All the things I wish I knew before I got my first ever puppy!
Puppies and children as solo entities are hard work. Mix them both together and you can create either the ultimate cute bundle or the ultimate nightmare! Obviously no one wants their child to get hurt by their puppy, or their puppy to be hurt by their child, but the reality is if you’re not vigilant and pro active in managing them together, the chances are that someone or something is going to get hurt!
1. NEVER LEAVE THEM UNATTENDED TOGETHER
The most obvious comment, but something a lot of people still don’t think is necessary. The number of times I’ve heard, ‘oh no my dog wouldn’t hurt a fly!’…I’m sure your dog wouldn’t intentionally, but say a toddler decided to pinch it’s skin or poke it in the eye… how would they react then? Or the other way round, what if your child decides to feed half of it’s chocolate bar to your dog without you knowing?
I love Cooper to bits and he has never shown any aggression towards anything big or small, but I would NEVER leave him alone with my 2 year old niece. I’m not worried about him biting her, but I’d be worried that he’d accidentally knock her over, or that he wouldn’t understand that she can’t play like a puppy and she can’t play like an adult. It only takes a second with your back turned for accidents to happen.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR PUPPY HAS A SAFE SPACE
Children can be overwhelming, especially to puppies who are essentially only babies themselves. They can easily be spooked by loud noises such as babies screaming or toddlers shouting and crying. Our trainer told us how he was called out to a lady who used to run an ‘unofficial daycare’, nothing illegal, she just always had kids in her house. She also had a five year old dog that had NEVER shown any aggression to anyone before, but one day, the dog bit one of the kids. After investigating it turned out that the dogs ‘home’ was a space under the stairs, it was where he went to sleep and where he went when he was fed up of been around the kids. It transpired that on that day, one of the kids was playing under the stairs in the dogs bed. The dog had gotten fed up of the kids and gone to retire in peace in his own space and couldn’t. Ironically it wasn’t the child in his bed that he bit, it was the next child to annoy him. In the end the lady rejigged the house and gave the dog a safe space in her office, she then stressed to all the children that they were not allowed in there…problem solved, the dog never showed aggression again after that.
It doesn’t have to be a whole room for your puppy, a crate is a great space for your puppy to go to escape and get some peace and quiet. It’s vital that you explain to children that they must never disturb the puppy or go in it’s personal space.
3. BE EXTRA VIGILANT WITH TOYS. TO CHILDREN AND PUPPIES THEY’RE INTERCHANGEABLE
This is something which applies both ways. I doubt you’re going to want your toddler putting the dogs chew toy in his/her mouth, and I also doubt that you’re going to want the vet bill for removing the bit of lego or whatever else the puppy has eaten of the child’s toys! If your children are playing it’s a good idea to distract the puppy so they don’t want to join in and vice versa.
4. MAKE SURE YOUR CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THAT THE DOG IS NOT A TOY OR A TEDDY BEAR
Even adults can be guilty of this at times. You get this adorable little fluffy puppy that looks like a little teddy bear. It’s inevitable that you’re just going to want to hug and play with it. Fortunately as adults, reality will kick in, but as a child or toddler, they may not be able to make that distinction. Sit your children down before you get the puppy and take your time to explain to them how they need to behave around the puppy and what the boundaries are when handling it.
5. NEVER ASSUME THAT YOUR PUPPY IS ENJOYING INTERACTION OR WILL ALWAYS BE TOLERANT OF IT.
Some puppies and dogs will put up with a fair amount of bad behaviour towards them before they’ll start exhibiting obvious signs that they are scared or uncomfortable. It’s vital that you learn to recognise the signs because even the most laid back dog will have a breaking point. First there are the obvious signs such as growling and snapping, or flashing their teeth and worst case scenario- biting.
However, before you get to that point there are some other signs that you can look out for:
Moving away or trying to hide.
Yawning when not sleepy.
Lip Licking.
Raising their paw.
Your pup tucking their tail under them.
6. NEVER DISTURB A SLEEPING PUPPY
Just like you’d never wake a sleeping baby, never disturb a sleeping puppy. A lot of bad puppy behaviour comes from your puppy being over tired, so waking them up is just exacerbating an unnecessary problem. It can also affect their behaviour and cause them to become defensive.
7. IF EITHER PUPPY OR CHILD IS HAVING A BAD DAY- KEEP THEM APART
Everyone has a bad day occasionally, and sometimes prevention is better than cure, if your puppy is teething badly and mouthing everyone in sight or your toddler is particularly grouchy, why risk mixing them together. You should always have the ability to easily separate your children and the dog. Especially with young kids who may not understand why they have been separated.
8. MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD DOES NOT APPROACH THE PUPPY WHILE IT’S EATING
Although it may be clear for us that your child doesn’t want to eat your puppies kibble, it won’t necessarily be clear for the dog. Resource guarding is a fairly common problem in puppies, especially if they shared a bowl with their litter mates and are worried about their food getting taken away.
9. ENCOURAGE SLIGHTLY OLDER CHILDREN TO GET INVOLVED WITH TRAINING AND FEEDING THE PUPPY.
When your children are old enough, get them involved in training and feeding your dog, it will help to build a bond between them and dog, also the dog will begin to respect them more which can eventually lead to you been able to trust them together more.
10. PUPPIES CAN BE AS EQUALLY ANNOYING TO CHILDREN AS CHILDREN CAN BE FOR PUPPIES
Young children can get just as annoyed by puppies as puppies get by children. When they’re playing with their toys and the puppy decides that it’s going to run away with their favourite teddy, you’re not going to have a happy child. It’s also important to ensure that the child is never frightened by the puppy as a fear can develop quickly.
