Clark County Humane Society
How to Raise Puppies and Kids Together!
With a few simple rules and guidelines in place, you can successfully train your puppy and children to respect each other.
1. Teach your puppy 5 basic commands: sit, down, stay, come, and leave it. These 5 firmly trained commands will get you through any situation. When training, be happy and excited, use treats when command is done correctly.
2. Respect the puppy while it is eating and sleeping.
3. Chase is not a fun game for a puppy. It leads to nipping and a child getting knocked over.
4. Tug of war is also not acceptable. Teach your dog to drop the toy. If he does not drop it, the game ends.
5. Be consistent. If you tell your puppy no when he chases your child and the next minute tell him to get the child, the puppy doesn’t know which is right and which is wrong.
6. If the puppy doesn’t seem to want to play at the moment, don’t force yourself on him. Like people, they need space too.
7. Teach your kids to keep their toys out of the puppies reach. A puppy cannot tell the difference between their toys and the children’s toys.
8. Teach your kids how to play with the puppy gently, kindly and with respect.
9. A great general rule is do not let a child do to a puppy what you would not want a puppy to do to your child.