A campaign by the Dogs Trust is urging parents never to leave a young child alone with a dog to avoid the risk of being bitten. Stuart Arnold reports

TEASING the family dog might be a laugh for young children who don’t know better, but even the most mild-mannered of dogs can snap if pushed enough. And that could result in a nasty bite bringing with it the risk of injury or even death.

Yet a survey for the Dogs Trust charity found that despite the potential dangers 44 per of parents would leave a child under the age of 11 alone with a dog, while more shockingly 12 per cent would leave a pre-school child aged under five on their own with a dog.

The national charity, which operates a re-homing centre for dogs in Sadberge, near Darlington, carried out the research as part of its new Be Dog Smart safety campaign. It points out that dog attacks are on the rise and the rate of hospital admissions for dog bites is highest among the under nines age group.

The survey it conducted revealed that more than a third of children came into contact with dogs every day. And although 60 per cent of parents said they taught their children to stay safe around dogs, nearly all of them (98 per cent) were unaware of the signs that a dog may feel uneasy and be about to turn aggressive.

Meanwhile, a fifth (20 per cent) of parents had seen their child sit or lie on a dog, 18 per cent pull a dog’s tail and 14 per cent shout or hit a dog.

“Children can come into contact with dogs every day and being around dogs can have so many wonderful benefits, but the simple fact is that all dogs have teeth and any dog can bite or snap if worried, scared or hurt,” says Adrian Burder, chief executive of the Dogs Trust.

"So, to reduce the number of dog attacks, whether you're a dog owner or not, it's important that we all know and teach our children, grandchildren, pupils and friends how to behave around dogs."

In 2013 the North-East was revealed to be the dog bite capital of England with more hospital admissions per 100,000 head of population than any other area. This involved 561 people being hospitalised for dog-related injuries.

Latest statistics produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that between December 2013 and November last year there were 63 hospital admissions involving children aged 0-9 years in Durham, Durham, Teesside. Typically, due to their size, most attacks on children are to their face and usually involve bites to lips, nose or cheeks.

Dr Shaz Afzal, an A&E Consultant at Darlington Memorial Hospital, says it deals with the effects of dog bites reasonably often.

“Usually we find it is a case of a dog being playful resulting in an accidental bite and a minor injury, however it can be more serious,” he says.

“We would echo the advice in the Dogs Trust campaign to help children stay safe around dogs.”

The Dogs Trust hopes a guide it has produced to being ‘Dog Smart’ will become as well known as the Green Cross Code – which has taught generations how to cross roads safely – and could reduce the prevalence of attacks.

Advice will be given to anyone with responsibility for children, ranging from parents to sports coaches, plus children themselves.

"Our hope is that simple advice, such as never leave your child alone with any dog, never tease a dog, don't approach a dog you don't know, and always ask the owner before you approach a dog could prevent more dog attacks,” says Mr Burder.

DOGS TRUST'S GUIDE TO 'BE DOG SMART':

B - Beware of disturbing dogs that are eating or sleeping.

E - Even if for fun, don't ever tease a dog.

D - Don't approach a dog with no owner around.

O - Only stroke a dog when the owner says you can.

G - Get the dog to sniff your hand first, then stroke gently.

S - Strange dog approaching? Stand still, look away, cross your arms.

M - Move calmly and quietly around any dog.

A - All that hugging and kissing - you might like it, dogs don't.

R - Remember all dogs have teeth.

T - Treat dogs with respect and they will respect you.