A Nanny, a Dog and Kids!

Jennifer Shryock's picture

When there is anyone other then Mom or Dad supervising a baby in the home there is likely to be a change in dynamics for the dog. Dogs are sensitive to the changing of people coming and going. Some dogs, more then others.

This is often reflected in articles of major dog bite incidents that hit the news. Many times it is not the parent who is the caretaker when the bite takes place. Some reason for this may be:

  1. The caretaker is less familiar with the dogs responses and signs indicating stress or agitation.
  2. The supervision is not as strong or is overly protective -- indicating something wrong to the dog or creating stress.
  3. The caretaker is nervous or fearful of dogs.
  4. Structure that is normally expected and established for the dog is not in place.
  5. Structure for the child is not in place.

All of these are just some of the many factors that can contribute to the cause of more frequent bites while children are in the care of someone other then their adult people.

Childcare providers and anyone responsible for babies can take advantage of our materials via our podcasts, DVD, presenters and so on. We hope that this is helpful in prevention. We invite caretaker also to join us during our free support teleconferences.