Educate Children
Information children who live in my home or come to my home must know. ⬇️
🐶 DO NOT touch my dog. Not even if he walks up to you. If you would like to touch my dog, please come and get me and we can pet him together.
🐶 DO NOT be afraid of my dog. There is no need to run from him screaming. He is not in the business of biting people. He does bite squirrels though, so do not act like a squirrel, scampering about my home climbing on my things.
🐶 DO take the time to ask me any questions you have about Enzo or your dog at home.
🐶 DO tell your parents to pet your dog less when you go home and remind them your friend's mom is a dog trainer willing to help.
Do you see how calm Enzo is in this picture? Even if the kids were playing, he would remain calm. When children don't touch your dog, it learns to expect it will not be touched. They gain security from that. They can rest easier in place without fear that someone is going to plod over screaming and pet them.
SOME DOG DO NOT NATURALLY LIKE CHILDREN AND ARE STILL GOOD F**KING DOGS.
If you do not step in to limit contact, it's possible your dog could develop some reactivity issues with the children. Even if they are kind to your dog, your dog may not want to interact with them. Children carry unstable and immature energy, so it's no wonder some dogs are uneasy around them.
If you are guilty of allowing too much kid-to-dog interaction and now you're feeling stupid...
STOP DOING THAT. Everyone makes mistakes before they have the right information. Here's the next steps for success:
➡️ Family meeting. Commit to the task together.
➡️ Set clear and simple rules for the kids (and hubby) to follow. Make sure they can repeat them back to you so they remind their friends who come over.
➡️ Include them in training (when age appropriate - generally age 10+) and make sure all your kids get time petting the dog in a supervised way once or twice a day.
➡️If these rules seem unfair or harsh in anyway and you have a working breed or bully breed:
Forgive yourself for not getting a Golden Retriever. I know, I know. It's gonna be ok. I'm here to help.❤️