Dogs and children are an important part of a family and are to be treated properly to make them learn how to behave. However, it is very possible that your dog might cause some danger to your kids by biting or scratching them. Actually this could be initiated by your kid and not really the pets fault. Dog bites are common in and around a household. This happens most commonly during the times, when the pet and your kids are playing or when the dog is either sleeping or eating.

However, you need to be certain that your dog doesn't harm your kids and maintain a safe and friendly environment. Below are a list of times when your children should not approach the family pet.

· Remember the old saying "let sleeping dogs lie". Make sure that when the dog is sleeping, your kids are not able to disturb him. This is easy to accomplish by making the dog sleep in an area away from the kids' activities.

· When your pet is eating or chewing on a bone or treat. Feeding should be carried out by an adult or older child only, to avoid any dog bites.

· Keep children away from any canine that is showing any aggressive warning signs.

Teaching your kids to handle dogs

Be sure and teach your child how to pet a dog without causing any discomfort to the dog. If your child wishes to pet a stranger's dog, make sure to ask for permission from the owner, before allowing your child to proceed. Always maintain supervision over your child, while allowing him/her around any dog.

Keep in mind that allowing your child around a strange dog even with the permission of the owner can always have some dangers. A dog that is friendly with adults may never have been socialized properly with children and could attack and bite if provoked or scared.

When it comes to your pet simply teach your children to have respect for the dog and to treat it in a kind loving manner and everybody should be happy.

Training your dog

Now that you have taught you children how to behave around your pet it is time to get your dog into a good training program. All dogs need to be trained, even small dogs. If you have a large dog it is even more important to have a dog that is under control at all times as well as a dog that knows its place in the pack.