How anticipating relationships between dogs and children can help prevent disasters.

T he benefits of having a family dog are substantial. Dogs can provide love, acceptance, and companionship for all members of the family, particularly young children. 1,2 Children who have pets read more and engage in more social interactions than those without pets. 3 Having a good relationship with a pet can also help teach a child to be more humane. 4 Despite these benefits, an estimated 3 to 4.5 million dog bites occur annually in the United States, 5 and 50% of these involve children less than 14 years old. 5,6 Unfortunately, bite prevention efforts often focus on legislation that restricts or condemns dogs, 7-9 rather than approaches that foster relationships between dogs and children that are based on mutual deference, respect, and communication. Although extensive literature on the medical sequelae of dog bites to humans exists, we do not really know why dogs bite children. Dog bite data in general are incomplete; demographic information about the dogs involved is scant, and broad conclusions are drawn on the basis of generalities about breeds. Unless the dogs involved have a known behavioral diagnosis, we are poorly equipped to draw any conclusions about which dogs will bite and when. Little or no research has been conducted concerning the characteristics of children' s and dogs' behaviors associated with most incidents. 15 Information about these behaviors could provide us with critical insight into interactions between children and dogs and help prevent dog bites. Despite the absence of hard data, considerable advice has been given in the veterinary and medical literature regarding interactions between dogs and children. 2,10,16-20 These recommendations (Appendix 1) assume that the dogs involved are " normal " and interact with " normal, " attentive, and supervised children. While the basic advice appears sound, it has not been effective at preventing dog bites. Such didactic recommendations do not consider developmental variables that affect the way children and dogs relate to each other, nor do they consider the compatibility of their temperaments. Addressing these considerations as part of a comprehensive family wellness program could further reduce risk and injury. Anticipating interactions between dogs and children is possible only with an understanding of age-specific dog and child behavior. Once the norm of age-specific responses has been defined, factoring in environmental variables such as individual temperament, previous experience, and locale of interaction may enable us to predict what may actually happen between a specific …