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Puppies are like children in many ways. They need constant care, supervision, and a lot of affection. Having both together, your kids and your dog, especially during playtime, require extra supervision and patience. The key is to teach your child how to play with the puppy and for the puppy to understand that he needs to listen to the child the same way he listens to you and the other adults in the family.

Always Use The Same Commands

It is important for your child to use the same commands that you and the rest of the family use. Doing so teaches your child to use the commands with respect toward the dog. At the same time, your puppy will realize that he needs to obey the child's commands, thus teaches both to respect one another.

It sounds like it can be quite a handful, but it is also a lot of fun. Combining training and playtime helps to create a closer bond between your child and puppy. Let them run together and then see how fast your child can command the puppy to stop and sit. The puppy needs to learn to sit and wait while your child to throw a toy for your puppy to retrieve. Your child can also train the dog how to roll over by rolling in the grass while having the puppy mimic him.

There are many other ways you can incorporate training and fun between your child and puppy. Below are some helpful rules to keep in mind:

1. Your dog should understand who the leader is. If he has an instinct to herd, don't let him herd your child. Doing so will make the dog think that he is in charge and will not obey your child's commands.

2. No roughhousing whatsoever. Discourage aggressive play at all times. Do not let your child drag, pull, wrestle, hit, or poke the puppy, even in a playful way. Your puppy may react differently and may jump and bite. At the same time, do not let your puppy jump on your child. A four year old German Shepherd can easily knock down a 6 year old child.

3. Teach your child to respect the puppy, and vice versa. Your child should learn how to properly treat the dog, which will then earn him the respect and leadership from your puppy.

4. Establish consistency. Puppies learn through repetition. Your child needs to understand that commands that we teach him are firm and absolute. If the puppy doesn't obey the command, the child should repeat the command until the puppy does what he is told to do.

5. No squeezing. Hugging the puppy too tight can result in injury.

6. Always be there to supervise playtime, especially if you have a young child and/or you have a new puppy. This way, you can easily intervene if things get out of hand.

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I'll never forget the time when I was just a six-year-old child, some 30 years ago, and my pet dog, Buddy, was laying limp all day under the living room chair - her eyes moving only occasionally. But I could care less, as I played with my toys all day.

To the eyes of a child, Buddy's behavior was nothing to worry myself about, nothing that I needed to be concerned with, that is - until my mother came into the room and disturbed the quiet.

She said, "Your dog has been dozing all day. Look at her. She rarely gets up. And when she does, everything droops - her nose, her ears, her tail. Would you like to change the way she looks?"

Mother Turned The Family Dog Into My Teacher

With that question, my mother began her experiment. Her plan was to take my pet dog and turn her into my teacher.

My mother continued, "Do you know that your dog needs your help? She needs you to make her happy." My mother asked me what things make me happy. Was it being part of the family and doing things with mom and dad? Yes. "We'll try that on Buddy. Let's let her help us and see how we make her feel."

Mom suggested that Buddy help us take out the garbage. She put a little garbage in a small bag. I gave it to Buddy and said, "Carry." My dog sniffed it, and then picked it up and started down the long apartment hallway.

That small bag changed my dog. He was no longer a shambling wad of fur, but a sleek wolf. Lazy muscles tensed, his nose stuck up in the air. He tried to walk with us but his walk slipped into a prance, then a gallop, till all we had was a bouncing back view with a tail wagging above. Buddy became a part of something and learned to enjoy it, while teaching me something in the process.

One day, by the time we made it down the hall, Buddy had delivered the garbage into the incinerator - and brought it back to us four times!

What I Learned: Responsibility

The dog's response and enthusiasm had introduced me to my first lesson - responsibility. I became aware of the needs of others. My mother guided me in finding those needs and filling them. My dog encouraged repetition. I was not performing a chore, rather, I was giving something to my pet.

Lessons like this went on for 17 years - till I was a junior in high school. That year Buddy died. The next year I graduated and left home. But some of the attitudes I have today can be traced back to my childhood relationship with a dog and my mother's awareness of that potential.

