It should be accepted knowledge that there is no such thing as a totally safe pet for children. The younger the child, the more carefully you should watch them and supervise their interaction with the family pet, no matter how sweet and trustworthy that pet has been. You may think that you have the best-behaved dog or cat in the entire world, but it could be a huge mistake to bet your child’s safety and well-being on it. Problems can be avoided, though, if you will simply take the time to slowly introduce your pets to your children and keep an eye on them afterward.

As far as your child goes, make sure she knows how to approach all animals–whether it’s a family pet or not–right from the very start. Teach your child to respect animals and you will save everyone a lot of trouble down the road. Of course, the child isn’t the only factor here, so it would also be well worth your time to train your pet.

When introducing your child to a pet, take the same approach as you would when introducing a new pet to an older one–slow and gradual. Introduce the pet and the child as early as you can, but separate the two at the very first sign of anxiety for either party. Let your dog or cat sniff baby’s foot, but do not allow them to make a move toward the face or neck area. You could also allow the pet to sniff belongings that the baby has used before you bring the baby home. Once baby is on the move, make sure that the pet has opportunity to escape whenever he feels the need to do so. Some dogs will realize that your noisy, tail-pulling toddler is a nearly constant source of dropped food, so he may put up with far more than you ever gave him credit for. But remember, although your dog might have allowed an hour of tail-tugging fun yesterday afternoon, he may not be in the mood tonight, so watch closely.

Dogs will generally give you a warning that you should get control of your child, such as a growl, but cats are not so kind. Sticky-fingered toddlers mushing cookies into his fur may get a nice healthy swat from the cat, and not always with the sheathed claws. Some cats are very tolerant, but others have very low toddler/small child thresholds, so make sure that your cat is able to get away before he feels the need to draw blood.

Some pets are poor choices if you have children, even if the child would not be (to your knowledge) handling the pet. These include snakes, spiders and any other types of creepy crawlies that could escape from their cage and bite, or worse, be bitten. Remember: children put everything, including spiders, into their mouths, so keep that in mind. Large snakes have been known to view small children as prey sources, so use the utmost of caution if you absolutely must own them.

Especially in the beginning, keep a close eye on the interactions between your pets and your children at all times. Though you may think you have the most well-behaved pet around, some pets have trouble adjusting to new situations and housemates–whether human or another pet. I’d also recommend that you train your pet to help prepare for such situations.

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