Are children and dogs best friends? A scoping review to explore the positive and negative effects of child-dog interactions

Abstract

Personal wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships formed during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond represents a significant relationship that started thousands of years ago. There is a higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children. This has resulted in a growing number of researchers studying our interactions with dogs and an expanding evidence base from the exploration of child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A search of the SCOPUS database identified documents published between January 1980 and April 2022. Filtering for key inclusion criteria, duplicate removals, and inspecting the references of these documents for additional sources, we reviewed a total of 393 documents, 88% of which were scientific articles. We were able to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between childhood interaction with dogs and an array of benefits such as increased physical activities, a reduction of stress, and the development of empathy. Nonetheless, several detrimental outcomes have also been identified for both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to injuries/illness, a subsequent fear of dogs, or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. With a canine focus, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them, such as feeding or going for walks. These represent opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. By contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity in both dogs and children. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs who may interact with children remains underexplored. Overall, it appears that the benefits of child-dog interactions outweigh the risks for children but not for dogs; determination of the effects on both species, positive as well as negative, still requires further development. We call for longitudinal studies and cross-cultural research in the future to better understand the impact of child-dog interactions. Our review is important for people in and outside of the scientific community, to pediatricians, veterinarians, and current or future dog owners seeking to extend their knowledge, and to inform future research of scientists studying dogs and human-animal interactions.

Assessment of anxiety in children with neurodevelopment disorders: Rasch analysis of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale

“…In particular, item 16 (“My child is scared of dogs”) was identified as a possible misfit item in the ADHD cohort with infit MNSQ = 1.77 and outfit MNSQ = 2.06, thus questioning the construct validity of this item as a measure of anxiety. This is not surprising given the potential positive impact child-dog interactions can have on wellbeing and can serve as a source of reduced stress ( 35 ).…”

Longitudinal effects of dog ownership, dog acquisition, and dog loss on children’s movement behaviours: findings from the PLAYCE cohort study

“…Children, especially young children, can have strong attachment to the family dog [ 52 , 53 ] and pets are often considered a member of the family [ 19 , 54 ]. Losing a dog may be a child’s first experience of death and it can elicit a profound grief response [ 55 ]. Qualitative studies among children and adults report losing a companion animal is associated with avoidant coping strategies [ 56 – 58 ].…”

All the Better to Taste You With, My Dear

“…The location of the bite should be documented in the patient's medical record. Animal bites in adults are most likely to be present on the dominant hand of adults and in young children the face or forehead is most likely to be affected given their relative stature in comparison to that of the animal (Giraudet et al, 2022).…”