{"id":10995,"date":"2015-04-26T20:18:26","date_gmt":"2015-04-26T10:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puppy.kreatology.com\/?p=10995"},"modified":"2024-01-17T21:00:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T10:00:17","slug":"kids-and-puppies-great-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puppytales.com.au\/kids-and-puppies-great-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids and Puppies: Great Expectations?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Growing up with a dog is the stuff of many happy childhood memories.  The arrival of a brand new puppy brings incredible excitement for the whole family, including the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Done right, young children learn respect for living creatures and teach value lessons about life; and during those stroppy teenage years, a dog offers a listening ear without judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it’s not done right, the outcomes can be serious for the child, the dog and that entire family. Sometimes, devastatingly tragic. These situations, however, can be avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents of both kids and puppies who establish the right environment for both to live together, know what to look for and when to intervene make all the difference between good and bad dog-and-kid relationships.  Building this environment and nurturing a great relationship starts even before your new puppy arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the Puppy Arrives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Young kids and puppies want different things, and overlooking this could eventually lead to stress for the puppy\u2026and distress for the child when they get scratched or bitten.
In your role as both child and pet parent, one way for you to avoid unwanted \u2018incidents\u2019 is to teach your children about not overwhelming the your new puppy arrival and to set ground rules about calmness and consideration for the puppy\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ground Rules<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Getting a puppy is a strong motivator for the child, so use this \u2018leverage\u2019 to lay down the law about behaviour.  It will be more difficult to do this once puppy has arrived – so prior is definitely the time to start these conversations. Explain the puppy is leaving everything they are familiar with, and needs calm and quiet to settle in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the days leading up to puppy\u2019s arrival, get the children to practice sitting quietly and speaking quietly, so when puppy arrives they aren\u2019t terrified by overexcited crazy banshees (yep, your kids!) running round the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canine Contract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It helps to focus your kids\u2019 minds if you involve them in creating a contract of undertakings as a condition of getting a puppy. Talk not just about helping with the fun things like play and grooming, but washing bowls and cleaning up after puppy. It\u2019s also a chance to tell them about being still and calm so as not to frighten the puppy. Attaching a copy of their \u2018contract\u2019 to the fridge is a useful daily reminder to the children about their promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialisation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fearful puppies are not a good mix with children; apart from anything else, a fearful puppy is more likely to grow into an aggressive adult. To avoid this, choose your puppy carefully and make sure the youngster is well socialised by the breeder or rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means choosing a breeder (or rescue) where the puppy has lived in a home environment (or the rescue has a socialisation policy) and been exposed to a wide variety of people and different experiences. A puppy that has been kept in a run until being homed and\/or purchased from unscrupulous puppy farms, may struggle to cope to the hustle-and-bustle of real family life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Puppy Arrives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bringing a new puppy home is a special time that sets the tone for your future relationship, so if your children are bursting with excitement, burn off some excess energy at the park before setting off to collect the puppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding His or Her Paws<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the first two to three days the disorientated puppy needs to find their paws in a new home. To stop the kids overwhelming pup with cuddles, buy them time and space by involving the kids in preparing pup\u2019s meals and quiet activities such as reading aloud to the puppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing Excitement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Set boundaries from the start. Warn the kids that if they get too giddy around pup, you\u2019ll call \u2018Time out\u2019. But likewise, reward their good behaviour and perhaps let them watch that new movie (which also encourages them to sit quietly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If sounds like you are being cast as a killjoy, remember most bites and scratches happen because a dog is either over-excited and loses bite inhibition, or is fearful and protects themselves in the way nature taught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time Out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of course, time out cuts both ways. An over-excited puppy can misread rough play as acceptable and learn bad habits. When a game gets too rowdy and they start pulling on clothing, then withdraw attention to help things simmer things down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Show your kids when and how to stop a game, and if things don\u2019t calm down, to then leave the room. This gives pup a strong message that the fun stops if they get carried away, which helps teach self-control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair Play<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It can\u2019t be said too often that a puppy is not a toy. This is both the beauty and drawback to kids growing up with a puppy. On the plus side it teaches them responsibility, on the minus some children do not understand that teasing with a toy or a careless clip with a bike, cause the puppy real distress \u2013 and can end with the child being bitten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When treated with consideration, most puppies grow into delightful, reliable dogs. However, the puppy who is subjected to pushes, pokes, and goading quickly learns to be wary of children, and growl and nip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Never leave children unsupervised with a puppy. You can get things off to a great start by setting an example of how to act around pup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this leaves you scratching your head, then do your homework and read books by reputable dog experts like Gwen Bailey<\/a> or Pippa Mattinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learning about Each Other<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now pup is getting more adventurous, have the kids sit on the floor, holding a treat or two. Let pup approach them, and the child can reward the boldness by letting puppy have the treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect Petting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Show the child how to stroke the puppy under the chin, rather than putting a hand over their head which may make puppy cower. Teach the children what actions are not allowed, such as pulling ears or tugging tails. And it may seem obvious, but show them how to pet gently, stroking with the lie of the fur and not against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basic Body Language<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many bad habits such as biting ankles and grabbing fingers need never happen, if you know how to read dog body language. When you recognise the signs that a puppy is growing over excited or fearful, it\u2019s the simplest thing in the world to \u2018stop\u2019 and take time out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signs of a fearful puppy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n