How would you train your puppy to be good around kids?

I am fortunate in that I have a housefull of kids so our dogs are raised with and by our small fry. You are wise to want Simba to be Child savvy. Dogs can grow to really worry about or harrass kids if they have no experience with them.

MY best advice is simple. First work on his basic obediennce skills,  Have him learn to watch and listen to you with strong reliable results. THEN take him to the park, beach, lake where ever children can be found. With you watching him carefully allow some interaction, a game of fetch etc.

The mouthy behavior is not hard to correct, there are a number of methods used. I prefer a simple one. The moment the pup begins to mouth we squeal a high pitched unpleasant sound. ( ALL of us do this when holding or playing with a pup, even though my husband HATES it -apparently it is not very manly) . With a dog who persists in mouthing we then try switching his focus by offering an acceptable toy to mouth. Failing that we go for our final option , this rarely has to be used and is very effective but not a favorite method. When pup begins to mouth your fingers you simply push them farther into his mouth it is uncomfortable, they back off and think you don't play fair. As I said I rarely have to use this method, since I prefer to teach the dog to think and respond rather than avoid.

Never leave your dog with a child or even teen until you know he is comfortable and unafraid. I still supervise all play sessions to avoid the kids winding up the pack mentality. Believe me 6 RRs can become rouwdy fast if allowed.  If your dog has strong prey drive always be aware of it. It seems to me Simba is thought to have terrier in him right? They have very strong prey drive. So running or even a game where the child is on the ground and hiding a toy can be an incredible invitation to play. This is where your recall and sit command come in so very handy. I make sure even my youngest kids can work a dog in the basisc. both the child and dog are heavily praised for good consistant results. When we took a dog back from a NYC couple they complained at 8 years old he was becoming unmanageble.  Can you imagine the shock they felt when I sent photos of my 4 year old grand daughter walking him , loose lead , boith happy and at ease.

I think many will agree a big mistake made with our dogs is forgetting they were genetically engineered to do jobs. As they grow and become bored for lack or work they are destructive and rowdier than we want them to be. A tired puppy is a good puppy,

One last note, before working the dog,  make sure you walk or jog a bit, even briefly play ..get them slightly tired to blow off the excess energy that makes training  tough some times. Taking a very happy and energetic pup and expecting them to think and focus is hard on both of you.

Good Luck and continue with your very responsible approach to raising your fur kid!

Bonita of Bwana

Bonita of Bwana

I am fortunate in that I have a housefull of kids so our dogs are raised with and by our small fry. You are wise to want Simba to be Child savvy. Dogs can grow to really worry about or harrass kids if they have no experience with them.

MY best advice is simple. First work on his basic obediennce skills,  Have him learn to watch and listen to you with strong reliable results. THEN take him to the park, beach, lake where ever children can be found. With you watching him carefully allow some interaction, a game of fetch etc.

The mouthy behavior is not hard to correct, there are a number of methods used. I prefer a simple one. The moment the pup begins to mouth we squeal a high pitched unpleasant sound. ( ALL of us do this when holding or playing with a pup, even though my husband HATES it -apparently it is not very manly) . With a dog who persists in mouthing we then try switching his focus by offering an acceptable toy to mouth. Failing that we go for our final option , this rarely has to be used and is very effective but not a favorite method. When pup begins to mouth your fingers you simply push them farther into his mouth it is uncomfortable, they back off and think you don't play fair. As I said I rarely have to use this method, since I prefer to teach the dog to think and respond rather than avoid.

Never leave your dog with a child or even teen until you know he is comfortable and unafraid. I still supervise all play sessions to avoid the kids winding up the pack mentality. Believe me 6 RRs can become rouwdy fast if allowed.  If your dog has strong prey drive always be aware of it. It seems to me Simba is thought to have terrier in him right? They have very strong prey drive. So running or even a game where the child is on the ground and hiding a toy can be an incredible invitation to play. This is where your recall and sit command come in so very handy. I make sure even my youngest kids can work a dog in the basisc. both the child and dog are heavily praised for good consistant results. When we took a dog back from a NYC couple they complained at 8 years old he was becoming unmanageble.  Can you imagine the shock they felt when I sent photos of my 4 year old grand daughter walking him , loose lead , boith happy and at ease.

