Every child in India grows up with street dogs. The question is what they learn from them. Some children learn to throw stones. Some learn to cross the road in fear. And some learn that the brown dog by the gate has a name, a favourite spot in the sun, and puppies she worries about.
That third kind of child is safer, kinder, and usually happier around dogs. Here’s how to raise one.
Why empathy for dogs matters
Empathy is the ability to imagine how someone else feels. Dogs are one of the first places children practise it, because dogs show their feelings openly: in their tails, ears, eyes and bodies.
It matters for three reasons:
- For the dogs. Much of the cruelty street dogs face, from stones to crackers tied to tails, starts in childhood as a game nobody stopped.
- For your child’s safety. A child who can read a dog’s mood knows when to give it space. Kindness and safety are the same skill.
- For your child. Caring for an animal that can’t say thank you teaches patience, gentleness and responsibility.
What the research says
Researchers have studied “humane education”, lessons that teach children kindness towards animals, since the 1980s. Some school studies, such as a classroom study by psychologist Frank Ascione published in 1992, found that children who took part showed more empathy, including towards other people. Not every study has found the same effect, so the honest summary is this: teaching kindness to animals often helps, and it rarely does harm.
Teach them to read a dog’s feelings
Start here. Before children can be kind to a dog, they need to understand what it’s telling them.
- Relaxed and happy: loose body, soft eyes, mouth slightly open, tail wagging low and loose.
- Scared or unsure: tail tucked, ears flat, body low, licking lips, yawning, looking away.
- “Please go away”: stiff body, staring, growling, lip pulled back, fur raised along the back.
Make it a game on your walks: “How do you think that dog is feeling? How can you tell?” The answer to a scared or warning dog is always the same: give it space.
Age-by-age ideas
Ages 3 to 5: name and notice. Give the dogs on your lane names together. Notice them: “Bhura is sleeping in the sun. Should we be quiet so we don’t wake him?” Little children learn kindness from small, repeated moments.
Ages 6 to 9: help, with an adult. Fill a water bowl on hot days. Help a neighbourhood feeder carry food to the fixed feeding spot. Keep a simple “dog diary” of the dogs on your street: their names, colours, and who had puppies.
Ages 10 to 14: understand the bigger picture. Talk about why there are so many street dogs, and why sterilisation and vaccination work better than removing them. Visit an animal shelter or birth control centre if your city allows it. Older children can make posters for your RWA, or speak up when they see other children hurting an animal.
Simple activities that build kindness
- Story time. Read stories about dogs and ask, “How did the dog feel here?”
- The kindness jar. Add a note every time someone in the family does something kind for an animal.
- Drawing day. Ask your child to draw the street from a dog’s eye level. What’s scary down there? What’s nice?
- Summer water bowls. Put out clean water in a shaded spot, and refill it every day.
- Role play. One person is the dog, one is a child walking past. Practise giving space, standing still, and walking away calmly.
Kindness with boundaries
Empathy doesn’t mean touching every dog. Teach your child these rules alongside everything above:
- Never touch a dog you don’t know, even a friendly-looking one.
- Leave sleeping, eating and mother dogs alone.
- Feed only with an adult, at a fixed spot, never from your hand.
- If a dog comes close, “be a tree”: stand still, fold your arms in, and look at your feet.
- Tell an adult straight away if a dog scratches or bites you, even if it’s small.
For more on staying safe, read our guide: What to Do If a Stray Dog Chases You.
A kinder Diwali for street dogs
Diwali falls on 8 November this year. For street dogs, it’s the most frightening night of the year. Dogs hear far more sharply than we do, and crackers leave many shaking, hiding, refusing food, or running blindly into traffic.
Children can make a real difference:
- Never burst crackers near animals, and never throw them at a dog or tie them to one. If they see someone doing it, tell an adult.
- Set up a quiet corner for the dogs on your street before the evening: a covered, sheltered spot with an old sack or a cardboard box.
- Put out food and water early, before the noise begins.
- Leave a frightened dog alone where it’s hiding. Don’t chase or pull it out.
- Choose a lights-and-diyas Diwali, and make a card asking your neighbours to do the same.
Your example matters most
Children copy what we do far more than what we say. If they see you slow down for a dog crossing the road, refill a water bowl, or calmly step around a sleeping dog instead of shooing it, they learn that dogs are neighbours, not nuisances.
Frequently asked questions
My child is afraid of dogs. How can I help? Don’t force contact. Start by watching dogs from a safe distance and talking about what they’re feeling. Fear usually shrinks when children understand dogs and know exactly what to do if one comes close.
Is it safe for children to feed street dogs? Only with an adult, at a fixed feeding spot, and never by hand. Put the food down and step back.
At what age can I start? As soon as your child notices dogs, usually around age two or three. Start with naming and noticing.
What should I say if my child sees a dog that’s hurt or has died? Be honest and gentle. Let them feel sad, and if the dog is hurt, show them how to help by calling a local animal rescue group together.
Read it together
My book, Our Dogs, Our Streets, includes stories from the street that older children and parents can read together, including a runaway boy and the dog who found him, alongside practical bite-safety advice for children. Get the PDF eBook or the Kindle edition on Amazon.