Keeping Children Safe: Why Learning Canine Body Language is Essential when you have a Baby

Generally, dog bites don’t come “out of the blue.” Rather, they happen after a series of signals that were missed, misunderstood, or unintentionally ignored. Children are disproportionately represented in dog bite statistics worldwide, and the majority of incidents happen with familiar dogs in familiar environments (See this blog from the University of Lincoln for an overview of dog bites). As well as this, dog bites reported for children are on the rise (Pitak-Arnnop, et al., 2022), having both physical and psychological implications for the bitten child (Westgarth, Provazza, Nicholas, & Gray, 2024). This makes one thing clear, it is not size or breed that is the issue, as sensationalised by the media, it’s overlooked communication during child–dog interactions. When scouring social media, we see it often, those cute videos being shared by unsuspecting parents of their baby and dog cuddling. To the untrained eye, these are just adorable. While to those who are privy to the nuances of body language, they are often terrifying displays of a dog saying ‘no’ repeatedly and being ignored for their attempts. All this being said, it is unsurprising that research highlights a mismatch between parents perceptions of child-dog interactions, and bite risk, often overlooking potentially dangerous interactions (Náhlík et al., 2022). As such, parents learning to read canine body language is one of the most effective, preventative steps we can take to protect both children and dogs.

Dogs Communicate Long Before They Bite

Dogs dislike conflict, and evolutionarily, they do all they can to avoid biting. Due to the energy expenditure it results in, biting really is a last resort.

To avoid such displays, dogs communicate discomfort, fear, stress, and the need for space using subtle body language long before they ever growl, snap, or bite. When those early signals go unnoticed however, especially in interactions involving children, dogs may feel forced to escalate their communication to make the interaction stop. From the dog’s perspective, a bite is not aggression, it is communication that finally worked in stopping the ‘thing’ they found uncomfortable.

Let me share an example with my own dog, Bungle. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Bungle is a large St Bernard who has quite dominant guardian tendencies. He has, historically, demonstrated adoration for children, following them around, acting gentle and even guarding them from strangers. When I gave birth to my son, Bungle was his ever attentive self. He would keep an eye on us and often joined me for midnight feeds or attempts as soothing my son during illnesses. He also continued to display those ‘protective’ characteristics if others held my son or he heard him crying.

However, as my son began to crawl, things subtly changed. Bungle would become agitated at certain movements and when the baby crawled toward him, his body language would shift, showing lots of conflicting signals. He would show curiosity and playfully interact with my son, but then on occasion, he would stiffen slightly. His ears would pull back or he would begin lip licking and turning his head away while still remaining in place. There would also be occasional yawns when my son approached him. Yawns that were out of context, unrelated to sleep. These displays told me that Bungle was conflicted, and uncomfortable around my son while he was becoming more and more mobile. So, how could we manage this situation. The goal is not to remove Bungle from family life, but to remove the pressure he feels to tolerate discomfort. Many parents just feel their dogs need to ‘get used’ to the presence of their child. But for the dog, these are huge changes to their environment, their relationship with you and their overall life. So, we can implement some simple management strategies to keep everyone safe. For example, for Bungle we could;

• Use baby gates or pens to create clear separation

• Ensure the baby cannot crawl into Bungle’s resting spaces – enabling Bungle to have safe spaces

• Beds, crates, or corners should be baby-free zones

• Teach all caregivers that these spaces are off-limits at all times

• Supervision at all times. Being in the same room is not enough. Parents need to watch for subtle stress signals: freezing, lip licking, head turns, yawning and intervene before the baby reaches the dog

• Give Bungle agency in his interactions. If Bungle moves away, let him. Never call him back to “be nice” or “say hello”. Ultimately, respect his choice to disengage

• Create Positive Associations at a Safe Distance. Reward calm behaviour when the baby is present without direct interaction. Food scatters or chews while the baby is safely separated. Calm praise when Bungle relaxes away from crawling paths

Unfortunately, children aren’t prewired with the knowledge and understanding of how to interpret their pet’s behaviour. For them, they only wish to love and cuddle their four legged friend. Nonetheless, when adults learn to “listen” to dogs and intervene early, the need for escalation from a dog dramatically decreases. The simple act of learning about simple body lanaguge signals can keep both children and dogs safe.

