kept running up to her shouting her name, and then when Ddog approached her screaming and running away.
I think both her and her parents could do with some dog safety training.
I did ask her not to do it but it made no difference.

It is all down to entitlement vs. responsibility imho. Parents and dog owners need to take responsibility for their kids | dogs and control these behaviours.

However out of control dogs do appear to be a growing problem leading to an increase in bites, livestock attacks and getting run over in the road (I have had a couple throw themselves under my wheels).

Teaching about dogs, and also maybe about other animals the children might come across, such as horses, deer, birds, while in school and by someone who knows what they are talking about, not some poor sod of a teacher who has been volunteered for it

That would be wonderful, but sadly, the government would never provide funding to pay for schools to hire someone who knows what they are talking about!

Schools can’t afford supply teachers, scheduled pay rises, new reading books or to mend the broken roof out of the existing budget!

Obviously the list doesnt cover all the attacks and bites.
But the deaths are not really person petting random dog or kids not knowing about dogs because the majority are family pets or a few older neighbours where a dog escaped. A few are the banned breeds.
Personally i dont think someone who has a banned breed with kids around has any sense whatsoever (though it could happen with any dog and many are not attacking people).
Probably advising kids dont have friends over with their dog in the house and no adults would make sense.

Victim blaming, not everyone wants to love dogs, every dog isn't automatically breed with a good nature, dogs are over breed, decreasing human birth rates for the environment is great but when they're not being replaced with 6 meat eating puppies it defeats the purpose.

My DC were terrified DD had a bad experience and DS learned from her scared reaction, thankfully with the help of some calm dogs they're okay now.

It’s definitely a parent and dog owner issue and both have responsibility. It would be great if charities like the Dogs Trust could run sessions in schools but let’s face it there’s enough to cram into the school day as it is! It is absolutely not the responsibility of teachers.

Personally, and I may get flamed for saying this, I think all dogs should be leashed in a public urban park unless their recall is immaculate, but this is not the reality unfortunately. Children should be taught by parents to never approach or speak to dogs without the owner’s permission and sadly that’s not the reality either.

@FlyingPandas

It’s definitely a parent and dog owner issue and both have responsibility. It would be great if charities like the Dogs Trust could run sessions in schools but let’s face it there’s enough to cram into the school day as it is! It is absolutely not the responsibility of teachers.

Personally, and I may get flamed for saying this, I think all dogs should be leashed in a public urban park unless their recall is immaculate, but this is not the reality unfortunately. Children should be taught by parents to never approach or speak to dogs without the owner’s permission and sadly that’s not the reality either.

You shouldn't get flamed for that. I have a dog and he goes off lead. Untrained dogs are the bane of my dog's life. If dogs don't have perfect recall they shouldn't be allowed off lead unless in an enclosed field. Full stop.

@Comedycook

Perhaps dog owners could be taught to keep their animals under control and away from people

Perhaps parents could be taught to keep their kids under control and away from dogs.

Neither is in reality possible all of the time! Dogs have the mental of a 3 year old! Both kids and dogs need to be taught how to be around each other! They will inevitably have contact and some people are really unrealistic about this.

Would all the parents insisting that dogs should be trained never to react to ANY child behaviour such as grabbing, pulling fur, hugging, throwing themselves on them, punching etc like to volunteer their children to be the ones the dogs can practise with? I’ll give my dog a treat while your kid sneaks up on him and hurts him and we’ll see who gets a sharp lesson. That’s how you train a dog - repetition and treats while something happens. No? Thought not. You could actually parent instead. And I’m not talking about the dogs that are jumping on your child - I completely agree that that’s an owner’s responsibility and they should definitely be trained better (owner and dog!). But you have responsibility for stopping your child putting itself in possible danger too.

i don't think its necessarily the JOB of a school to teach kids dog etiquette, thats something parents should be instilling from the very beginning.

However, i do think dogs in schools are actually a good thing, my kids primary had a school therapy dog, and he went a LONG way towards helping kids learn how to handle them, on top of his other work of being a therapy dog.

Sorry haven't RTFT but you lost me when you said there's no such thing as a dangerous breed. Absolute rubbish.

My DC was attacked by an off lead dog. My child was a toddler and we were sitting in a picnic area eating some sandwiches. DC had not even looked at the dog.

When I was a child I was attacked by a dog that ran hell for leather out of the open door of a house while I was walking past it.

My DH's dog many years ago was set upon by another dog. DH's dog was on lead and it took the combined efforts of DH, MIL and PIL to get this dog off their dog.

ALL of these incidents have the breed in common (not one that is banned in UK). They also have terrible owners in common, obviously.

Judging by the comments by people who think their children are angels who can do no wrong... maybe if your school was having lessons like the OP suggested, then you should go along too.

What is wrong with telling kids that if a dog is showing its teeth, or growling, has whale eye etc, that they need to leave it alone?
Dogs don't speak, so they can't say "please leave me alone". What is wrong with telling kids not to pull ears/tails, climb over dogs or approach strange ones in the park?
Why should this be all on the dog owner? Like some PP have said, they have had stranger's children harass their dogs.

When I was a kid, I got nipped by a relative's dog. I had tugged on its ear. Totally my fault, and the dog was not punished.

I think owners need to train their dogs not the react to children being children.

What is wrong with telling kids that if a dog is showing its teeth, or growling, has whale eye etc, that they need to leave it alone?

Nothing. Parents can teach their children what they like.

I agree, but I also think children should be taught about responsible pet ownership.

Like don’t get a dog until you can afford to have insurance, vaccinations, provide adequate space (eg a large secure garden) and either send it to doggy daycare or have someone at home with it. The importance of training it. It should be drummed into children that you NEVER inflict a dog on other people, meaning it’s on a lead until it has perfect recall and doesn’t approach random people or pets ‘for a sniff’. It doesn’t get under people’s feet or knock anyone off balance.

I also think children should be educated about the hazards of owning certain breeds (such as bull breeds and other large powerful breeds bred for fighting and guarding). And how in-breeding has led to awful health problems for some breeds, like the French bulldogs who gasp for air.

Dog ownership should be presented as a luxury, a well thought out and planned decision, not a spur of the moment ‘let’s buy a cute puppy’.