Dogs are usually friendly, but in some situations, they can feel threatened and attack as a result. Some dog owners have had originally calm dogs start to develop aggression. It’s important to learn about what causes dogs to feel threatened in order to prevent those situations from happening and to handle them correctly when they do. Three other keys to ways to keep yourself and others safe around dogs are training them, vaccinating them and leashing them outside.
Train Your Dogs
The most important thing you can do to keep yourself and others safe is training your dogs. Simple commands like stay, sit and lie down make a huge difference in keeping your dog under control. You may need the help of a dog trainer to do this correctly. If a dog doesn’t consistently obey the command, then it isn’t trained.
Vaccinate Them
According to the Atlanta Humane Society, vaccinating your dogs is important not only for your safety and others’ safety but for the dogs too. Puppies are prone to illnesses like parvo that can kill them if they aren’t vaccinated when they should be. Untreated parvo, a highly contagious illness among dogs, has a mortality rate of 91 percent.
Be Especially Careful Around Children
According to Boohoff Law, many of the worst pet-related injuries involve small children that don’t understand how to avoid dogs displaying potentially dangerous behavior. You need to keep a close eye on children when they are around dogs, even your own dogs. Your dog doesn’t intend to hurt your child, but accidents happen. The reverse is also true. Young children sometimes accidentally hurt the dog because they still don’t understand the correct way of handling them. You’ll keep both your children and your dog safe by supervising their interactions. Babies should never be left unattended around dogs either because dogs might not realize the difference in strength.
Leash Them Outside
Even the most well-behaved dog can get distracted by another dog or chase after a squirrel if you take them outside off of a leash. They may jump on other people or become aggressive toward others who don’t understand dog psychology. Dogs also don’t know to watch for traffic, so they could be hit by a car when you don’t have them on a leash. You will also decrease the chance your dog becomes exposed to life-threatening illnesses like parvo and distemper because you can prevent them from interfering with feces they find.
Dogs provide wonderful companionship when you know how to properly take care of them. Part of taking care of your dogs involves being aware of safety tips and understanding dog psychology. All dogs should be trained, monitored around small children and babies and leashed when outside.