Dog Chasing Kids
Dogs sometimes chase kids, which can be scary. The Dog Trainer has a simple way for kids to keep themselves safe if a dog chases them. Most chasing dogs will go away if you just get boring!
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
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Dog Chasing Kids
Recently, I had a Q&A session with the children of our own Mighty Mommy, who asked me all sorts of fun and clever questions about dogs and why do what they do. Check out the episode on the following link. One of the kids told me that a dog in their neighborhood gets loose sometimes and chases kids. What should the kids do? And what if the dog bites them?
This episode is for any kid who’s ever been worried about what a dog might do to you.
Most Dogs Won’t Hurt You, Even If They Chase You
The most important thing to know is that most dogs, even dogs who chase kids, don’t mean to hurt you. Here’s what usually happens: Lots of dogs get excited by things that move fast, including people and animals. You might have noticed how grown-ups often kind of trudge along, whereas kids run and jump? That makes kids much more thrilling for excitable dogs.
See also: Case Study: The Child-Chasing Terrier
Usually, when somebody’s chasing us, we try to run away. But most dogs can run faster than most people, so running away doesn’t work so well. The dog gets more and more excited and might start to grab at the running person’s clothes or their feet or their hands. That’s where things really can get dangerous.
To Get a Dog to Leave You Alone, Be Boring!
But remember that most dogs aren’t chasing you to hurt you. There are things you can do to turn off the dog’s chasing. It’s like this: Dogs get excited by fast-moving things. So what happens if you stop being a fast-moving thing? You get much less exciting. Here’s what to do:
Stand still. Since excitable dogs may chase moving hands, your hands need to be still, too. You can leave them at your sides, or fold them under your arms if that feels better to you. Try as hard as you can to ignore the dog completely. Now you’re not moving, you’re not saying anything, and you’re not talking to the dog or looking at him. Guess what? You are boring. An excited dog will probably still run up to you. He might even jump up a couple of times – I mean, where’d all the action go? He’ll probably sniff you for a little while. But soon he’ll get bored by your boring self, and go away again. Once the dog is gone, you can walk away too. Remember, walk, don’t run!
Tell an Adult About the Loose Dog
It’s important to tell your parent or another friendly adult what happened. That’s especially true if the same dog gets loose more than once. In most places, it’s illegal to let a dog run loose except maybe in certain parks or on hiking trails. Loose dogs can scare people and other animals. Also, a dog who’s running around loose might get hit by a car or hurt in some other way. If you let an adult know what happened, that person can speak with the dog’s guardian and ask him to be more careful. Or, if the dog is often loose, your parent or adult friend can call a government “animal control” office to help deal with the problem. The animal control office should also be told if a loose dog bites a person or another animal.
Teasing Dogs Can Be Very Dangerous
When you’re dealing with dogs, it’s also important to be responsible for your own behavior. Some children will bark at dogs in their yards or at dogs on leash. Some children tease dogs – running past them to get them riled up, or throwing things at them. This is mean. Teasing dogs is like being a bully. If you’ve ever been bullied, you know how angry and upset it can make you, especially if nobody sticks up for you. Dogs are a lot like us in this way. They get angry and frustrated when people tease them. Dogs who are teased can be very dangerous if they get loose.
See also: What to Do About a Bossy Dog?
What About Dogs Who Bark at You While You Walk Past?
The best way to deal with dogs who are out in their yards and barking at you, or maybe barking in the window of their house, is to pay them no attention. These dogs are already excited, and probably worried. You’d think that if you passed them every day, they’d get over it, but worried dogs don’t seem to just get over it. I meet many anxious and worried dogs in my work. For most of them, it takes forever for anything to turn into “old news.” These dogs just don’t seem to get used to new people and new things. They start out worried, and they need a lot of help to get to where they don’t stay worried. They do the best when scary new things, like you, act as if they don’t exist. Who knows, maybe being ignored makes them feel invisible. If the scary thing can’t see them, they’re safe!
What If a Dog Bites You?
So, I said right up front that most dogs who chase kids don’t really want to hurt you. They’re just overexcited. But what should you do if a dog does bite you?
To help yourself stay calm, remind yourself that it’s extremely unusual for people to be badly hurt by dogs. You might see stories on the news, but those stories get on the news because it’s so unusual. Many, many, many more people are badly hurt in car accidents. (Wear your safety belt!)
If you’re with an adult, the adult should protect you and get help if you need it. If you’re alone, it’s important to act as calm as you can, even if you’re scared and the bite hurts. Remember that even when dogs bite, they hardly ever bite more than once. Also, dog bites hurt a lot, but most of them just need to be washed out and get a bandage on them. Try hard not to scream or run or wave your arms around, because that might keep the dog going. Look around for a safer place. It could be a store or a neighbor’s house. Walk there. You can stand against a tree to protect your back. Then, if you have a phone with you, you can call 911 for help. If you don’t have a phone, yell “Help!” as loud as you can until somebody hears you. And really – this is a super-unusual situation. One more time: Most dogs who chase you are excited and will go away if you act boring.
I’ve done other podcasts on how people can teach their dogs to like kids, how kids can safely meet new dogs, and how to prevent dogs from biting kids. I did those episodes for adults, but children can learn from them too, so I invite you to give them a listen.
Barking Dog image from Shutterstock
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).