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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette,

Our family has just signed up for puppy classes with our new Jack Russell Terrier. We have three children, and wanted to know if the kids should come to class. Also should they be involved in the training?


Renate and Bob

We parents ask me if their children should come to class, I have them make the decision. As a mother, I personally am quite comfortable having children underfoot. However, other trainers that do not want children present. Your first call should be to the facility you registered with to see if they have a standing policy.

After you find out if children are allowed, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is my child old enough to be able to sit through an hour of class? Will my child sit quietly, or is he or she more likely to begin exploring?

2. If my child is interesting in training the dog, are they physically capable of doing so?

3. Since one of the main goals of puppy classes is to teach you to train the puppy, will you be able to concentrate on learning, or will you be focused on supervising your child?

4. If you ask your child not to interact with any other puppy than your own, will they comply?


Most parents seem to make the right decision. Some parents bring some quiet toys. One adult teaches the dog, another parent supervises the child. It does happen that some older children are very keen on training the puppy. These kids actively participate, ask intelligent questions and can outshine everyone else in the class.

Regardless of which decision you make, it is important to understand that puppies can demonstrate behaviour problems. Although uncommon, there are puppies that will guard toys or bite if cornered. There is nothing cute about a 12-week old puppy with the confidence and desire to bite. It is imperative that your child does interact with other puppies unless your have permission from the owner or instructor. The trainer should also take some time to teach you and your child how to interact safely.

The second week in May is Dog Bite Safety week. As the warmer weather approaches, take some time with your children to review dog safety skills too. Take a look at www.meetingmilo.com for their updated list of resources that include guidelines on age appropriate tasks for children and dogs. You will also find top 5 early warning signs of aggression, and lessons everyone in the family needs to know.

A recent research study out of Australia showed that children who learned how to visit with a dog rarely petted without permission. When allowed to interact, they did so carefully and calmly. Children who did not learn these skills almost always ran up to the dog and placed themselves in harms way.

This summer, make sure your children have the skills they need. Those lessons will not only help your children during puppy class, but have been proven as effective deterrents in dog bite prevention.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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