Preparing Your Children for a New Dog

If you’ve finally caved in and agreed to get a new dog for your family, then you might’ve just made the best or worst decision of your life. Most parents are responsible for the family pet even though the kids promise to take care of it. They don’t quite understand the pressure or responsibility required to take care of a living animal, but here are a couple of tips to help you ease them into the role of a responsible dog owner.

Maximus and EJ

With Max

Relax your child around your pets

One of the biggest concerns that you’ll face when introducing your child to a pet is that your child is going to be frightened, reckless and sometimes even aggressive towards your pet. These sudden jerky movements can often frighten animals that are new to your household, so ensure that you relax your child and teach them to be comfortable with your new pet. Teach them not to be too firm with your dog and take it slow when trying to build a bond.

With Champ

Teach them chores to look after your pet

There are some basic chores that your child can learn when getting them comfortable with your pet. Firstly, teach them to put away pet dishes and refill the food. This is a good place to teach your child how to properly manage feeding because overfeeding can make your pet overweight and underfeeding will leave them malnourished. Teach them how much food to pour, when, and how to properly clean the feeding dishes. It’s also recommended to teach your child how to deal with dog poop and urine. It’s probably one of the smellier and messier parts of dog care, but it’s something that your children need to learn if they want to grow up with their dog and learn to care for them properly.

Cleaning and grooming your dog

Children should be actively involved in the cleaning and grooming of your pet. The first thing you should consider is getting a guide and learn how to groom your dog. If you personally don’t know how to groom your dog, then you need to learn first, practice and then pass the information onto your children. For instance, if it’s a furry dog then make sure the coat is brushed on a regular basis. Clipping toenails is also beneficial to the pet and also your children, and even their teeth need a good clean now and then. Bathing your dog can also be quite a challenge, but it’s important that your children learn how to do it as well.

Don’t just leave it up to your children

Finally, we need to talk about commitment and responsibility. One of the worst things you can do is get a dog then leave it up to your children. As mentioned before, you’re going to be responsible for the dog as the parent and you need to slowly introduce your children to the tasks and responsibilities of a dog owner. This is why you personally need to also show some compassion and care when taking care of your dog. If you aren’t remotely interested in getting a dog, then tell your children you simply don’t have time for it.