Several precautions can help protect young children from dogs, experts say.

Although it was a pit bull attack that killed 16-month-old Destiny Marie Knox in Martintown, Dr. Stephen King, veterinarian and practice owner at Tupelo Small Animal Hospital, said attacks are not the fault of the breed.

King said owners can raise pit bulls to be safe and friendly. The key, he said, is to socialize the dogs at an early age and to teach them to be submissive.

“As soon as they are a puppy, do everything you can to encourage their submissiveness,” King said. “Aggression needs to be stopped immediately. You can’t let it escalate or it will get worse.”

King said that the problem is that when owners have dogs that show aggression, they don’t know how to stop it and don’t get help. He also said owners need to bring dogs out in public so that they have experience with children and other dogs.

“The social skills and human interaction of a dog on a chain is probably going to be limited,” King said.

Dr. Jennifer Burgess, clinical instructor at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, said dogs that are chained or tethered must be given lots of exercise. Lack of exercise can lead to frustration and excess energy, she said.

If the dog has not been socialized or if it has shown aggression in the past, it should be confined so that it has no access to children, said Burgess, whose specialty is animal behavior. All interactions between a dog and child must be supervised, she said.

Debbie Hood, director of the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, said dog owners should take their animal to the veterinarian annually. A veterinarian can detect medical issues that might cause changes in a dog’s behavior.

“Being a responsible pet owner would help prevent these accidents,” Hood said.

King said medical issues like tumors, urinary tract infections or chemical imbalances can cause behavioral changes.

“You would be amazed at the things that are discussed during a physical examination that normally wouldn’t be,” King said.

Contact Chris Kieffer at (662) 678-1590 or at chris.kieffer@djournal.com.