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Are you looking to bring home a new pup, or have you just adopted one for your kids? You may be wondering how to teach your children to care for the family dog and learn responsibility through pet ownership.
While kids should never be the sole caretaker of a pet, there are many things they can do to help with dog care. Let’s dive into some ideas, tips, and tricks!
How Much Pet Care Should Children Provide?
Some people adopt dogs primarily for their children, even when they don’t have interest in caring for a pet themselves. We recommend against this, as it’s ultimately unfair to the dog. Children may be unable to handle the full responsibility, or may get bored of caretaking tasks. Even responsible teenagers will need help with things like driving the dog to the vet or paying vet bills.
That said, helping to care for a family dog is beneficial to children. It provides them with routine, responsibilities, and plenty of fun!
How much your child can help will depend on their age. Young children can complete simple tasks like filling the dog’s food bowl each morning or tossing a ball for them to fetch in the backyard. As they get older, kids can help with walks, training, and more.
Dog Care Tasks for Kids
- Filling the food and water bowls: This easy task is acceptable for almost any child. Young children might find filling a cup with water and then pouring it into the bowl easier than carrying the water dish itself.
- Washing the dog’s dishes: Another task that even young children can attempt. You can always sneak in and clean them more thoroughly later if needed!
- Grooming: Brushing your dog’s fur can provide a good bonding moment for your dog and child, but we recommend it only if your dog likes to be brushed. Some dogs can get nippy, especially those with tangles in their long coats.
- Daily walks: Younger kids can walk alongside you and your pup, while older kids can hold the leash. We recommend that parents handle leash training first so that the dog is easy to walk.
- Cleaning: From vacuuming fur to picking up dog poop, cleaning up after a pet teaches responsibility and is a great way to get your child into a routine.
- Training: Some children are very interested in training, and it’s good to foster this interest. Be sure to teach them force-free training techniques and supervise their training sessions.
- Play time: Let your child play fetch or tug with your dog, or fill a puzzle toy with treats so you can watch them figure it out. Don’t allow dogs and children to roughhouse, as this can lead to injuries.
More Tips and Tricks
The Importance of Dog Body Language
Both parents and children need to learn dog body language before bringing a pup home. Consider reading aloud articles on body language, looking at pictures together, or watching videos from force-free dog trainers or behaviorists.
Understanding your dog’s communication is the number one way to ensure your dog and child are both safe and comfortable. Unfortunately, studies show that dog parents are even worse than non-dog owners at recognizing a dog’s discomfort. They often mistake a dog showing subtle stress cues for one that is relaxed and happy.
This lowers their pup’s quality of life, as the dog doesn’t get the breaks that they need. It can also lead to parents believing that their dogs bit their child “out of nowhere” when there were actually many opportunities to prevent the situation.
Enforcing Boundaries
Before bringing a dog home, teach kids some simple rules such as:
- Stay away from the dog while they eat
- Don’t get in the dog’s personal space
- Ask for permission to pet the dog by letting them sniff your hand first
- Don’t reach over the dog’s head to pet them
- Leave the dog alone while they’re in their crate
- Interact calmly and gently with dogs
As you learn more about your new pup, you can teach your child to respect any specific boundaries they have – such as preferring back rubs to being pet on the head, or not enjoying being held.
If your child is too young to reliably respect boundaries, make sure your set-up allows for separating them from the dog when you’re not watching. Some people even choose to wait until the child is a little older to introduce them
Providing Alone Time
Your dog and child should both feel that they can get away from one another if needed. Even if they love each other, they might need space!
The best way to provide this for your pup is an open dog crate that the child has been taught not to touch or crawl inside of. Place it in a quiet, secluded location if possible.
Dog exercise pens can provide more space if you need your child and dog separated for long stretches of time. Baby gates and doors can also help to keep the two in their own areas.
Supervising Dog and Child Interactions
Please don’t leave young children and dogs unattended. It’s important that they have adult supervision at all times. Adults should know how to read dog body language and be ready to enforce boundaries for both the child and pup.
Many people think about the dog hurting the child, and this is a real concern. It’s also important to consider how a young child might hurt the dog by hitting, climbing on them, or picking them up. Small dogs are especially prone to injuries if not treated gently.
Include Your Dog in Daily Activities
Think about how to include your dog in your family’s schedule. Sporty families may enjoy including the dog in backyard play, or you might prefer to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie together.
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The more you can include your dog in your day to day life, the more you and your child will feel bonded to them.
Create a Routine
Children and dogs both thrive with routine. Try creating a daily and weekly pet care routine so that everyone knows what to expect.
Teach Your Child About Safe and Unsafe Dog Treats
Haven’t we all snuck our dogs table scraps as kids? While this is a common experience, it isn’t always safe for the dog.
Consider teaching your child to ask before feeding treats to the dog, as many common meals contain toxic ingredients. Overfeeding a dog can also lead to obesity, which can cause health problems and lowers your dog’s life expectancy.
Consider Not Adopting a Puppy
While puppies are cute, they also tend to be a lot more work than adult dogs. This can be difficult for families with small children.
Puppies will go through phases of misbehavior, like jumping on people or nipping at hands and feet. This requires a high level of supervision and the ability to separate the puppy from the kids until they’ve learned better.
While raising a puppy and child together is possible, many people underestimate the work involved and would be much happier with an adult dog over two years old, who has settled into their personality and is more gentle with the children.
Final Thoughts
The dogs of our childhood teach us about empathy, responsibility, and the value of animals. Dogs bring joy and friendship into a child’s life. When done right, adopting a dog is a win-win for the entire family!
We hope this article has helped you to teach your child about responsible pet ownership and how to care for your new pup. Remember to keep tasks age-appropriate and to always supervise dog and child interactions.
