Dogs make great family pets, but there are definitely some things you want to keep in
mind and prepare for when dogs and kids share a roof.
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Michele here with How to Train a Dream dog
Let's get right to it, here are 11 tips that I want to share with you when it comes to
adding a puppy to your home when you already have kids or maybe even want to start a family
in the future
Lets first talk about The puppy introduction All too often I see videos on social media
of the big reveal or the surprise gift of a puppy to the kids.
A new puppy should not be a surprise, I know this sounds like I’m being mean but hear
me out
Often the kids are so excited to receive the puppy that they scream, squeal, cry, race
around and overwhelm the puppy within the first few minutes of meeting the new members
of its family.
We would never encourage our kids to do this with a brand new baby that just came home
from the hospital so let's avoid this kind of interaction with the puppy
It really can cause fear and anxiety in a new puppy this leads to unwanted behaviors
from your new pup
There shouldn’t be any squealing and the kids should be prepared ahead of time for
what to expect, puppies should not be gifts for children
Kids especially those under 10 tend to move sporadically, race and run around, give mixed
messages with their body language and their attention span is short
so they don’t want to give the puppy the right attention and in a productive way
These are all things that can be very overwhelming for your new puppy.
Besides most kids do not understand the complexity of caring for a puppy, there’s a lot of
preparation and learning of how the animal mind works
That first week home there is a TON going on and the puppy needs an adjustment period
plus a consistent schedule
I talk more about what to expect the first week here in this video here
Number 2 lets talk about Keeping the puppy safe from the kids
Most people don’t realize how much a puppy bites and they do so for several months as
they go through the teething stage.
We can manage this behavior but there isn’t a quick fix or one magic thing we can do to
stop the behavior.
Kids also tend to be a little rough with puppies as they don’t understand how to properly
interact with them or that they really shouldn’t be picking the puppy up off the floor or ground.
This is because kids don’t always know where to place their hands or how to securely hold
a puppy so it isn’t dangling or so it doesn’t get dropped
Many kids just don’t have the physical strength to lift a puppy let alone hold them in a proper
restraint or carry position
The more negative association a puppy makes with incorrectly being picked up or even interacted
with the more nippy a puppy may become
Kids tend to encourage puppies to run and jump before they are physically ready
What I mean by this is that even though your puppy may be able to run and jump, this doesn’t
mean they should be able to.
This is because their growth plates aren’t fully developed until they are closer to a
year or even older
You can learn more about those growth plates in this video here
Kids run after puppies which actually triggers the instinct to run away from us instead of
coming near us when we call come
We cover recall or come command games in great detail inside my 30 days to Puppy Perfection
Course
One of the skills we work on is always getting our pup to come towards us or run after us,
not the other way around
Kids tend to leave their toys lying around and then get upset when puppy has destroyed
their belongings
Puppies can also ingest small toys like legos or even destuff stuffed animals and these
things can cause a blockage
I recently saw a post come through our student-only Facebook group where a puppy ate a pacifier
that was dropped by the toddler.
The owners had to spend about $2,000 to have it surgically removed because it becomes a
blockage in the puppy’s system
So it’s very important to keep our puppy safe from the kids and all their toys as well
as anything else you may have left laying around the house
This is one reason we limit puppy’s space to one room at a time until they have earned
access to another room by proving they are trustworthy
This means no chewing or eating things they shouldn’t and no accidents in the home.
Number 3 Now we also have to keep the kids safe from the puppy
I see way to many kids invading a dog’s personal space, taking toys, putting hands
in the dog's food, sitting to close to a dog when it’s chewing on a high-value toy or
bone
We have to teach our kids to be an inviter not an invader.
Most common injury to kids is due to puppy being startled, disturbed when it wasn’t
expecting any sort of interaction because their space was invaded too quickly
WE want to encourage kids to invite the puppy into their space and teach kids not to invade
a puppy’s personal space
We need to teach kids not to bother puppy when its sleeping or eating
I’ve heard the old school thoughts on getting puppy to accept a hand in it’s food bowl
and I ask you…
how would you feel if you were eating dinner and someone came and took your food away or
put their hands all up in it
Can we teach puppies to accept people approaching their food absolutely and we should
We don’t want to create resource guarding but we don’t go about teaching this by sticking
our hands in their food bowls
We work on this through training games and techniques to teach puppy to remain calm when
humans approach
The more you take a food bowl away or stick your hands in it the more protective your
pup will become of that food
That’s an accident waiting to happen
We don’t want the kids to get hurt so until other training has commenced and things like
impulse control have been worked on
discourage your kids from invading your puppy’s space
Number 4 A word about resource guarding Puppies might become possessive of food or
toys.
