7 Easy Tips to Train Your Dog to Safely Play With Kids

Dog sitting next to a baby girl

The best way to make sure that your child and pet get along is through training and rescue dogs need different modes of training like obedience, crate, etc. Some dogs are child lovers while others are afraid of them. However, all pets need training, especially if there are infants at home.

Below are 7 tips to train your dog to safely play with kids, making it a children friendly dog:

  1. Socializing

Puppies are the easiest to train because exposing them to family members and other people at the early ages of 8 and 16 weeks builds their confidence. Adult canines can also be trained although it requires you to be spontaneous. Incorporating puppy training methods with rewards yields positive results. Making sure your friend with four paws interacts with children of all ages is among many dog training tips.

  1. Consider Your Friend

Just like humans, dogs have feelings which they express through their body language. They experience pain, pleasure and even depression. Before embarking on training your pet, it is good to bear this in mind. Use praises and try to avoid negative reinforcements through punishment which will only cause your friend to feel ashamed.

  1. Rules and Regulations

Establishing principles around the house and making sure everybody sticks to them can make it easy to establish dog obedience tips. For example, they should not lick or eat food from the children’s plates.

  1. Positive Reinforcement

Puppies learn well by associating an outcome to certain behavior or things. Rewarding your dog using treats and praises whenever they associate with kids will encourage a positive outcome. This is one of the most effective ways to make your pet a children friendly dog.

  1. Think Like a Child

Adults have different thoughts that help them shape their worldviews. Thinking like a child will enable you to come up with the best dog training methods. Use gestures, run around and use other behaviors that are associated with children.

  1. Get Your Baby Familiar with the Dog

Parents are cautious with what they allow to get into contact with their babies. Acquainting your friend to baby sounds, scents, toys, prams, and other baby stuff helps him to be better prepared in case one is expecting a baby.

  1. Supervision

Dog playing with a kid

 

Leaving your child and dog unattended can cause life-threatening injuries; for example, a child might chase after a pet without checking for cars and end up in an accident. Other times, pets might scratch or even bite children in case they misunderstand each other.

Parents can keep their kids and dogs in sight by introducing dog games for kids. As you get toys for your kids, don’t make your pet feel left out, also get him the best puppy toys for teething – he’ll have fun and at the same time develop stronger teeth.

Conclusion

Making your dog child friendly can be a very involving task but one that’s paramount. Children tend to be naïve, active and very sensitive. Ensuring that your pet knows how to handle them with gentleness is very important.

We’d like to hear from you; which dog breeds do you think are the most aggressive with kids?

Author’s BIO: The article was written by Betti Wilson from Springfield, Illinois, who is a free-time writer and a full-time mother. Betti loves dogs and kids as much as they love her. Betty also writes for allpetsexpert.com.

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