When your children rush over to play with a dog, you may not immediately feel like they are in a vulnerable or dangerous situation.
However, there are several reasons why dogs can leave your children with major physical injuries. Knowing the source of dog attacks and how they can harm young children can help you make the best choices possible.
Heightened sense of fear
According to Forbes, some dogs can quickly become agitated because they are constantly on edge and waiting for a threat. They may have had bad interactions with other people that the owner failed to tell you about.
This kind of poor socialization and bad associations can leave children defenseless against bites when a dog tries to harm others. Most dogs are stronger and faster than a vast majority of children, which puts these children at risk whenever an interaction happens.
Improper training
A lack of prior interaction with humans can contribute to this problem. When dogs go for long periods of time without being properly trained, they can react in inappropriate ways to innocent interactions with children or new people.
Prior owners or scary interactions with other animals can make the dogs slow to adapt to new places and people.
Misunderstandings and miscommunication
An owner may not properly read the dog’s reactions and assume nothing is wrong when the dog is actually displaying signs of anger or fear. Being able to notice growling and warning signs that a bite may happen soon is important, especially if an owner brings their dog outside to interact with other people.
Knowing what leads up to a bite can help you if your children are suffering from complications with a dog.