Perfect Puppy Care Book – Chapter 1 – Preparing Your Family
Chapter 1 – Preparing Your Family
Preparing your family for the arrival of a new puppy is an important step. By making decisions in advance, assigning specific responsibilities, and prepping your children, your puppy will more easily adapt to the family routine.
Make Decisions in Advance
One of the best things that you can do for your puppy is to decide some things ahead of time in respect to your family. Where is the puppy going to sleep? Will she be allowed on the furniture? Where is her potty area? Are there any areas of the house in which she won’t be allowed?
Also, you might have an issue if you don’t want the puppy on the furniture, but your kids immediately let her up on the bed. Your dog will feel confused if everyone’s not on the same page, and it will be harder to train her as a result. Settle these issues before bringing your puppy home so that everyone in your family has the same expectations.
Assign Responsibilities
Are different members of your family going to be responsible for different aspects of your new puppy’s care? Be sure to lay out all responsibilities ahead of time so that everyone knows what to do. Be realistic. Some parents want their children to take primary responsibility for a puppy, but some kids just aren’t old enough or ready for it yet. This is not the time to teach a child a lesson about not following through, because a living, breathing creature is part of the lesson. If a child is forgetful and dashes off to baseball practice without feeding the puppy, it’s the puppy that will be hungry.
Instead, set your family up to succeed. Assign responsibilities that are truly realistic for each child. Show them what you expect, and make sure that they understand. To help to keep everyone on the same page, try creating a weekly chart for your family so that they can track their responsibilities. Post it in a place where everyone will see it often, like on the kitchen refrigerator.
Special Considerations for Children
If you have children, teach them ahead of time how to behave when the new puppy arrives. Puppies and children can be the best of friends, or they can terrify each other. It’s natural for puppies to jump up, mouth everything with needle teeth, and bowl into little ones hard enough to knock them down. This can cause your children to be afraid of your new puppy. It’s also natural for children to make loud noises, run, flail their hands, and not always understand how to be gentle. These kinds of behaviors can cause your puppy to be afraid of your children.
Here are some tips to help your kids and new puppy get along:
- Teach your children to walk, not run, when the puppy is present. Puppies will naturally chase a running child, especially a bigger breed of dog.
- Teach your children to be quiet and still if the puppy jumps on them. Flailing hands and high-pitched wails are very exciting for a puppy and will probably rile her up more. Instead, teach your kids to stand still and wrap their arms around their bodies. Puppies will find this behavior less enticing, and they’ll be less likely to jump up and nip.
- Teach your children to be kind and gentle with the puppy and never to tease her.
In return, you’ll be teaching your puppy solid family manners so that she learns how to be gentle with your little ones, too.
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