Your Dog And Children

Your dog and your children don't have to be enemies - investing in a little training can go a long way towards building a trust between your canine and your children. Like children, dogs are a pretty broad group - some breeds get along better with children than other breeds. Even that's a blanket statement - some breeds will undoubtedly get along better with young children than older children. Two good breeds of dogs that are great for young children are beagles and cocker spaniels.

In either case, dog training makes the difference in the quality of life for both your children and your pet. The two biggest parts of training are establishing guidelines and establishing freedoms. Your dog cannot read your mind. As the owner, it is up to you to set rules in place. Moreover, these rules need to be enforced. If you lay down rules for your new pet, but never enforce them, you cannot blame your dog's subsequent mischief entirely on them.

Establishing freedoms is a huge part of your training. Many owners find their dog's misbehavior increase when they become so strict that the dog feels trapped, instead of belonging to a comfortable, loving home. A good training session must include positive reinforcements, such as rewards for good behavior, and general praise. A new dog is in new territory -- make sure to give them plenty of space, but be sure to give them plenty of love too. A new pet has to feel like they are part of the family.

With that sentiment, it must be noted the role that children play in the training process. Your new dog cannot truly feel part of the family unless they are introduced to every part of your life, including your children. Generally speaking, until the children are older, the children will be a major part of your new dog's life. Even if you decide not to include the children in the training sessions, they will inevitably suffer from the pet's behavior.

Including your children into the dog training process is so much fun! Start the training right by establishing some key ground rules. For example, if you will be doing most of the training within your own home, you should establish a designated training area. When you aren't going to be training your dog, you and your children should stay out of this area.

The first training session should start with the basics -- having your dog sit up, and having your dog lay down. Children help so much in this vital step because it's a simple set of commands that they can issue to the dog, along with the hand motions that will lock onto to learn the behavior properly.

The hand feeding your children do during the training sessions are very important as well. It helps deepen the relationship that your children and your pet will share. Young children slowly begin to realize that the dog is part of their life, and that they are partially responsible for their pet. Children also have higher, gentler voices than adults, which can aid in sending a calming message to the dog. Also, your children will realize that training requires everyone to get involved. No matter how young the children are, they can assist in making the canine feel part of the family.

A strong respect should be built between your children and the new dog - from day one, all interaction with the dog is a sort of training session. However, it is still important to set aside special times for training, to reinforce to the pet that this is an important step for them too.

That respect goes a long way. For example, during the training sessions it is essential to listen to the dog's feelings throughout the day. If your children begin to play with the dog and it growls, that should be taken as a time to step back and leave the pet some breathing room.

The canine isn't perfect, nor is the training that is meant to discipline and educate the dog. As you train your pet, keep in mind that there will be good days, and bad days. The key to continuing with successful trainings is to realize that your dog needs enough space to have fun as well as discipline in their life.

Above all, dog training requires patience, time, and lots of love. Children provide the determination it takes to bring in a new canine within the family house, and the simple love that children give is the right level of affection for your new pet. If your dog is small, do not believe that negative behaviors will simply go away - start the right way with great training and tender, loving care!

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