Being a dog owner is an exciting responsibility, but one that should always prompt you to consider the possibility of what might happen if your dog were to be involved in a serious biting incident. Understanding the precautions you can take could minimize your exposure to potential risks in the event of an accident.
What to Do to Prevent Accidents and Injuries
There are different things that kids can learn, that parents can implement and that owners can keep in mind when it comes to protecting their dog and minimizing their chances of a potential lawsuit. One of the most important things that dog owners can do is to neuter or spay their dog. This is because neutered pets are much more likely to be healthy, calm, and less aggressive.
Neutering pets also prevents unwanted dogs who might end up growing up in conditions where they are poorly socialized or end up being aggressive as a result of where they were raised. Conditioning your dog for the world is a good step to take if you were the owner of a pet. Allow your puppy plenty of positive new experiences and use positive methods for training purposes.
Prepare Your Dog for Social Interaction
Getting your puppy adjusted to being around other people is a very powerful step to take in the training process, but remember to always keep an eye your dog at all times. It is especially important to monitor your pet in front of children. Never let children to kiss or hug any dog and treat your children how to interact with other pets appropriately. Another positive step you can take in the right direction to minimize your own exposure to liability is to train your dog.
Consider enrolling your dog in obedience classes where teaching in the form of positive reinforcement is used. Never choke, shake, pin or hold down a dog in an effort to teach it a lesson. Dogs that are treated in this manner are much more likely to rely on their aggressive nature. Never allow children to punish the dog, instead condition the dog to enjoy the actions in the presence of children using positive experiences and redirection when the dog is engaging in dangerous or unwanted behavior.
Never assume that your pet is good with kids. It is most dangerous for dogs to interact with children as young as toddlers. If a toddler needs to interact with a dog, you should always hold onto the dog, too. You should never take a chance if your dog has never bitten or if you believe that your dog is great with kids. Teach your children, how to properly interact not just with your dog but with other dogs they come into contact with.
Train them that dogs do not like people to run up on them, suddenly touch them without any prompting, and a dog should never be teased. Children should also be informed of the appropriate way to react if a strange dog approaches them.
Children should be taught to stand still like a tree, which will lead the dog to get bored and eventually go away. The more that children can understand the potential risks associated with interacting with the dog they do not know, the less likely it is that they will suffer a serious injury or a dog bite. You can greatly decrease your chances of ending up in a dog bite injury lawsuit by teaching your children how to properly interact with other dogs, but also protecting your own pet from winding up as the subject of one of these lawsuits. If you have already been seriously injured by a dog bite consulting with an attorney is your next step.
