1) Let sleeping dogs lie. There’s a lot of wisdom in this old
adage. Some dogs exhibit resource
guarding of their sleeping places. Others will instinctively bite or snap if
they are startled while resting or sleeping.
2) Kids should not be allowed to play in the dog’s crate. The crate is
a private place of refuge for dogs when they feel tired or frightened. Respect
your dog’s private sanctuary – his crate.
3) Your small dog is not a stuffed animal. Picking him up too quickly,
or without proper support of his legs, can be frightening to dogs. Dogs who are
yanked up off the floor or carried around like a stuffed animal, learn to avoid contact with children.
Often they will begin to display what trainers call “distance-increasing
signals” such as growling or snapping. When kids ignore these warnings, they
are at risk of being bitten.
4) Your big dog is not a pony. The Internet is full of images of
children riding horseback on their large-breed dogs, but this practice is not
“cute.” Parents must never allow a child to straddle or sit on a dog. Just
because an easy-going dog might tolerate this rude behavior, doesn’t mean he likes
it. In addition to behavioral problems, dogs can suffer serious physical injury
from this disrespectful and dangerous practice.
5) Want to play with your puppy? Get up from the floor! Rolling around
on the floor reminds puppies of their littermates, and how do littermates play
with one another? They nip and bite.
6) Play games that teach cooperation, such as fetch. Avoid games which
teach the dog to avoid you, such as “chase” or “keep away.”
7) Don’t pull your hand back when giving your puppy a treat. This
creates “hard mouth” – basically teaching a dog to bite the hand that feeds
him. Instead, teach kids to feed treats with an open flat hand until the puppy
is old enough to learn to be polite with his mouth.
8) Teach your kids to stay away from a puppy or dog when he is eating.
9) Teach them NOT to share their own food with a dog. This can create
bad habits such as begging for food at the table, eating food scraps from the
floor, or counter surfing.
10) No yelling at or hitting the dog. When your dog does something you
don’t like, he’s not being “bad” – he’s simply repeating a behavior that has
worked from him in the past. Trainers call this “operant conditioning” – a
fancy term that simply means doing stuff that gets rewarded. For example,
leaving trash can lids unsecured "pays off" for a foraging dog. Prevention is
always better than punishment. Puppy-proofing your home by removing things that can get him into trouble, and providing
appropriate supervision, will remove
temptations before bad habits can take hold.
11) Ask your kids to help with teaching basic commands. This is not only fun, but it also helps create a healthy
bond between kids and their dogs.
12) When your puppy picks up something that’s not his, don’t chase him and
snatch it out of his mouth. This teaches him that humans are a threat, and can lead to resource guarding. Instead, trade-up for something better, like
offering the dog a piece of cheese in exchange for your new smartphone that was
carelessly left lying around.
