The Golden Rules: Building Bonds Between Hounds And Children

There  are numerous benefits for children in growing up with a canine  companion. This includes increased social skills, leaning responsibility  and improved mental and physical health.

Even  though greyhounds were not bred with the intention of living with  children, or raised with experience of being around them, they make  remarkable family pets!  As such greyhounds are highly sought after as  family companions due to their passive, gentle and laid-back temperament  that aligns brilliantly with children of a variety of ages.  

As  we have seen on numerous occasions, they do particularly well as  companions to those with special needs!  We have been so grateful to see  many hounds adopted to become therapy dogs, either as companions to  children in the home or in being trained to become school therapy hounds  or PAT dogs!

However, a hound’s  ability to adapt to a household with children depends on several  factors, with one of the most important ones being that the family  acknowledge that both the dog AND the children need to learn how to  interact with each other in a safe way that respects boundaries.

Most  rescues and rehoming centres will refuse to home dogs in general, not  just greyhounds, with children, particularly young children, or will  have age restrictions in place.

This  is based on a lot of factors, quite often relating to the dog’s  behaviour, but also in the fact that most child-dog incidents are the  child’s fault…sorry!

Regarding  greyhound rehoming, many rehoming centres and rescues quite often have  age restrictions because greyhounds do not have any previous experience  with children which comes with an assumption of risk and potential  issues. There is a lot of risk in trusting the children to be understand  boundaries and act responsibly around the dog.

So, to avoid having the dog blacklisted with behavioural issues, they won’t be homed with children in the first place.  

This  can be endlessly frustrating for parents who want to do the right thing  and adopt rather than buy, but in a lot of cases, the children are too  young, and it may be several years before they would be applicable to  adopt from a rehoming centre.  So, they see no option but to either buy a  puppy or get a dog from an alternative route such as off social media  or those dodgy pet sale websites…often with unfortunate outcomes that  end up with the dog being surrendered to rescue anyway!  But that’s a  different issue…and before you come for our heads…we work in the welfare  sector, we see countless cases like this every darn day!

There  have been endless successes in homing dogs with children of all ages  across the board, the majority of hounds we have homed have been with  children but, for it to work, it is essential that you are prepared to  educate and control the children as much as you are prepared to train  and understand the dog.

Children  don’t communicate the same way that adults do, and they don’t always  understand why the family dog doesn’t want or welcome their attention.  Children scream, cry, shout, run around or otherwise make fast  unexpected movements which can unnerve any dog, let alone a greyhound.  Children are also unable to effectively read a dog’s body language to  understand when they are uncomfortable, and often treat them as they  would other children, they will run at/around them, hug them, put their  faces up right up the dogs, reach over them, make staring eye contact,  grab, shout or scold them.

This  is especially true for very young children. Greyhounds (upon entering  the home for the first time) are learning about their new environment,  finding their feet, and figuring out what exactly is expected of them in  this strange new life they are living...just like toddlers!  Who are  themselves exploring their newfound freedom of being able to walk  around, pushing limits and exploring things.

Younger  children insist on close facial contact as a way of displaying  affection, which is fine when done to another human. But this act can be  incredibly threatening for a dog and make them feel very uncomfortable.  As does enveloping the whole dog’s neck or body in a hug or having a  child drape their body over them. These behaviours are a go-to for many  children in approaching a dog, and it is the most likely behaviour to  result in a dog bite.

If the  children are unable to follow the rules you set in place regarding the  dog, you are setting the dog up to fail. Despite their wonderful  temperament, greyhounds are still dogs and like any dog they have all  have individual boundaries and preferences. This is often forgotten  about when they inevitably growl, or even snap, at a child.

Due  to misunderstanding this behaviour, or the context in which it happens,  it quite often results in a knee-jerk panic reaction by worried parents  where they make the decision to return the dog to the rehoming centre,  they adopted them from.

We  appreciate that, particularly for parents, growling can be incredibly  scary, and we wouldn’t expect anyone to maintain a dog in their home  that they do not trust. However, every action a dog carries out has a  motivation, it has a purpose, and it has a root emotional state in which  it has come from. There is a reason that it happened and understanding  what the reason was is the key to preventing it happening again in  future.

These reasons are  sometimes obvious; the child may have innocently launched themselves  onto the dog to play not realising the dog was asleep. It may be less  obvious, such as a low-key environmental stress, changes to routine or  pain that has been building and gone unrecognised leading to a physical  response from the dog.

Unfortunately,  dogs do not speak English. Their main form of communication is through  body language and lot of this language is subtle which means it is  missed in most human-dog interactions.

