Birth to 6 Months: A relatively quiet time for animal/child interaction, however under no circumstances should they be left unsupervised.
6 - 12 Months: A child of this age will grab at whatever is in his path, making dog ears and tails prime targets. Keep crawling and toddling children away from pet food and feeding areas. Carefully supervise children around animals to avert any unexpected interactions.
1 - 3 years: A time of exploration and for putting things in the mouth. A dog that is possessive about his toys or food can be potentially dangerous to a child. Since the child will be at eye level with a medium-to-large dog, this age group is especially vulnerable to bites from dogs that perceive the child as a threat.
4 - 6 years: By now, a child has mastered quite a lot of language and can understand more about how to interact with another living being, but a firm eye on the situation is still needed.
6 - 10 years: At this age, most children should be mature enough to participate in the feeding, cleaning up, and walking of family pets with minimal supervision.
Teens: Your child may develop other priorities such as sports, band, members of the opposite sex, or shopping. Pet care chores can suddenly and dramatically be ignored or put on the back burner. Parental supervision and attention is a must to ensure that pet needs are met.
Eileen is our Top Dog Expert and to sniff out more about the Top Dog, visit www.FURventlySpeaking.com