There’s no reason why your child shouldn’t be involved in teaching your dog good manners. After all, they’re going to be spending a fair bit of time together.

Most children from the age of ten can train their dog, with help from an experienced trainer. Dogs are very clever animals, and can learn many behaviors. However, when it comes to being with your children, two of the most important behaviors are to sit and wait for their dinner, and to not jump up in greeting.

There are some guidelines that are important to follow if your child is keen to train the family dog.

1. There is a great deal of debate about the use of punishment in dog training. If you’re going to punish your dog for doing the wrong thing, it’s important that you do it at the very time your dog is misbehaving. Not five minutes later, not ten minutes later. Your dog won’t remember what he is being punished for, and will be frightened and confused. If your child is involved in training your dog, I’d suggest you avoid the use of punishment altogether. Children don’t have a good enough sense of timing to get it right. Also, if your dog believes he is higher in the pecking order than your child, he may resent the punishment and retaliate. Lastly, children don’t always know when enough is enough, and may overdo the punishment.
2. Dogs respond very well to positive reinforcement. They will quickly learn to do as you ask if the reward is a treat, or a game of ball. If your dog doesn’t do what you ask, your child should ignore him and turn away. Part of his learning is to understand that he only gets a treat when he does the right thing.
3. It’s not difficult for your child to teach your dog not to jump up. Use a treat to teach your dog to sit; it won’t take long for him to master this behavior. Make sure your child keeps a treat handy at all times, then, when your dog rushes up to them to jump up for a cuddle, they can tell him to sit, and reward him when he does so. He’ll learn very quickly that he’s much better off sitting for a pat than jumping up.
4. Your child can teach your dog to wait for his food by sitting with a handful of treats, and the dog in front of them. Ask your child to offer the dog a treat, and if he tries to take it, they should close their hand and say “wait”. If they repeat this often enough, the dog should stop trying to eat the treat, and will sit back and wait. When this happens, your child can say “okay”, and give the dog a treat. This is teaching your dog that he can’t eat when he wants to; he must wait for the “okay” command. This makes it much easier for your child to put down your dog’s bowl of kibble without it being knocked out of their hand.  There are many other fun and useful behaviors a child can teach their dog. It’s a great idea to include your child in training your family pet – it not only enhances their relationship, but your child will learn patience and persistence. They’ll also be so proud to show off their dog’s party tricks to their friends.

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