Even when you don’t have pets, your toddler may demonstrate a fear of animals and this is not necessarily a bad thing. If a child is totally fearless, they are more likely to take a risk with their fingers and their faces with a dog that may be more than a little unfriendly. While fear may hamper freedoms, the benefits were that it is a healthy response to keeping your little one safe.
Use the fear to teach moderation and transform it from an irrational response to an animal to something more rational – such as wariness of strange animals. We have always had dogs and cats in our household and from a very young age, we monitored closely any interactions between the bipeds and quadrupeds in our household.
We taught her how to approach the animals, slowly and carefully. We taught her how you always let them sniff before you pet. You never approach with your hand over the dog’s head and instead start at the chin upwards. We’re very fortunate that our dogs were very relaxed and well trained, but it still took time and it’s never advisable to leave a child alone with animals no matter how gentle they are.
It’s important to recognize that babies are loud, they squeal and they flail around. More often than not, dog attacks on very small babies occur because the baby acts like prey to the animal. So you need to make sure that you always monitor their contact and be assured that the dog never has access to the baby unsupervised.
In the meanwhile, teach the baby to never interfere with the dogs eating habits. They should never play with the dog alone. They should never tease the animal. All interactions with the dog or the cat should be done under close supervision with a parent. You can teach them how to pet the dog as they lay still. Never make them do it. When my daughter was young, she used to pet the dogs with my hand until she grew in confidence enough to do it herself without grabbing hair or pulling on the dog.
Finally, teach them to never tackle the animal or treat it like a stuffed animal. A stuffed animal doesn’t bite back or strike back. Some children may never get over their innate fear, so you should never condemn them for feeling this way. Take time and let them go at their own pace. It’s important to transform their irrational fear to something more rational and cope worthy. Teach them, love them and protect them – and your toddler can enjoy puppies and dogs and more as they get older – without having to suffer from being terrified of them, but also understanding that there are reasons to be wary – and wariness protects them and keeps them safe from the unknown.
Is your toddler afraid of animals?