A good dog can help a child grow up responsible and careful. That does not make the pairing safe on its own. Even a well-behaved, well-supervised child will eventually push a dog past what is fair. The aim is that the child is not bitten in that moment, and that the dog is as glad of the family as the family is of the dog.

Before a dog is placed with young children, we watch how it handles ordinary pressure: being approached or petted while it has a chew, being handled and hugged longer than it wants, being restrained, and being stopped from something it wants to do. We look at predatory excitement, how rough the play is, whether the dog respects its own size, and how sociable it is. That is the fullest read we can give. It is not a guarantee. These rules are what keep a child safe.

Never leave a child alone with a new dog. Not for a phone call, and not for a second with your head turned.

No one in the house should wrestle the dog or play rough. Do not let it put its mouth on skin or clothes. If an adult plays that way, the dog may play the same way with a child.

Feed the dog away from children, where it can finish in peace. Give a portion it will eat promptly, so nothing is left to guard. Put the empty bowl away.

Most children are bitten by a friend’s or neighbor’s dog, not their own. Watch your dog closely when your child has company. A dog will often tolerate its own child and not a visitor, and visitors do not always behave like your child. Before your child goes to a house with a dog, meet that dog. Ask whether children are ever left alone with it, when and where it is fed, and whether chews or bones are left out. Have those put away for the visit. Unless you are sure the dog does not guard, an adult stays in the room the whole time.