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 Choosing
a Pet
We
are thinking about getting a pet for our child. What should we keep in mind
before choosing?
If you are
getting a pet as a companion for your child, wait until she is mature enough
to handle and care for the animal—usually around age five or six. Younger
children have difficulty distinguishing an animal from a toy, so they may
inadvertently provoke a bite through teasing or mistreatment. Remember that
you have ultimate responsibility for your child’s safety around any animal,
so take the following precautions.
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Look
for a pet with a gentle disposition. An older animal is often a good choice
for a child, because a puppy or kitten may bite out of sheer friskiness.
Avoid older pets raised in a home without children, however.
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Treat
your pet humanely so it will enjoy human company. Don’t, for example,
tie a dog on a short rope or chain, since extreme confinement may make it
anxious and aggressive.
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Never
leave a young child alone with an animal. Many bites occur during periods
of playful roughhousing, because the child doesn’t realize when the
animal gets overexcited.
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Teach
your child not to put her face close to an animal.
- Don’t allow your
child to tease your pet by pulling its tail or taking away a toy or a bone.
Make sure she doesn’t disturb the animal when it’s sleeping or eating.
- Have all pets—both
dogs and cats—immunized against rabies.
- Obey local ordinances
about licensing and leashing your pet. Be sure your pet is under your control
at all times.
- Find out which neighbors
have dogs, so your child can meet the pets with which she’s likely to
have contact. Teach your child how to greet a dog: The child should stand
still while the dog sniffs her; then she can slowly extend her hand to pet
the animal.
- Warn your child to stay
away from yards in which dogs seem high-strung or unfriendly. Teach older
children the signs of an unsafe dog: rigid body, stiff tail at “half
mast,” hysterical barking, crouched position, staring expression.
- Instruct your child
to stand still if she is approached or chased by a strange dog. Tell her not
to run, ride her bicycle, kick, or make threatening gestures. Your child should
face the dog and back away slowly until she’s out of reach.
- Wild animals can carry
very serious diseases that may be transmitted to humans. You (and your family
pets) need to avoid contact with rodents and other wild animals (raccoons,
skunks, foxes) that can carry diseases ranging from hantavirus to plague,
from toxoplasmosis to rabies. To avoid bites by wild creatures, notify the
health department whenever you see an animal that seems sick or injured, or
one that is acting strangely. Don’t try to catch the animal or pick it
up. Teach your child to avoid all undomesticated animals. Fortunately, most
wild animals come out only at night and tend to shy away from humans. A wild
animal that is found in your yard or neighborhood during the daylight hours
might have an infectious disease like rabies, and you should contact the local
health authorities.
Treatment for animal
bites
Many parents assume that
children are most likely to be bitten by strange or wild animals, but in fact
most bites are inflicted by animals the child knows, including the family
pet. Although the injury often is minor, biting does at times cause serious
wounds, facial damage, and emotional problems.
If your child is bleeding
from an animal bite, apply firm continuous pressure to the area for five minutes
or until the blood flow stops. Then wash the wound gently with soap and water,
and consult your pediatrician.
If the wound is very large,
or if you cannot stop the bleeding, continue to apply pressure and call your
pediatrician to find out where to take your child for treatment. If the wound
is so large that the edges won’t come together, it probably will need
to be sutured (stitched). Although this will help reduce scarring, in an animal
bite, it increases the chance of infection, so your doctor may prescribe preventive
antibiotics.
Contact your pediatrician
whenever your child receives an animal bite that breaks the skin, no matter
how minor the injury appears. The doctor will need to check whether your child
has been adequately immunized against tetanus or might require protection
against rabies. Both of these diseases can be spread by animal bites.
Like any other wound,
a bite can become infected. Notify your pediatrician immediately if you see
any of the following signs of infection.
-
Pus
or drainage coming from the bite
-
The
area immediately around the bite becoming swollen and tender (It normally
will be red for two or three days, but this in itself is not cause for alarm.)
-
Red
streaks that appear to spread out from the bite
-
Swollen
glands above the bite
Your pediatrician may
recommend antibiotic therapy for a child who has:
-
Moderate
or severe bite wounds
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Puncture
wounds, especially if the bone, tendon, or joint has been penetrated
-
Facial
bites
-
Hand
and foot bites
-
Genital
area bites
Your
pediatrician may recommend a follow-up visit to inspect any wound for
signs of infection within forty-eight hours.
Published online: 6/07
Source: Caring
for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 (Copyright © 2004 American
Academy of Pediatrics, Updated 5/05)
To order a copy of this book visit the AAP
Bookstore.
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The information contained
in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical care
and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your
pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
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