I think many will agree a big mistake made with our dogs is forgetting they were genetically engineered to do jobs. As they grow and become bored for lack or work they are destructive and rowdier than we want them to be. A tired puppy is a good puppy,

One last note, before working the dog,  make sure you walk or jog a bit, even briefly play ..get them slightly tired to blow off the excess energy that makes training  tough some times. Taking a very happy and energetic pup and expecting them to think and focus is hard on both of you.

Good Luck and continue with your very responsible approach to raising your fur kid!

Bonita of Bwana

Thanks for the advice! Yeah we've tried the whole high pitched sound when he nips but he just think its play. So we've been using the toy technique and seems to be getting it a little. :)  Your right, it is probably best to wait till he knows his basic obedience. I believe he has pit in him, yes and so true a tired puppy is a good puppy. :P Thanks again!

 First, I would put him on "NILIF" for everything.  If he has a default sit for ANY attention, play, treats etc. (basically anything he wants), it will be easier for him to transfer that skill when kids come into the picture.  If he is jumping and nipping YOU and then you bring in kids he is tackling 2 things at once: learning not to jump/nip, and learning about children.

If he jumps and/or nips, you must not give him any reward for this.  Abruptly leave the room and close the door.  Even "No", "Sit" etc. is attention, and therefore rewarding to most dogs - especially puppies.

I am not a huge fan of "yipping" when they mouth.  The high pitched noise often just wroks them up more.  Silence and abrupt withdrawal send a stronger message IMO.

I would make it easy for him by making sure there are lots of safe chewies and tug toys around, and keeping some on my person.  When you interact, have one available for him and encourage him to mouth on THAT - praise him up and down when he gets it right, but withdraw if he crosses your "line" wherever your line is.  That is, some don't allow teeth on skin AT ALL, and some are OK if the mouthing is very GENTLE, but withdraw when pupper bites too hard.  I think there is a lot to be said for making the pup aware of HOW HARD he is using his mouth - knowing HOW to bite, and not just NOT to bite, is a good thing for a dog to know.

Remember he is probably teething.  Cold things will be soothing to  his gums and more attractive to bite on than you or your things.  Chill or freeze some of his chews and toys - a knotted old cloth or tug toy, dampened and then chilled is a cheap and easy puppy teething toy.  Stuffed Kongs can also be frozen.

Start with older kids who can be trusted to do as they are told.  You could tell them that he is a pup, and still in training and they can HELP you with that.  You could explain that puppies like to chew things (like any babies) and if he tries to do it on their fingers, they must stand up, fold their arms and look at the sky.  You could GIVE them chews to offer him, so he can gnaw one end and they hold the other.  This does several things: it lets him know that youngsters can be pretty cool, they bring nice tasty things!  I think it may also help to let him know that chewing or eating near young ones is normal and safe, so that he is less likely to become defensive about it later on.

 You don't have a lot of time if the puppy is approaching four months of age.  If he's older, then you are way behind.  The best thing I like to do is to have the pup a distance away from the kid.  Ask the kid to "help train the puppy" by tossing a treat onto the floor at the pup's feet as you say "Look, kids."  Pup gets food and so he learns that kids are cool.  Pup learns that the treats come from the floor (so no need to nip at fingers).  And, both are kept safe during training and the teething stage.