When  a dog growls the presumption is that they are aggressive or have the  potential to be aggressive. This, in some instances, may be true, but  growling is an expression of discomfort, stress or anxiety that has not  been recognised. From the dog’s perspective, they won’t understand as  they don’t believe they have done anything wrong. They will have given  endless signals in advance of the very first growl that they are  uncomfortable.

We’ve seen it  all, and while some instances are quite clear as to why the hound as  growled or snapped at the child such as one case where the child fell  off a trampoline onto the sunbathing hound, others are less obvious.   Sometimes it is a build up of lots of little things, lots of little  breaches of their boundaries.  These breaches, while they may look cute  and elicit the need to take photos of your hound and child being  adorable together…for the hound, they’re probably low key stressed!

The  average person will not be familiar with canine body language, let  alone a child, so doing some quizzing up on this before taking home your  dog can really help prevent these issues from arising…but preparing the  children should be a top priority! Some of the common behavioural signs  that a dog is uncomfortable that someone is in their space or  approaching them include:

- Turning head away
- Lip Licking
- Yawning
- Whale Eye (eyes bulging/white of the eye showing)
- Stiff facial muscles
- ‘Smiling’
- Rolling over ‘for belly rubs’

A  dog may give the child a ‘kiss’ and then turn away or attempt to move  away. A quick lick (or ‘kiss’) is a displacement behaviour to create  distance and get out of the situation that is making them uncomfortable.  It looks cute and often is misinterpreted as the dog loving the child,  but it is a sign they want out of the situation!  

Similarly,  when a dog rolls over the assumption is they want belly rubs, but it is  quite the contrary in that this behaviour is an often an appeasement  gesture in which they are asking for space and don’t want to be  approached!

Between 8 and 16  weeks of age, puppies go through a crucial developmental stage where  they learn to accept and feel comfortable with different situations,  people, and objects. This is a critical time to introduce children in a  positive, well behaved, and gentle way so that they learn to feel happy  around them.

Greyhounds go  through the same process when they first come home, but in a different  way. Having only ever known kennel life, those first 6-8 weeks in the  home are the same as that developmental puppy...but in fast forward.

As  they are already adult dogs when they come home, they are also  emotionally mature (or as mature as our melodramatic noodle hounds can  achieve) and very comfortable in the lives they knew. When they come  home, they are very overwhelmed, often stressed, and unsettled beyond  just the change of scenery and so children should be asked to remain  calm, not crowd the dog (although having a new dog is endlessly  exciting) and make sure every interaction is a positive one.

We  love using the Trust Bank analogy in explaining to children how to  behave around dogs as it’s a really easy to understand premise and a  really good way to turn good behaviour into a type of game.

Now heard of the Trust Bank or unsure how to explain it to the children? Let us tell you more!

All  dogs open an account with the Trust Bank when they are adopted. When  they first come home this account is empty, but with every Trust Coin  depositing into the account, the dog becomes more trusting and develops a  more positive relationship with the children.

Every  positive interaction that the children have with the dog puts another  Trust Coin into the bank, but every negative interaction withdraws a  Trust Coin from the bank.

In the  beginning, because the dog’s bank account is empty and can only be  filled up with coins through good things happening! So, each time the  children do something good with or for the dog, another Trust Coin goes  into the account. This is essential for building the foundation of the  dog’s trust and tolerance of the children! You want their Trust Account  to be overflowing with coins!

However,  if there are too many negative interactions, the bank account quickly  empties. This means the dog is no longer happy or comfortable around the  children. If the negative interactions keep happening the account will  go over-drawn, the dog’s tolerance will be particularly low, and this is  when the dog is more likely to resort to negative reactions such as  growling or giving warning snaps.

This  is where people typically panic, but going over-drawn does not mean you  can’t top the bank account back up, it just takes a little bit longer  to do so!  Quite often, in changing how you’re managing the dog-child  interactions, encouraging respectful boundaries and incorporating the  children into the care of the dog in a positive way will start to put  money back into the account, rebuilding that bond, and leading to a  successful relationship moving forward.

In  order to utilise the Trust Bank to the fullest extent and ensure  success in integrating a new hound into your home, everyone needs to  follow the golden rules!

- Don’t force your dog to interact/accept children!

There  is this concept that if you hold a dog firmly so they stay still, so  that the children can approach and stroke the dog it will create a  positive impression. This is not the case! It is important to always let  the dog approach the children. By restraining a dog during a child’s  approach, especially if they are unfamiliar with children, creates  tension and anxiety. The dog will feel trapped, and which can cause a  dog to react negatively out of fear. Reactions can include growling,  snapping, or lunging to warn the child away and for them to escape the  situation.

