Chin and chest rule is ‘outdated’
The ‘chest and chin’ method for greeting dogs is outdated and dangerous, Kids Safe With Dogs’ Joanna Clough claims.
The last 10 years had seen an almost 14 per cent increase in dog bites to children under 14, and Clough said it’s getting worse.
‘‘Last year in New Zealand we had 14,024 reported dog bites – that’s 260 plus a week,’’ the Kumeu veterinary nurse said.
‘‘These are the dog bites where people have required medical attention and ACC have paid out on.’’
The number of unreported bites is unknown, and while they may be less serious, they can still be damaging, Clough said.
‘‘For a child, even a nip that doesn’t break the skin can be a traumatic experience,’’ she said.
Working in schools, holiday programmes, and the Whangarei and Kaipara District Councils, Clough taught a different method to the ‘chest and chin’ approach.
Although her methods have ‘‘ruffled a few feathers’’, she believed they would decrease the number of dog bites, especially those on children.
‘‘In the late 1990s internal affairs, SPCA, dog control and Massey uni did a study that said, if you greet a strange dog you should touch it on the chin and chest,’’ Clough said.
‘‘Times have moved on and logic says, let alone new research, you
‘‘For a child, even a nip that doesn't break the skin can be a traumatic experience.’’
Joanna Clough
don’t want to be touching a dog anywhere near its face.’’
Clough said children should be touching strange dogs on the side and back.
‘‘If you’re a child and you’re bending down to touch a dog’s chin, and that dog doesn’t like it, where’s he going to bite you? It’s going to be on the face,’’ Clough said.
‘‘You don’t want a kid standing in front of a dog that may bite [just like] you wouldn’t stand behind a horse.’’
Clough said New Zealand was one of the few countries to still teach the chin and chest method.
‘‘New South Wales brought [collar to tail] in about three years ago, and they’ve had a reduction in dog bites,’’ she said.
Clough hoped Kids Safe With Dogs Charitable Trust would help cut the number of bites by 50 per cent by 2020.
According to Kids Safe With Dogs, when approaching a dog, you should always: Ask the owner if it’s OK, only pat the dog if it doesn’t need restraining, avoid touching it under the chin and chest, touch the dog on its back and sides.