Alexandria, VA – Children of all ages can and should be involved in training your new family puppy or dog. When all family members are involved in the training, pup learns to be more attentive to everyone. Puppies, in particular, can see young children more as littermates than someone to take direction from. Their higher-pitched voices and fast movements can often increase the puppy’s arousal and excitement, leading to more jumping and nipping at them.
When children are involved in the training process, dogs look to them for guidance instead of someone to chase or roughhouse. Some dogs may be more tentative or fearful around young children as they try to figure out who these small beings are. By involving your children in your dog’s training and rewarding for good behaviors, you are helping form positive associations.
Before you engage your child, first teach them how to respect and interact appropriately with dogs. Here are some important safety rules:
- “Pat, Pet, Pause.” Kids should never run up to or startle a dog. Instead, teach them to “pat” their legs to get the dog’s attention and see if the dog comes to them. If they do, let the dog sniff first, and then “pet” on the dog’s side or chest, never over the head. Then, “pause” to see if they want more engagement and continue. If they walk away, they may not be ready.
- Dogs are not toys to be treated roughly or with anger.
- Never try to take their possessions away from them. We like to teach the whole family how to “trade” items such as bones, toys, or any resource your dog thinks is theirs.
- Let sleeping dogs lie and don’t bother them when they are eating.
- If the dog “asks” them to stop doing something (with body language such as stiffening, moving away, or growling), they must stop immediately.
Training should always be fun for both the learner and the teacher. Start with a simple behavior like sit. Teach your child to take a treat and, with an upward motion of the hand, bring the treat up. This strategy is called “luring.” The dog follows the treat with their nose, causing its back end to go downward. If the dog sits, you can teach your child to mark that behavior with a “yes” or “yay,” letting the dog know they did it right, followed by a treat (reinforcer). If the dog is grabby, teach your child to put the treat in an open palm or place it on the floor in front of the dog instead.
For children aged 6 and under, you may need to have a temporary barrier between the child and dog, such as an exercise pen, pet gate, or tether, to keep an exuberant dog from jumping. Since dogs do not know English, we get the behavior first through luring and then using the same upward motion hand signal without the treat in the hand. Once they’ve learned the hand signal, we can teach the verbal cue sit, then add the hand signal as a very effective way to teach your dog the English word. Try to avoid repeating the verbal cue right away. Teach your child to say the word only once, then wait, giving your dog time to process what is being asked. If they still don’t respond correctly, repeat the hand signal to avoid repeating the cue, which can teach the dog they don’t have to respond the first time.
Obviously, older children will tend to catch on more quickly and be able to participate more fully in your dog’s training than very young children. But don’t sell your little ones short – some young children can be surprisingly adept at learning and applying training skills. Get them involved in the dog’s training early and often to build that powerfully positive relationship between your kids and dogs right from the start.
Sandy Modell, CPDT-KA, is the Founder, Owner, and Head of Training of Wholistic Hound Academy. Visit www.wholistichound.com and follow on social media @wholistichound.
