For every kid (and kid at heart) who wants to meet and make friends with new animals:

Do:

• Ask and wait for permission before doing anything!
• Hold out a relaxed hand, palm down, for the dog to sniff.
• Wait for the dog to approach you and investigate.
• Gently pet the dog’s chest or back, stroking in the direction of the fur.
• Give the dog space, and respect the dog’s choice if he or she decides not to approach you, or decides to move away.

Don’t:

• Do anything without the owner’s permission.
• Chase or grab the dog.
• Make sudden movements or loud noises.
• Try to take any toys from the dog, even to play.
• Loom over, kiss, or hug the dog.  (In doggy language this can seem like threatening behavior, especially from a stranger!)

“Okay,” I thought, “we know how to do this.”  I put him in a sit-stay, and the girl came over and decorously petted him.  Everything seemed on the up-and-up, and the mother turned back to the racks of toys.

And that’s when it happened.

The girl, unhappy that Ember’s head was turned away, stuck both her small hands in his ears, and jerked forward with all her little-kid might.  Pulling his head, mouth- and teeth-first, straight towards her face.  I froze.  I had never prepared for such a scenario with Ember.  He was a young dog, and, if I were him, by all means I would have snapped at the girl.  I wanted to pull his mouth away from her face, but this wasn’t an option with her hands solidly in his ears.  I was afraid, too, of startling either dog or child with too stern a verbal warning.

“Uhhhhh,” I muttered, barely containing my panic while the mom obliviously fingered dog products.  ”Uhmmmmmm.”  It was probably only a few seconds, at most, but they dragged on.  While the little girl squealed and pulled, it seemed, harder and harder.

The mother finally saw and dragged her daughter away, much to my relief.  And Ember learned to keep his distance from children he didn’t know.  I don’t know what I would have done that day if something had happened.  I know my heart would have broken for everyone involved.

These days I’m much more cautious with children and dogs, and often choose not to introduce dogs I’m caring for to strange children.  (One of my interview questions for new dog clients always involves how they deal with children.)  No matter how much we trust our pups, both dogs and children can be unpredictable, so I make sure to always stay between them, where I can intercept if either makes a sudden movement.  Still, I’m lucky to have emerged without incident from an early lesson in the necessity of not only socializing our dogs, but also teaching our children how to safely interact with animals (especially other people’s).