Active Supervision

This means being involved with your child and puppy while they are together and actively watching how they play. You want to ensure neither is getting too excited, frustrated or bored, and you can head off any trouble before it starts. It isn't enough to be just in the same room, if you are distracted or busy with other things make sure the puppy is in a safe place.

Approach

Always let the puppy do the approaching rather than have the child go to them. Encourage your child to call your pupper’s name and stoke the puppy gently, under the chin is best, avoid trying to pat the puppy on the head. If the puppy moves away, give them space and try again in a few minutes.

Toys

Puppies will sometimes pick up toddler toys and run off with them, this can be upsetting for little ones, so always make sure appropriate toys are available and your child's favouite teddy bear can't get accidently savaged.

Gentle

Encourage gentle handling at all times - discourage pulling, grabbing, heaving patting or putting any body pressure on the puppy.

Snooze

Nap times- let your puppy rest. Puppies need a lot of sleep – being startled or woken regularly makes everyone grumpy, your puppy is no exception to this.

Management

Use good management for when you can’t actively supervise, crates or baby gates will ensure there are no clashes when you cannot give 100% attention and a safe space to put your puppy when they are over excited.

Food

Take special care that your baby or child doesn’t approach your puppy directly when they are eating or chewing. With nursery aged children they can walk past and drop a few treats every time they do, this will help build a positive association between the children and food.

Training

When your child is old enough to get involved, show them how to play safely and help with training. It’s great fun and it’s a fantastic way of them interacting with each other and developing a loving bond.

Safety Games

Try playing this game with your children, they can learn a lot of important safety tips. Safety around dogs game

Training Games

All of the 5 minute games are suitable for children as long as they are able to clearly understand the rules. It can help if you read the step beforehand and ask the child their interpretation of its meaning. Children are often a bit more ‘black and white’, literal, in their thinking so It’s always a good idea to double check they know what they are doing before they start rather than trying to correct them mid lesson. Quick Games

Our pups mainly rely on body language; explain to your child that calm and quiet body movement and voices make learning easier for your puppy when they are learning a calm exercise. Frantic and excited body language is great for recalls. Remember to keep training short and successful, if either your child or puppy is struggling, change to another lesson that is easier so they can finish on a high note.