Sit On The Ground, Not The Hound!

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - Feb. 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Wesley Chapel, FL – During the 48th Super Bowl™ on February 2, 2014, a commercial for Doritos snack chips aired featuring a child riding a dog as if it were a horse.

The Pet Professional Guild, on behalf of the safety of dogs and children worldwide, strongly encourages the Frito Lay Company, the makers of Doritos, to take the commercial out of play immediately.

“Many children will see this commercial and want to emulate it with the family dog,” said Niki Tudge, President of the Pet Professional Guild, a membership business league for pet industry professionals working to increase public awareness of force-free dog training, pet care methods, techniques and research in the pet care industry.

“Indeed, this is a common interaction that many young children try, and some parents allow,” Tudge said. “But it’s not cute. It’s dangerous,” both for the dog, whose spinal column is not strong enough to hold the weight of any child without injury, and to the child, because a dog that is uncomfortable or in pain may snap in an effort to escape, she added.

Seventy-five percent of dog bites occur in the home, according to research done by Janis Bradley in Dogs Bite, But Balloons and Slippers Are More Dangerous (James & Kenneth Publishers, 2005). Children’s small statures contribute to the fact that proportionally more dog bites to children are to the face and head.

“This commercial is a recipe for disaster in households with small children and family dogs,” said Jennifer Shryock, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), owner of Family Paws™ LLC (http://familypaws.com/services_offered/) which she founded in order to increase the safety of children and the success of dogs in homes with children and thereby decrease the number of dogs surrendered to shelters due to easily preventable behavioral problems and common conflicts.

The Pet Professional Guild strongly recommends that advertisers, dog owners and parents supervise every interaction between children and dogs and teach children to respect dogs’ personal space. Any lesser effort or message is to contribute to an increased number of canine and human injuries.

“Children of any age should never sit on or `ride’ a dog,” Shyrock said. “Teach children to respect the space around a dog and always supervise dogs and children so that boundaries are in place and safety is a priority. The message adults should be sending children is, `Sit on the ground – NOT the hound!’ she said.