Dog Safety

What You Should Know About Dog Safety

WHEN SAYING HI OR PETTING

• Always ask the owner if it’s OK before you pet the dog.
• If it's OK:
  
  • turn sideways and avoid staring into their eyes
  • hold your arm low and make your hand into a ball or flat with palm up
  • let the dog come to you
  • after allowing the dog to sniff your hand:
    
    • gently pet the side of the dog’s neck, chest and body avoiding the top of the head and tail
    • avoid hugging or kissing the dog

DON’T

• stare or put your face close
• sneak up or startle
• hit, push, pull their fur/tail/ears
• climb on or ride a dog
• tease with food or toys
• yell, make loud noises or be rowdy
• run near a dog
• crowd or back a dog into a corner
• reach or lean over a dog

LEAVE A DOG ALONE IF THEY ARE

• without their owner
• inside a fence/gate or tied in a yard, even if you know them
• eating food/bone or playing with a toy in their crate, hiding, sleeping, sick or nursing puppies
• barking or growling
• a service dog
• playing with another dog

IF CHASED OR ATTACKED

• Stay still, cross your arms across your chest, and look at the ground.
• We want the dog to be bored and go away so avoid looking at the dog, making noise or running.
• If you are on the ground or get knocked down, curl up and cover your face and stomach.

Resources

Dog Safety Tip Card

Print and share these tips with friends and family:

• English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)

Learn More About Dog Safety

Trusted insights from KidsHealth.org, the No.1 most-visited health site for children, created by the experts at Nemours.

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