Dogs and Kids: Tips and Pointers
Childproofing your furry best friend is very important.
Whether you are planning to bring a baby into your house soon, already have a child running around or just want to make sure your dog is comfortable around children, these tips might be helpful to you. These five techniques can assure that both the dog and the children are prepared for a safe and sound meet and play time. It is best to teach these techniques both to your dogs and children from a very young age but if your dogs are older don’t worry, it just might take more patience and practice.

How to prepare your dog for a child:
1. Massaging paws, between fingers and toes
When your dog is in a relaxed stage and laying around the house, go up to them and gently grab and massage their paws and between their toes area. Make sure to always reward them with treats for their good behavior and for letting you do that without being aggressive. Young children around the house might grab or step on their paws and this is one way for your dog to get used to being a little uncomfortable and not snapping at the kids.
2. Touching and gently pulling on the core of the tail (same applies for the ears)
Another thing that toddlers might do when they are trying to get a dog’s attention is that they might pull on your dogs tail. If the dog is not used to being touched in that area they might react aggressively which might scare your child and they will be afraid of dogs. So what you can do to prevent this is that you grab your dogs tail by their butt and start massaging it and gently pulling on it. This way they will be comfortable with being uncomfortable and when a child accidentally pulls on their tail, it won’t cause a weird reaction. Always use tasty treats to make sure your pup associates those little uncomfortable experiences with something good at the end.
3. Include your dog
Having a new baby or a child around the house can cause jealousy or unusual excitement in your dog that might result in misbehavior. Make sure you don’t just constantly yell “no” at the dog but rather try to be patient and correct those misbehaviors with directing the dog to the right direction. Make sure that you keep involving and including your dog in walks, play times, while you are feeding your baby or changing the diaper. For example, you can let the dog be around and you can talk to both of them while changing the diaper. When you are playing with your baby, have the dog around as well and give them treats, pet them kindly or have a ball with you that you can throw around. Have together time so they get used to each other and the child can become a friend instead of someone that took the attention away from the dog.
4. Relaxed and fun meetings
Make sure the time they meet is fun and relaxed for everyone. Have lots of treats and reward your dog for behaving well. If your child is old enough to give a treat to the dog make sure you let the dog sniff their hands first and then hand a treat over. Teach your children to be gentle while petting the dog and never make unexpected sudden movements.
5. Always supervise
Even though the above techniques are very helpful to create a safe environment the best is never to leave your child and dog completely unsupervised. Something unexpected might happen that can set off your pup and it is always better to stay around before something bad happens.