what does it means when they growl?
we want to do lots of trade-offs at other times when you don’t need it,
so that when you do need to take something away from your puppy,
they think it’s all part of the regular games you play
Number 5 Also, A word about biting Remember puppies are drawn to movement and
higher happier squeals and tones this means your puppy will run, jump and nip more when
kids are overly excited or are moving a lot
We also see more nipping when kids are lower to the ground
Make sure kids are sitting on a stool or a chair when interacting with puppy, ideally
we want them standing tall too
Number 6 Now we want to Help kids bond with the puppy
You should set clear expectations and rules with your kids about the kinds of interactions
they have with the puppy
Teach your kids to be the inviters not the invaders (of your pups personal space)
They should watch the training videos in the 30 Days to Puppy Perfection Course with you
so they can learn how to play the training games
Help your kids learn some of the games such as our bump it game where puppy can learn
how to bump their hand or an object for reinforcement.
Once the kids have a more positive and structured way to interact with their puppy the relationship
becomes more enjoyable
instead of you hearing “mom, puppy is biting me again” and “mom I don’t want this
dog anymore, all it does is bite and jump on me”
Number 7 If you have really little ones such as those under 5 years of age Keeping very
young children and puppies apart is crucial Neither one has any impulse control, they
should not be together until they are taught how to interact or you can watch both of them
like a hawk.
Allowing puppies and very young kids to interact without supervision can lead to a puppy pulling
down a child and playfully attacking them
Puppy doesn’t know that kids don’t like this, they see it as great fun since kids
are moving and screaming
Remember when littermates play together they jump on each other, roll around together and
nip and bite each other
Number 8 You need to Train your pup to have good manners with children
Puppies do not come to you understanding how to do this on their own
They came to you with natural puppy/dog instincts and until you teach them what you want them
to do they will always resort to following their natural instincts.
Puppies don’t have very good impulse control, just like toddlers.
They see something, the go for it
We can change up their thought process so they think before they react but that takes
training, time and maturity as your puppy develops
Since your puppy doesn’t understand commands until you first teach them the correct behaviors
You will need to pair that word with a behavior several times before it eventually becomes
a command
We want to make sure the kids don’t over-communicate with their puppy
This means tell the kids not to repeat commands like come and leave it especially if puppy
doesn’t know what those words mean
They more they are spoken without the results you’re looking for, the more puppy learns
the wrong word association
In order to work on puppy manners we also need to work on puppy naps.
Just like kids who get overtired and then cranky, our puppy also needs several naps
throughout the day, in their crate
This helps them decompress and relax instead of get cranky and overtired
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when next week’s video lesson comes out
Number 9 Keep expectations in mind Young pups and young kids are both limited
in their development and it’s important to keep both of them with realistic expectations
I want you to watch this video all about puppy expectations so you can get a true sense of
what you can expect from your puppy based on their age
We often expect way more than what our puppy is ready for or can handle
We need to lower our expectations and raise them when the time is right
Sometimes new puppy owners expect something that just isn’t realistic because their
puppy has breed characteristics that just won’t go away
It would be like trying to remove our DNA out of our system, it just can’t happen
This is why we always encourage everyone to research ahead of time before bringing home
a puppy
Number 10 Do your research with breeds, choose a pet that will fit into your family and lifestyle
You can peek here if you haven’t picked a breed yet and you’re not sure what beed
you should consider
Number 11 You'll want you to consider this….
If you’re not up to the task and time it takes to train a puppy, consider adopting
an older dog old dogs can learn new tricks and you can
skip that rough puppy stage
Puppies really are a lot of work, just like having a baby in the house
The first year of puppy ownership can feel like a roller
They need to learn schedules, routines, words, potty training oh the list goes on and on.
Think about it this way.
When your child was born they didn’t come out potty trained, able to understand what
words mean or know how to have good manners.
All these things are taught to your child
Our puppies also aren’t born potty trained or understanding words or commands,
They don't know how to have good manners until they are taught to do so
and they definitely don’t know what you want them to do differently if they are biting,
chewing or pulling on the leash
As you go through the training process together your relationship will get stronger and your
pup will become better behaved.
Now in the comments below tell me… how are your kids and puppy getting along?
Do you have to teach your kids how to better interact with your puppy?
Do you have to teach your puppy how to better interact with your kids?