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To help your children become involved in training the family puppy, make it fun rather than a chore. One way to do this is to turn it into a game.

"Gentle, interactive games build the bond, trust and respect that is desirable between child and puppy," says Thomas Morningstar, professional dog trainer and owner of Sunshine Dog Training School in Toronto, Canada. Thomas provides some Dos and Don'ts for how kids should play with a puppy:

Do:

- Come
- Fetch
- Give

Don't:

- Jump
- Chase
- Tug-of-War

Most professional dog trainers, like Thomas, will concur that you, as the adult, should teach your puppy the rules of the game first, before involving your kids. "One of the first games every family puppy should learn is give," he says. "Your puppy should learn to give objects [a ball, chew toy or your daughter's Barbie] willingly with a simple verbal release cue, such as 'give' or 'drop it.'"

The give command, in Mr. Morningstar's opinion, "is best taught through trade-me games, where you offer a toy or treat more desirable to the puppy than the one it is holding. The point is to get the puppy to relinquish its prize happily," he explains.

After your puppy masters this skill, tug-of-war can be considered "for older children [12 and older], but the game should still be overseen by an adult or responsible teen who can intervene if either the kids or the pup gets too rough," Thomas advises.

As you well know, puppies are motivated by food, so use this to your advantage! Don't think of it as bribing, but rather as positive reinforcement (along with lots of verbal praise and cuddles).

Encourage your children to practice the puppy's sit, come, stay and leave it lessons with treats. Treats should be soft, small and easy to eat, such as bits of cheese or hot dogs. Crunchy biscuits are usually too large - and filled with too many calories - for the repetitiveness of training.

When teaching sit, hold the food morsel just above the puppy's nose, then slowly move it backward until the puppy gets into the desired position as you say the cue word ("sit"). Likewise, to teach the down, draw the treat slowly toward the ground from the sit position; for heel, hold it at your thigh as you walk.

Give your puppy the reward as you praise it ("Good boy, Sparky!"). Once your puppy starts getting the hang of it, decrease the frequency of treats to, say, every third time it performs the desired action. Food isn't the only motivator, however. You can also use a favorite toy along with lots and lots of praise. Eventually, with patience and practice on your part, your pup will learn to sit on command.

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However, I'm not sure Chloe would have welcomed home baby Sophie with eager licks and wags had I not taken the time during those (long) nine months of pregnancy to prepare her for our expanding family.

Here are some of the same times I used, and ones you can use as well, for helping your puppy adjust to sharing the spotlight:

Create A New Routine

Babies have a tendency to run on their own schedule, especially during the early months when they still have their days and nights mixed up. Veterinarian Karen D. Willinger, V.M.D., PhD., suggests "getting your dog on a schedule near what you expect it to be when the baby arrives."

Dr. Willinger goes on to say, "for example, because babies fall asleep easily in a stroller, you can plan walks with the dog around the baby's naptimes, walking the dog while the baby sleeps in the stroller."

Positive Reinforcement Goes A Long Way

Another suggestion from the experts is to help your dog associate the baby with good things. Before the baby arrives, have another family member bring home a blanket from the hospital for your pup to sniff, which will help acclimate it to the smells of the baby (some pleasant and others not so much) that will soon fill the house. Try giving your pup its favorite toy or treat while you bathe, feed or rock the baby.

Meet & Greet

First and foremost, never leave your dog alone with the baby! Supervision is necessary for everyone's safety - not to mention peace of mind - because a newborn baby's jerky muscle reactions can trigger a dog's prey drive (the instinct to chase and kill animals).

When the introduction day finally arrives, take it slow. Dr. Willinger suggests keeping your dog on a leash at first, allowing it to sniff the baby while you watch for signs of fear or aggression. Signs of aggression include pinned-back ears, growling, snarling, or loud, forceful barking. In contrast, a fearful dog will whimper, tremble or quiver, and tuck its tail between its legs.

With proper preparation and positive reinforcement, both of your babies can learn to happily share the stage. "Remember," Dr. Willinger says, "puppy and baby interaction is all about what you - as the dog owner and new parent - are comfortable with."

