LOS ANGELES – An increase in dogs biting children has been reported in Los Angeles County as more children are home full-time during the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the dog bites have occurred while a family dog was eating, playing with a toy, challenged, or hurt by a child, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control and Care.
To minimize the chance of a child being bitten by a family pet, the department suggests parents:
— create quiet places for their dogs to retreat, where children will not disturb the pet, as a house always full of children may be exhausting for the dog.
— realize that small children often have not developed skills to recognize signs of stress or danger from animals, and they should be monitored while interacting with pets.
— be especially protective of older pets, who may have arthritis, causing pain when children hug them or pat them too hard, or may have hearing or vision loss, causing them to be startled when a child suddenly appears in their space.
— stop children from interfering with animals while they eat.
— do not allow children to climb on dogs, pull their ears, tug their tails, play with their mouths or engage in any behavior that may aggravate the dogs.
— help your dog to socialize with children and try to identify the stress generating causes. It will help your dog to calm down and play with children in a better way.
“Most pets are well-adjusted family members and live harmoniously with their families. However, even the best pet may lash out if they are excessively harassed or challenged,” Marcia Mayeda of Animal Control and Care said.
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I see stupid people making stupid comments says
Wow what a way to just generalize a certain breed of dog saying they are worthless? The owners who mistreat the pitbull are worthless and your stupid comment is worthless. I’ll have you know my daughter has a pitbull and this dog was abused, used as a training dog for other pitbull that were fighting, meaning she was the lure dog to train others. She was shot with Bb guns still has bbs under her skin they cropped her ears and ruined them basically she has no ears and you want to know something….she is the most sweetest loving dog I have ever met. She just loves to cuddle and be next to people she would never harm anyone! My daughter rescued her from her abusers. After all that she has been through she loves to be loved and wants nothing more. Your comment is what’s wrong with this world generalizing a whole breed because of a few bad seeds. Bet your a racist too huh?
I see stupid people says
I’m pretty sure most of the bites are from Pit bulls or a mix of the worthless breed.
There is a reason why the dog pounds are inundated with them along with the Taco Bell dogs “the Chiuwawa”