Teaching Children and Dogs How to Interact Properly

Hello everyone, and welcome back to a brand new episode of Dog Sense! 

Let me ask you a question: Does your dog get along with children?

If your answer was a resounding "no", then this episode is for you, especially if you’re a parent. 

You can't just do a quick intro between a dog and a kid and hope everything goes smoothly. 

Not only do you have to teach your children to be safe around dogs, but you also have to build tolerance for kids in your dog.

And both of these things take time, patience, and a lot of vigilance! 

But don't worry, because we're here to help!

Today, Sarah and I will be sharing our tips and tricks, so tune in now! 

Let me tell you a story…

Years ago, I had a student who had a puppy who was definitely going to be a challenge for her. I just knew it. The puppy had an edge to him, and I could feel it.

She stopped coming to classes after three weeks, and when I reached out to her, she had told me her husband had been diagnosed with cancer. It was awful, and she didn’t have the time to come to classes anymore.

Nine months later, right after Thanksgiving, she came to me, asking for help with the dog because they’d had ‘an incident’.

During Thanksgiving dinner, she was sitting at the table with her dog at her side. Her five year old grandson, who lived with her and had been raised with the dog, went to hug the pup, and the dog turned around and bit him in the face.

Her grandson needed 86 stitches to close the wounds. No one could believe what happened. The dog had never been aggressive, and was used to her grandson being in the house as they lived together since day one.

So, what had happened exactly? And how can you make sure you don’t end up in a similar situation? Listen to the episode above to find out!