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Viral Clip of Kid and XL Bully Shows the Signs Every Parent Needs to Know
Dogs are excellent body language readers. Dog-to-dog communication is almost entirely body language-based, and dogs can inherently understand human body language too. For humans, understanding canine body language isn’t quite as intuitive. (Watch video below)
Humans need to be taught to understand what their dogs are telling them with their physicality. Kids are rarely naturally attuned to a dog’s body language and need constant supervision and guidance when interacting with a dog.
Dee Blake’s daughter is currently learning how to understand her dog Bronson’s physical communication. This means a lot of reminders from mom, but in this adorable TikTok video, you can see how easy it can be to keep both kids and dogs safe while they play together.
What Bronson the XL Bully’s Body Language Says
Bronson is Dee’s 3-year-old XL Bully, and he always wants to be near Dee’s daughter!
Even if a dog is excited and happy to be around a kid, their boundaries still need to be respected. A dog showing a willingness to socialize is not them giving permission for your child to do whatever they want, and Dee is making sure her daughter knows exactly which boundaries to avoid with Bronson.
Dee’s daughter is doing a really good job being gentle with Bronson, and he is coming to her of his own free will—it’s a good interaction! You can tell that Dee’s daughter is excited to be with her favorite dog, so excited that she has the urge to lean in towards Bronson’s face and give him hugs.
Every time her daughter gets too close to the dog’s face, Dee reminds her to back up and stay away from his face. If you watch Bronson when the little girl leans in, you’ll notice him lip-licking, turning his face away, lowering his eyes, and pulling his ears back. These body language behaviors are used by dogs to tell us they’re uncomfortable, especially when combined.
After a little too much excitement, Bronson lays down with his back to the little girl and does another lip lick followed by a yawn. Yawning is a way dogs release tension, and signal to each other that they want to calm down. Bronson is still super happy to be with his tiny human, and he’s doing a great job communicating his feelings. Luckily, Dee is great at reading canine body language and knows exactly what to tell her daughter to help her stay safe and respect Bronson’s boundaries.
Tips for Teaching Kids To Be Respectful To Dogs
Learning how to read canine body language can help keep your child safe around dogs and keep your dogs safe around your kids. Although young children should always be supervised with dogs present, accidents can happen even in a supervised environment. Teaching your kids to respect your dogs can reduce the risk of accidents, and set them up for a safe dog-loving future!
5 Quick Lessons For Kids on Safely Interacting with Dogs
- Never hug a dog. Dogs don’t enjoy hugs, and hugging can put your child’s face too close to the dog’s face.
- Keep your face away from the dog’s face. Kids should never lean in to talk in a dog’s face, kiss them, or hug them cheek to cheek. It’s best to keep your face away from the part of a dog that bites.
- Don’t rest your body or objects on a dog. Kids can accidentally hurt dogs by resting on them, which could cause the dog to bite.
- Let sleeping dogs lie. Never disturb sleeping dogs; this can startle them or cause them to be reactive out of fear.
- Never take a dog’s food. You—the adult—should be comfortable taking a dog’s chew or food, but even a reliably non-reactive dog might not appreciate a child messing with their prize.
