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See Parent Play StyleWhen the Family Dog Joins In the Kids' Football Game
Parent Play Style
Most days the dog is out of the football and gets a ball game of its own first.
With the family dog joining in a kids' football game, the dog is out by default and comes in only when it passes three quick checks and an adult is watching both. The reason is PDSA's advice to keep a separate game for kids and dogs, and its plain warning that an overexcited dog can knock or "tackle" a child going for the ball. Read PDSA's advice on ball games with your dog.
A dog that interferes with the football game is doing what dogs do, which is why the fix is a plan and not a telling-off.
I used to leave the dog loose because shutting it out felt mean, and the five minutes turned into a scramble for the ball with a child sat on the grass and the dog delighted.
Decide at the back door
Keep the Dog Out of the Football Game, or Let It In?
Run three checks at the back door. It takes about a minute.
| Check | If the answer is no |
|---|---|
| Does the dog drop the ball or stop when asked? | The dog is out today. |
| Has the dog had a run or a short walk first? | The dog is out today. |
| Is the child steady and happy about it, and is one adult free to watch only the two of them? | The dog is out today. |
Three yes answers mean the dog is in, on the rules further down. The dog gets its own ball game first every day, in or out. An out day is not a punishment. It is a shut back door or a baby gate with a chew, for five minutes, well away from the football.
A head start for the dog
A Ball Game for the Dog First
PDSA suggests setting up the dog's own version of the game, its own game rather than a share of the football. It also says teaching "stop" and "leave" or "drop" comes before the game, and that a gentle walk works as a warm-up. That settles most of the chasing before the football comes out.
- 1
Its own ball. Pick one that looks different from the child's football and is too big to swallow. PDSA warns that mini footballs, golf balls and tennis balls can be a choking risk.
- 2
A few short throws. A couple of minutes, the dog chasing, an adult throwing, and the child watching from the step.
- 3
A "leave" to finish. Swap the ball for a treat and a calm word, and the ball goes in a pocket.
- 4
A settle spot. On an out day, a mat behind a gate or a shut door, with a chew, out of the football space and out of the child's reach, and then the football starts. On an all-yes day it is where the dog goes if it gets rough.
"Shall we do the dog's game first, then ours?"
If the dog does stay in
Playing Football Safely With a Dog in the Garden
This is for an all-yes day only. Keep the football on the ground so the dog is not chasing a bouncing ball, and a kicked ball is less likely to bruise it. PDSA says the force of a kicked football can bruise a dog.
If there is a second adult, the dog stays on a lead held by them, since PDSA advises a lead when ball games are nearby. If the dog takes the ball, stop and do not chase it, because chasing is the game. Call the "leave" and swap it for the dog's own ball.
The moment the dog gets rough or the child looks unsure, the dog goes to the settle spot with no telling-off. If the football is also flattening the flowerbeds, see football proof shrubs and plants for the garden.
Why the adult stays watching
What the Evidence Says About Dogs and Children
PDSA says an overexcited dog could accidentally "tackle" or hurt a child who is trying to get the ball, and recommends a separate game for kids and dogs. Read PDSA's advice on ball games with your dog. PDSA is a UK vet charity giving general advice, not a study, and it gives no injury figures.
In a review of 172 children under 16 treated for dog bites at one English hospital's children's emergency department between 2021 and 2023, 137 (79.7%) were bitten by a dog they knew, and most injuries happened indoors. Read the study on dog bite injuries in children. It is one hospital's retrospective records, counts only children who reached emergency care, says nothing about how often a family dog is safe and does not measure garden football, so it supports keeping an adult watching, not a fear of the family dog.
Dogs Trust's stay close, step in and separate advice points the same way, and the RSPCA's guidance on dogs and children says never to leave a child alone in the same room as a dog, "even your own". The Child Accident Prevention Trust adds that close supervision is the key, in its advice on dogs and children. All three are general charity advice.
I assumed our dog knew the children so well that watching was optional, and that is exactly the assumption the hospital figure warns about.
Calm in, calm out
Ending It Without a Fuss at the Door
Give the dog a fixed spot, and hand over its chew there. Let the dog back in for a calm minute at the end with the ball put away, so "out" is never the last word.
"Shall we let the dog say hello once the ball's away?"
Quick answers
Common Questions About the Dog and Kids' Football
How do I stop the dog joining in when the kids play football?
Give the dog its own short ball game first with its own ball, then, on an out day, settle it on a mat behind a gate or a shut door before the football starts. PDSA recommends a separate game for kids and dogs.
Is it safe for a dog to chase the ball while a child plays football?
Not while it is overexcited: PDSA warns an overexcited dog could accidentally "tackle" or hurt a child going for the ball, and a kicked football can bruise the dog. Keep the football on the ground and an adult watching both.
Can I leave a young child alone with the family dog and a ball?
No. The RSPCA advises never leaving a child alone in a room with a dog, even your own, and in one English hospital study 137 of 172 injured children were bitten by a dog they knew.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on who else is joining in.
Is a toddler joining in too?
A fixed spot and a real job for a sibling who is too young for the game.
See the toddler guideTwo children and one ball?
Jobs and small handicaps that keep both children in the same game.
See the siblings guideTonight's five minutes
Dog's game first, then yours.
A couple of minutes of ball for the dog, a settle spot, then the football starts.