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Having a new puppy in the house is a very exciting and memorable experience, especially when you have children in the family. However, every interaction between your child and your new puppy must be closely supervised, especially for the first few days after your puppy's arrival.

When meeting the puppy for the first time, have your child sit on the floor with her legs crossed. Slowly bring the new puppy up to her. Tell your child to lay out her "gentle hands" as she reaches over to the puppy with palms down and knuckles up so the pup can sniff them.

Give the puppy some time to sniff, but don't force him to do it. When he's done smelling her scent, pick him up and put him on your child's lap while she is sitting on the floor. Let your child pet the puppy, always using her "gentle hands."

Your new puppy will do one of two things. First, he may stay on your child's lap while enjoying every second of being pampered. He may even fall asleep after a few minutes. Second, he will leave to walk around and explore his new environment. If he decides to explore, let him do it while you are watching to make sure that he doesn't get himself into any kind of danger.

If the puppy decides to walk around, tell your child not to chase or pull at him. Your child will likely be very fascinated with the new member of the family that she will want to grab him and put him back on her lap. Remind her about using "gentle hands" when petting.

Be sure to tell your child not to pull, grab, squeeze, drag, or poke the puppy. Doing so can hurt the little dog or result in him reacting aggressively to the child, which could injure or cause the child to fear the puppy.

Gently grab the puppy again and place him back on your child's lap. If he tries to bolt, let him walk around for a few minutes. Keep in mind that he may still be in shock from being separated from his mother and the newness of his surroundings, or he may just want to explore his new home.

If your child seems discouraged about the puppy continually escaping from her lap, make sure she understands that it is not because the puppy doesn't like her.

After a few minute of letting your new pup run around, pick him up again and place him on your child's lap. To make sure that he won't try to escape, bring a few of his favorite treats along with you.

When he starts to show signs of escaping, show him the treat and have your child gently feed it to him. Your child should place the treat on her palm for the puppy to lick, not on her fingertips where the puppy can accidentally nip her while he grabs for the food.

Remember to stay calm and positive and keep your voice low. This is an exciting time for everyone, an experience that will set the stage toward a happy and healthy friendship between your child and your puppy.

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Bringing a new baby into the household that already has a puppy living in it can prove to be a little difficult at times. You need to understand that a puppy who has been in the house for a while views the home as his territory and when you bring home a small child then this toy-like new person can feel like a threat. There is no best way to prepare for this scenario, however we do have a few suggestions to help your puppy adjust to the new arrival of your baby:

1. Once your new baby comes home, the puppy is going to experience times when he will be ignored. It is just unstoppable and he must get used to it. Your baby will need your full and undivided attention and sometimes your dog may not be able to participate.

In order to start helping your puppy adjust to these times, start by ignoring him at least one full hour every day. This exercise should be practiced a few weeks before the due date of your baby. Be sure that you are in the house doing something simple such as watching TV or folding your clothes, etc.

2. Keep in mind that you're going to have a lot of baby items laying around the house, especially toys. While you can do your best to keep your home clear of these toys, there are times when your dog may make an attempt to grab them. Therefore, you must try to discourage your puppy from eating the toys.

You can do this by having a few baby toys laying on the floor next to his play items. When he goes and reaches for the baby toys, give him the "no" command and then shift his attention to one of his own toys. One way to make your dog remember the difference in the toys is to mark all the baby's toys with mouthwash. Soon he will associate the "no" command with the smell and taste of mouthwash and ignore the toys altogether. Needless to say, dogs hate the smell and taste of mouthwash products.

3. You are going to have to allow your puppy to sniff and get used to the baby. However, keep in mind that babies love to tug and pull at everything they see. This may startle your puppy when the baby goes to tug at him. So in order to get your puppy used to this behavior, start by tugging and pulling at your puppy whenever you praise him. For example, give his ears a quick tug when you pet him. Grab at his coat when you go to praise him. And for extra training, perhaps make some baby sounds as you go along. Remember, your goal is to have your puppy desensitized to the new sounds and actions that your baby will display when he or she arrives at the home.

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