I had a first appointment the other day with a family that includes two young girls (ages 6 and 10) and a new puppy. Whenever I work with families like this one, part of helping them get off to the right start is about teaching the parents how to supervise and manage their kids and their puppy, how to teach their puppy appropriate behaviors, and how to teach their kids to be positive dog teachers and friends.
In this post, I’m addressing specifically lessons for your children.
So, back to my recent appointment. After we talked about the teaching/learning process and how to problem solve behavior issues (one of which was what to have their puppy do when they are cooking in the kitchen), and spent time teaching sit and some other behaviors, the question came up about what to do when the girls walk into the kitchen which typically causes their puppy to bark, jump, and run around. We had already talked about the parents teaching him to sit at the baby gate when they approached and when they walked through to enter the room.
This was a great transition to talk about teaching kids about appropriate behavior just as they are teaching their puppy appropriate behavior. Their girls can practice asking their puppy to sit at the gate when they approach and walk through just as their parents do. And they can learn to become a tree (with a very still body) if their puppy begins jumping, nipping and barking….among other things.
Consistency will help that puppy learn. And it will help everyone in that household to be accountable and to be effective teachers. It will help the whole process of raising a puppy be less stressful (let’s face it, there will be stressful times when raising a puppy!) and more fun!
(Note: the photo is not of my client)
