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Living Together with
Kids and Dogs
(Excepts of this
article published in Hill Rag, July 1999)
As I am writing this article I get a call
from a young mother, she has a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old child…. and
a 9 week old puppy!…. Wow, how fun I thought, I remember those days.
She saw my ad for puppy classes and asked about the ‘Sweet Pea’
program for children. She asked me, "how do I get my sweet puppy to
stop using my kids’ as a chew toy, and to stop chasing and jumping up
on them?" I said that’s what the ‘sweet Pea’ program is all
about, and it is included in the puppy classes for families with
children, especially the crawlers, toddlers and pre-schoolers. I gave
her a few tips that are tried and true by ‘yours truly’ when my kids
were babies and came to me AFTER I already had a few dogs.’ First of
all, you need to have a crate for the puppy and create a schedule of 3
to 4 naps a day for the puppy. You also need to structure your day such
that when the puppy is in the same room with you and the children that
EVERY interaction is supervised. Tethering the puppy to your waist gives
you ‘hands on’ control, without actually using your hands, keeps the
puppy near you, and allows you the freedom to move through the house
with the children, without always having to crate up the puppy, or put
your baby gate up to confine him. When the children come close to you
and the puppy, you remain in control of the puppy’s behavior and can
‘teach’ the children how to play with the puppy and interact in a
‘calm and positive’ manner. Doesn’t take much time, a few minutes
a day. "OK" she said, "I’ve been tethering the puppy
but never thought of tethering the puppy to me…um, sounds good. But
what about biting?"
I gave her a bit of doggy behavior 101,
and another technique that included teaching the puppy to do sits and
downs, i.e.; puppy push-ups…. and then incorporating the children into
the training, hence, the puppy learns that the children are also in
charge of a major resource…. his food, and earning those little pieces
of kibble are done by performing the puppy push-ups for the kids. So now
the confidence level of the children rises, giving them a feeling of
more control, the puppy learns how to behave around children, how to
take food gently, and gets great reinforcement for learning his first
sit and first down. We also create a little game of ‘playtraining’
that educates everyone, now the puppy is more focused, knows what his
new little job is…the playbiting game is slowly replaced with a new
way to interact with the children, the ‘handfeeding’ game, i.e; good
manners.
The problems between children and dogs
arise out of a lack of information and education. I frown on Ruff
housing with a dog by children, and when this form of ‘play’ is done
by adults, it can be carried over to the children by the canine. Ruff
play should not be done until absolute control over the dog’s behavior
is as "near" to 100% controllable as possible, which of course
takes a lot of maturity and training for the dog, and the owner too.
Dogs are still domesticated animals, and if not trained, managed and
controlled will simply act like dogs…which they are, this fact should
never be forgotten.
I gave her a bit more information
pertaining to my ‘P.I.P.E.R.S’ system within the Sweet Pea
program. I tried to give this young mother a ‘picture’ in her head
of how her day would be structured raising a puppy with a 2-year-old and
6-year-old.
I gave her info about puppy classes, and
how much fun and education is involved. Every owner should enroll not
just the puppy, but the whole family too. Families often get a new puppy
for the children, and expect somehow that the kids will be mature enough
to handle the care and training. When parents take the lead in training
the puppy, children are learning from the parents.
My own children have grown up watching me
train my dogs and have learned, through observation and supervised
interaction, that playing with a dog does not include rolling on the
floor wrestling. I shaped an ‘attitude’ in my children’s behavior,
which avoided most of the pitfalls that create dangerous situations
between dogs and children. Playing with our canine companions is done through
training. Children often encourage biting and growling behavior without
realizing it, getting a dog worked up with high level activity in which
control over the dog is lost, this can create so many problems when kids
and dogs living together. In order for kids to help train the family dog
a relationship needs to be built, and inappropriate play will ‘train’
the dog to respond poorly to the child, therefore making a child/dog
training team difficult.
Always with adult supervision, teaching
young children how to train a dog enables the parent to ‘shape’
desirable behaviors, and bringing children into the puppy class helps to
build that foundation. Family dog training must include the children.
Games for kids and dogs are always taught in a training format with lots
of rules. That is why I choose to use food as my training tool. I use
motivational techniques, whatever the dog likes and enjoys becomes a
tool to train. Initially all training and teaching of behaviors is done
with food. Its easy, fun, and both kids and dogs learn to enjoy each
others company. Children pick up the hand signals very quickly, and the
dog learns to respect the children since they are involved in the
training process too, and in control of the goodies, i.e.; toys, food,
games, etc.
A choke chain is a no no in my classes;
otherwise young children would not have the opportunity to become
involved in the training. Food luring, hand signals, handfeeding,
real-life reward training and patience within the family with children
train the dog….plus time, commitment, and love.
At the Jelleff Boys and Girls Club in
Georgetown I often invite the passing children and parents to come in
and meet the puppies. I love to see the kids faces light up, many don’t
have a puppy at home. Most of the kids want to meet the dogs, some may
be a bit afraid. It puzzles me to see a young child show fear even to
the smallest or gentlest of puppies (mostly due to the bad press dogs
have gotten in the past few years, plus perhaps some parental fears
passed on to them). I always offer the grand opportunity to help these
youngsters make a positive association with the canines in class, help
them get a young puppy to sit and take a food treat from their hand. In
fact last week I had 4 kids knocking on the classroom door asking,
"Do you need anymore kids to help with the puppies?" I just
laughed, invited them in, teamed them up with a few pups and their
owners.’ I then instructed the adults how to show the kids what to do…everyone
went right into ‘puppy push-ups’…good for the kids, good for the
pups, we all had fun, and that is exactly the way it should be. If the
classes aren’t fun for you, then the chances are great that your dog
isn’t having fun either, and if your dog isn’t having fun learning,
then the process becomes a ‘chore’…..and training your new and
future companion won’t last. I want it to last a lifetime, generation
to generation, that is one of my goals.
So, what does P.I.P.E.R.S. mean
for children training dogs within the family structure? Simple.
Positive
Interactive Play through Educational
Relationship Shapers. |