Endangered Dogs Defence and Rescue

Information, Education & Advice - helping dogs in need

Children and Dogs:

As a responsible owner, please keep your dog under control at all times and remember the age old advice:

Children and dogs should not be left alone together and should always be supervised by a responsible adult who is in full control and able to cope with the situation.

The Dogs Trust provides information on preparing your dog for a new baby, things to do in the months leading up to the baby's arrival and when the baby has arrived, you can also download a new baby and family dog fact sheet from their web site - click here for details.

The Kennel Club continues to promote safe interaction between children and dogs through both the Safe and Sound and Good Citizen Dog Scheme. For further information please visit the KC web site.

The aim of the Blue Dog story is to educate parents and children about the safest way to interact with their dog is a household setting. Click here for details. The Blue Dog story aims to help prevent dog bites in children under 7 years of age - to purchase a copy of the interactive CD visit the Company of Animals Ltd.

The Canine Commandments - by Kendal Shepherd BVSc., CCAB, MRCVS. Most dogs only bite when they feel there is no other option. Unfortunately, the way we humans often behave around dogs creates exactly this unwanted conclusion in the canine brain. But help is at hand. A new little book, ‘The Canine Commandments’, by Kendal Shepherd, vet and behaviourist, is written for children but with all adults in mind. It is an attempt to rectify some of the misconceptions that exist about dogs by seeing things through canine eyes and by comparing the feelings and emotions of dogs with our own. Twelve separate beautifully illustrated sections deal with the most crucial things to do, things not to do and things to understand when in the presence of any dog. If put into practice in our daily lives with all dogs, then these ‘commandments’ will result in better informed and understood dogs who should rarely, if ever, feel the need to retaliate by biting.

What sets this book apart, is the inclusion of the ‘Ladder of Aggression’, an illustrated sequence of gestures used by dogs in their attempt to avoid upset as they become increasingly stressed or threatened. A threat from a dog’s perspective may consist of something as apparently mild as being approached and patted on the head to physical punishment for stealing or raiding the rubbish. Such punishment may seem justified by the dog’s unique ability to grovel and look guilty, body language which is shown in the middle of the Ladder. But despite appearances, dogs do not operate by a moral code of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. All they are ever trying to do is keep the peace.

Children and Dogs by Julie Pett ChMIACE, founder of Pett Behaviour and SAVED Dogs. Julie is also a behavioural advisor to several rescues including EDDR.

With extensive experience in small animal practice, both in the UK and in Greece, Kendal Shepherd is the first UK veterinary surgeon to be accredited by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour as a certified clinical animal behaviourist. Having worked in dog rescue as well as puppy training and as expert witness, multiple dog owner and mother, she is uniquely qualified to interpret the causes of canine aggression within families and her particular passion is the prevention of dog bites to children.

Letter to The Times Newspaper - from Kendal Shepherd, following the tragic attack on Archie-lee Hirst in Yorkshire. January 2008

CHILD SAFETY AROUND DOGS - Kennel Club holds safe and sound seminar. World renowed speaker attends. October 2007