Three Things to Know
While owning a pet dog offers children numerous benefits, scientifically tested early education for dog bite prevention remains scarce. Researchers investigated the effectiveness of video-based education for preschoolers (age four and up) by measuring their knowledge before and after a training session.
The study found that children who viewed a 10-minute lesson on dog behaviors significantly improved their understanding of a dog’s emotional state; their average scores increased from 5.3 on the pre-test to 7.3 on the post-test. Children who did not receive this training showed no comparable improvement.
Furthermore, the trained children became much better at identifying specific dog behaviors taught in the session, recognizing an average of 9.1 behaviors post-test compared to 4.4 pre-test. This suggests the video lesson effectively focused the children’s attention on the most relevant canine cues.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners
Families with children are almost five times more likely than child-free households to consider or actually relinquish their dogs. Effective dog bite prevention education can build family confidence and potentially mitigate this risk. As this research demonstrates, such education can be successful even with preschoolers. Therefore, dog welfare organizations should prioritize making prevention programs widely accessible, potentially through partnerships with local nurseries and community centers to reach families early and proactively.
The Full Picture
While owning a pet dog offers various benefits for children, such as boosting self-esteem, dog bites remain a significant issue — especially among children, who are more likely than adults to be bitten, often by familiar dogs. The heightened risk may be linked to young children’s frequent and sometimes inappropriate interactions with dogs, along with their limited ability to interpret dog behavior.
Despite the importance of teaching children how to safely interact with dogs, few scientifically tested dog bite prevention programs exist, and most have targeted older children. This study titled “Dog Bite Prevention: Effect of a Short Educational Intervention for Preschool Children”, aims to assess whether children as young as four can:
- learn to interpret dog behavior,
- apply this knowledge to unfamiliar dogs, and
- benefit from training using videos of real dogs.
It will also examine whether dog ownership influences children’s ability to understand dog behavior. If effective, video-based interventions could serve as a practical and impactful tool in future dog bite prevention efforts.
Study Methods
The study involved 70 nursery school children aged 3–5 years (mean age: 4.4 years) from five nursery schools in Edinburgh. Children were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (36 children, taught about dog behaviour) or a control group (34 children, taught about wild animals). Within each school, children from the same classroom were placed in the same group. Parental consent was obtained, and background information on pet ownership and prior dog bites was collected.
Study Design
Children participated in three sessions that took place in the nursery:
- Pre-test (2–3 days before the intervention): Children were shown 14 dog video clips and asked how the dog felt (happy, scared, angry) and how they knew.
- Intervention or Control: The intervention group watched 6 of the 14 videos on dog behaviour, were taught to identify behaviours and emotional states, and asked to explain their reasoning. Clips were repeated after a short break. On the other hand, the control group watched a similarly structured video on wild animals.
- Post-test (2-3 days after intervention): Children underwent the same test protocol as the pre-test. At the end, all children received a brief lesson on how to behave around scared dogs.
Study Results
In the pre-test conducted, both the intervention group and the control group scored an average of 5.0 correct answers. In the post-test, on average, children trained on dog behaviours gave 7.3 correct answers compared to 5.3 in the control group.
| Average | Intervention Group Pre-test | Intervention Group Post-test | Control Group Pre-test | Control Group Post-test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correct Answers | 5.0 | 7.3 | 5.0 | 5.3 |
| .. Training videos | 2.2 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| .. Test-only videos | 2.8 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| Target Behaviours Identified | 4.4 | 9.1 | 5.1 | 5.4 |
Children in the intervention group also reported more relevant behavioural features in the post-test (average 11.7) than in the pre-test (average 7.7). Trained children adopted the instructor’s vocabulary, indicating attention to the target behaviors that were specifically taught during the training.
On the other hand, no significant improvement was noted among control children. Moreover, dog ownership, type of pet ownership, and school attended did not significantly affect children’s performance.
Conclusion
Animal-assisted education not only strengthens pro-social behaviors and emotional well-being but also emphasizes the importance of animal welfare. The role of the teacher is crucial in modeling respectful interactions, ensuring that the dog’s needs and boundaries are respected. Viewing the school dog as an active participant, rather than just a tool for intervention, enhances both social participation and educational outcomes. Ultimately, successful animal-assisted pedagogy should integrate both inclusive education principles and ethical treatment of animals to create a positive learning environment.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Owned Dogs > Offering Better Care > Youth Education Programs
Year of Publication:
2015
External Link:
Lakestani N, Donaldson ML. Dog Bite Prevention: Effect of a Short Educational Intervention for Preschool Children. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0134319. Published 2015 Aug 19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134319