Why Children Are at Higher Risk

Children don’t behave like adults—and dogs know it.

From a dog’s point of view, children can be:

• Loud and unpredictable

• Unsteady in movement (and even adopting movements associated with prey – resulting in prey drive activation)

• Prone to hugging, grabbing, or staring

• Unaware of personal space

  
  

  

Even the most patient, family-friendly dog has limits. When a child repeatedly crosses those limits without adult support, stress builds. Crucially, many bites to children happen during supervised interactions (Baatz et al., 2023). The issue isn’t absence of supervision—it’s a lack of understanding of what the dog is communicating and a lack of understanding around the need to intervene. This is clearly evidenced by the thousands of videos floating around showing that ‘cute’ interaction while the dog is displaying a multitude of stress signals.

Simple Dog Body Language Signals Everyone Should Know

You don’t need to be a trainer or behaviourist to spot early warning signs. Small signals matter and learning how to spot these early warning signals can be the difference between having to make a very difficult decision on the life of your furbaby, or watching your two loves grow up together, happily.

Here are some common, often-missed cues that a dog is uncomfortable:

1. Turning the head or body away – “I need space.”

2. Whale eye (showing the whites of the eyes) – heightened stress or fear.

3. Lip licking or tongue flicks – anxiety, not hunger.

4. Yawning when not tired – an attempt to self-soothe.

5. Freezing or going very still – a serious red flag that escalation may follow.

6. Ears pinned back or held stiffly forward – emotional overload.

7. Tucked tail or tense posture – discomfort or fear.

These signals are your dog asking for help. When we respond early—by pausing the interaction, guiding the child away, or giving the dog space—we prevent the situation from worsening.

Listening to Dogs Keeps Everyone Safer

When dogs learn that subtle communication works, they learn that they don’t need to shout. By consistently responding to early stress signals:

• Dogs feel safer and more understood

• Children are protected from risky situations

• Trust grows between dog and family

• The likelihood of bites drops significantly

This is all about empowering adults with the knowledge to step in before things go wrong. But we don’t have to stop there, children themselves can be taught to look out for these signs too (Kienesberger et al., 2022). While children should never be left unsupervised, we can equip them with the knowledge and understanding on how to best interact with and respect their furry companion. Better still, teach your child how to safely approach dogs (particularly strange dogs unfamiliar to the family) and how to perform consent tests.

At the end of the day, education is prevention and some simple steps can help keep the whole family safe for years to come. If you’d like to get started with this, I have a free webinar introducing simple canine body language with illustrative videos and photos. Check it out here!

And now for the science stuff.....

References

Baatz, A., Bidgood, A., Taylor, G., & Young, R. (2023). The trouble with a cuddle: Families’ experiences of supervising interactions between children in middle childhood and the family dog. Human-Animal Interactions, (2023).

Kienesberger, B., Arneitz, C., Wolfschluckner, V., Flucher, C., Spitzer, P., Singer, G., ... & Schalamon, J. (2022). Child safety programs for primary school children decrease the injury severity of dog bites. European journal of pediatrics, 181(2), 709-714.

Náhlík, J., Eretová, P., Chaloupková, H., Vostrá-Vydrová, H., Fiala Šebková, N., & Trávníček, J. (2022). How parents perceive the potential risk of a child-dog interaction. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(1), 564.

Pitak-Arnnop, P., Auychai, P., Subbalekha, K., Sirintawat, N., Tangmanee, C., Meningaud, J. P., ... & Neff, A. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown increase the frequency and severity of periorbital dog bite injuries in children. Journal of oral biology and craniofacial research, 12(5), 666-672.

Westgarth, C., Provazza, S., Nicholas, J., & Gray, V. (2024). Review of psychological effects of dog bites in children. BMJ paediatrics open, 8(1), e000922.