Forcing a dog to  overcome its fears, and uncertainty is not the correct approach. Keep it  positive, allow the dog to come when it’s ready, utilise baby gates or  meet outdoors first. There are numerous ways to positively introduce  your children to the dog, we can help with this.
If  the dog wants attention from the children, it will ask for it but if  they have not, the children should respect the dog’s space to avoid  crowding it. This is important both when settling in and really, for the  dog’s whole life!

- Never leave children unsupervised with the dog!

This  one is self-explanatory. Interactions between dogs and children can  turn into chaos quickly (both in the positive and negative sense!).  Whether the dog has been in the home for 1 day or 1 year, for everyone’s  peace of mind and for both the dog and children’s safety, they should  always be supervised in some fashion.

- Don’t take their things!

This  follows on from the first point and applies to more than just  greyhounds. It is very important that children (and adults for that  matter) don’t just ‘take’ things from a dog. When a dog is settling into  a new environment, it doesn’t necessarily understand what their  belongings are or what belongs to the children. They need to be taught  this; it isn’t automatic. However, children will not be able to identify  the dogs body language, and should they try to take something or take  back their own toys from a dog it can, in some instances, damage the  relationship and trust between the dog and the child and lead to  guarding or other unwanted behaviours.

- Teach your children to interact with the dog at the correct times!

We  often tell people that the children should leave the dog alone, unless  the dog approaches them first. If the dog is openly asking for attention  or to play, then great. But if the dog is on its bed, sleeping, eating,  having treats, or are playing with their toys, they see this as their  personal time.

Sleep is very  important to dogs, especially greyhounds, and if they don’t get enough  rest, just like us humans, they can be grumpy.

- Provide the dog with a ‘safe space’!

Explain  to the children that when the dog is in the safe space it is not to be  disturbed. This is an easy way of establishing boundaries.

- Make sure children are calm and gentle when interacting with the dog!

Don’t  let children climb on the dog, pull their tail or ears, pinch them,  restrain their heads, or force them to look in a certain direction or  force direct facial contact.

Make  sure the children don’t play ‘chase’ or ‘wrestle’ with the dog. As this  could end up with someone getting hurt by accident. It’s essential that  children don’t try to sneak up on, surprise or tease them and  especially not ever hit or hurt them!

When  interacting with the dog it is best for the children to stroke under  the chin rather than reach over and pat the top of the head. Going over  their head can make them anxious, lowering their head. Going from below  raises their head, is non-threatening, and they really really love neck  scratches which instantly makes a positive impression!

But  should the dog run up to them and they feel uncomfortable of or if the  dog is acting too excitable. They should stand still, put their hands  together against their body and look down, standing still until the dog  has lost interest and moved on or until an adult intervenes. Should the  child get knocked over by the dog they should get on their knees, curl  up and cover their head with their hands and arms.

- Build a positive relationship between the dog and children!

As  adults, we are the primary care givers to the dog. We do all the ‘good’  things such as feeding, walking, giving treats and training. These  create a strong bond with the dog, and they look to you for guidance and  reassurance.

Children, who  aren’t involved in these processes, don’t build a relationship with the  dog and therefore there is no foundation for trust. The Trust Bank is  not being paid into. Building a positive relationship from the beginning  is important. Encourage safe play, get the children involved in giving  treats and doing training. Let them help with feeding (supervised) and  although we say don’t let children walk the greyhounds, they can put the  lead on the dog and walk with the dog, which is an easy way to  associate children as a real positive influence in their life.

Having  a full Trust Bank means that if something negative happens, even  accidentally, the dog will know that they still love the children and  will accept and move on from it without feeling the need to act  adversely to it!

Should they act  adversely, try not to panic. As we mentioned, the dog is most likely  not being intentionally aggressive.  It’s a steep learning curve when  taking a new dog home, but the important thing to remember is that it is  possible to work past it and go on to have many happy years together!

Responsible  rehoming centres and rescues will assess each dog’s temperament for  their suitability to live with children, but ultimately, the work needs  to be put in in the home to ensure a smooth transition!

A  proactive and positive approach to introducing children, building up a  full Trust Bank and encouraging respectful separation, rather than  crowding, will ensure a smooth settling in period and a long and happy  life between your dog and children!

(But  we will disclaimer this by saying that while we have seen hounds and  kids move past rocky spell, if you do feel uncomfortable, don’t trust  your hound, are under confident in working to make the relationship  work, you do need to put the children first.  If you are able to, you  can get a behaviourist in, but failing that, it is completely  understandable to return the hound to the rehoming centre.  There are  times when a hound is unsuitable for a life with children, and thanks  okay!)