Dog Safety Tips for Kids

While a pet dog can become a young child's best friend, it's important to instruct your child in how to behave appropriately in order to ensure the safety of both the pet and the child. There are numerous resources on the Internet that offer tips and training to help children become responsible pet-owners, while learning to be cautious around animals with which they're unfamiliar.

Be a Tree

• The Be a Tree program is an interactive presentation that takes a light-hearted -- but educational -- approach to teaching children how to interpret a dog's behavior and body language in order to keep themselves safe. The program is administered by Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization devoted to dog-bite prevention. It includes a special kit for use by teachers, including photos, fun games and activities that teach kids how to "be a tree" and act safely and responsibly around dogs.

WAGS for Dogs

• In addition to an online quiz that measures how much a child knows about dog safety, the website SafeKidsSafeDogs.com offers a mnemonic device called WAGS that offers four tips for dog safety: Wait --- always wait for an adult to come and help before approaching a strange dog; Ask --- always ask permission from a dog's owner before trying to pet it; Gentle --- take a gentle approach when petting a dog; and Slow --- move slowly and cautiously when meeting and petting a dog, especially one your child has never encountered before.

BarkBytes

• On BarkBytes.com, child safety consultant Sheila Blythe-Saucier provides a tip sheet of things children need to keep in mind when interacting with dogs. These include: never run up to a dog; never try to pet a dog who is growling or showing its teeth; don't attempt to touch a dog while it's eating or gnawing on a bone or toy; and never pull a dog's tail or behave in a physically aggressive manner, as this will cause the animal to become defensive.

Bark Busters

• "The Bark Busters Guide to Dog Behavior and Training" (produced by a Toronto-based dog-training company called Bark Busters) provides a number of preventative tips for parents. Among these are: Never leave a child -- especially an infant -- alone with a dog; don't allow a child to feed a dog without supervision; don't allow a child to pull on the dog's collar to lead it outside; if going through a door or gate, ensure your child always goes before the dog; and never let children attempt to discipline a dog, as dog-training concepts can be complex for young children and could confuse the dog.