Posted on: Saturday, July 10, 2004

PRESCRIPTIONS
Never leave pets, keiki alone together

By Landis Lum

Q. Is a pet a good idea for my 10-year-old? Which one?

A. Pets teach keiki responsibility, especially from age 6 to 12. Hyperactive kids are more able to follow goal-oriented tasks and rules even outside the home after adopting, learning about and caring for a pet. Seriously ill children show an improved sense of well-being and reduced loneliness with pets. For depressed kids, pets will love them no matter how mean their classmates.

And overweight kids exercise more if they have a dog they can walk and play with.

But beware: reptiles like turtles can carry salmonella, and infants younger than 1 year are at high risk for serious infections and even meningitis from this germ.

Always wash hands after handling reptiles. The least likely of small pets to spread disease are mice, hamsters, gerbils, rats and rabbits. With all pets, keiki should be told to wash their hands, not to put their fingers in their mouths and not to kiss the animals.

Which pet to buy? Dogs are the most sociable and the most therapeutic for sick or stressed-out kids.

Before getting a pet, toddlers should be able to walk, preschoolers should ask for a pet, and school age kids should be committed to helping with care.

Open aquariums are a safety hazard; guinea pigs play late at night, which may keep children awake, and they may also eat their young. Hamsters and gerbils bite, and ferrets are too aggressive.

Beware of bites. Dogs may attack infants merely sleeping in the crib; two babies die each year from such attacks. Male dogs and unneutered or unspayed dogs are more likely to bite. Children can be bitten on the face, lips, and scalp.

Cat bites are almost always provoked, while many dog bites are not. Dog bites get infected 25 percent of the time; cat bites have a high risk of infection because of mouth bacteria being injected deep into the tissues, and therefore usually require oral antibiotics.

Tetanus shots may be necessary.

So never leave them alone together. Train your dog in socialization: submissive behaviors (roll over to show stomach, take food away without growling).

Don't play aggressive games with your dog. Spay or neuter dogs, and model appropriate behavior with dogs. Teach your keiki never to run from a dog or to scream; the animal is more likely to attack.

Teach children to roll into a ball and lie still, if they're knocked down. Instruct them not to disturb a dog while it is eating, sleeping or caring for puppies.

Choose and take care of your pets carefully, and they may well end up taking care of you!

Dr. Landis Lum is a family-practice physician for Kaiser Permanente and an associate clinical professor at the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine. Send questions to Prescriptions, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; fax 535-8170; or write islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com. This column is not intended to provide medical advice.