When I got my border collie as a puppy I didn't have kids in the house any more, and no grandkids yet.  I taught him "say hello".  To do this, I'd walk him up to an adult or object, use "say, hello", and lure him into a sit.  The person would then give him a treat.  I'd take him away before he had a chance to jump.  Repeat over and over.  Once he knew "Hamish, say hello" I used it as often as possible.  If he was afraid of a garbage can, "say hello" and he'd know it was okay to go to the object.  With a person, I'd hand them a treat.  I like the idea of having children "help you train your puppy".  Give them a treat in their hand keeps hands off of the dog.  You also have the opportunity to instruct them in proper petting.  They should pet the dog on the neck, not the top of the head.  Some dogs do not like being petted on top of the head, and do not like hands coming over their head because it is a dominant gesture.

 Little kids also do weird stuff to dogs.  You should be gently picking your puppy up wrong, stroking his ears, legs, and tail, putting your face right into his muzzle, dangling your hair in his face, etc.

 I don't have kids, but my family is very close (and there are several youngins always around) so it's important that all of my dogs know how to behave around them. It's a 2-part deal.

1) you have to train the kids how to behave around dogs. Any time I am out with my dogs and there are kids around that are interested in my dogs, I use that time to train that kid - even if that kid is a stranger. I say stuff like, "If your mom says that it's ok to pet (insert dog name), then you can. Hold your hand out (I show my hand, palm up) and put your hand under the dogs nose to let the dog sniff you. Never put your hand over a dogs head to pet it. Always let the dog sniff the palm of your hand.  Then you can scratch its chest or neck".

Parents love that I take the time to talk to the child about how to meet a strange dog. Every parent I've ever come across always smiles and says a big "thank you!"

2) train the dog to like kids. If you have a puppy that grows up with kids, that's one thing. However, if you adopt a dog that is not used to children then it takes time and a lot of effort. When Lily first came to me, she was so afraid of kids and would bark and bark at them to tell the kids to stay away from her. So, I sat down outside on a picnic table with one of my nieces and my niece fed Lily treats for a while. Next time, Lily got treats for letting my niece pet her and so on. We worked up to doing clicks and treats for Lily watching kids running and playing while she stayed calm. I used my nieces friends to walk around and drop treats at their feet too. She loves kids now. I am working on this with my new foster who is also afraid of kids. It's the quick and unpredictable motions that kids do that freaks dogs out so much, I think.

Jewlieee

 2) train the dog to like kids. If you have a puppy that grows up with kids, that's one thing. However, if you adopt a dog that is not used to children then it takes time and a lot of effort. When Lily first came to me, she was so afraid of kids and would bark and bark at them to tell the kids to stay away from her. So, I sat down outside on a picnic table with one of my nieces and my niece fed Lily treats for a while. Next time, Lily got treats for letting my niece pet her and so on. We worked up to doing clicks and treats for Lily watching kids running and playing while she stayed calm. I used my nieces friends to walk around and drop treats at their feet too. She loves kids now. I am working on this with my new foster who is also afraid of kids. It's the quick and unpredictable motions that kids do that freaks dogs out so much, I think.

I'm curious, how long were these sessions?

 Thanks for the advice guys! We took him to PETCO today and he saw two little boys and was great with them!

I told all the neighbor kids to ignore lily and never look at her. I would sit with lily on the grass in the yard and the kids would ride their bikes up and down the side walk or play across the street. I gave lily treats for watching the kids calmly.

The sessions were short, but we did them several times through out each day that I was around.

punkchica321

 Thanks for the advice guys! We took him to PETCO today and he saw two little boys and was great with them!

Terrific, now don't stop - have him interact with as many kids of all sizes and both genders as you can manage.  If he is jumpy and nippy, the best thing to do is exercise him before you take him to visit with kids.  One safe exercise if you don't know the kids, is to keep your puppy on a leash (you can step on it so you won't be pulling him), and have the child toss a treat onto the floor to the puppy as you say "Say Hello" or whatever phrase you want to use.  That way, the kids are safe at a distance, no one is encouraging him to jump up, and you still convince him that kids are cool because they have treats for him.