How to keep your kids safe around dogs, part 1

Rule #1

Don’t stare! Do break eye contact or look away.

Prolonged eye contact, anything longer than two seconds, is considered aggression in any mammal other than humans. Now, dogs will take prolonged eye contact from us (the humans), but they wont take prolonged eye contact from other dogs. There is something about the domestication process that allows dogs to compensate for our mammalian weirdness. With that said, not all dogs compensate at the same level. I know some dogs that stare lovingly into their human’s eyes, and I also met a chihuahua that would growl the moment you hit that 2 second mark. Every dog is different (I say this a lot in my business,) but if you look at your dog and they break eye contact after two seconds, they may be sensitive to prolonged eye contact. Wild animals are particularly sensitive to this. You stare at a moose or bear here in Alaska, and you have already given one signal that you’re aggressive. Seriously, break eye contact. Especially when photographing. Nervous/anxious dogs are generally more sensitive to this as well, along with dogs that were not raised inside the home such as sled dogs.

If your having trouble finding that balance between dog and kid in your own home, please reach out, I can help.

Hope this knowledge finds you well.

Have a Barking Good Day!