Diamond Dog Blog!

6 good reasons your child should own a dog

06/12/2010 14:46:00

I was 5 years old when I first had my own puppy. A neighbours dog called Sandy had had a litter of 10 mixed breed pups, a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The puppy I got for my birthday was black with a white flash on his chest,his ears I remember were raggy and down turned. I called him Rex, not because I was enamoured with the name but simply because all dogs at that time were called Rex, or Prince or King. He lived to be 12 years old and had been a constant and loving companion throughout our time together. Reflecting on that time I came up with 6 reasons that I think are good reasons for children to be involved with dogs, these are my 6, I'm sure there are many, many more.

Playmate: Dogs are wonderful playmates, they don't have a hidden agenda, don't huff and are 100% attentive
Loyalty: As long as you are good to your dog she will be a consistent friend, learning to give and accept affection is an important part of development
Sociability: Dogs are social animals and bring children together with shared interests and experience through training and play
Responsibility: dogs need to be cared for, nurturing others is an important part of development
Mortality: Children learn about the passing of life and how to cope with bereavement
Relationship: Children learn how to relate with their dog and in turn learn how to relate and empathise with their peers and adults

The bond between a child and dog is a powerful thing that remains for lifetime.

Dogs and children together, a good idea?

01/12/2010 11:42:00

I am regularly called out to the family home where the adult dog or puppy is being 'aggressive' through mouthing, biting, jumping on children and worse! Does this mean that dogs and children are a bad mix? No I don't think so. Does this mean there are a lack of boundaries and rules? Yes usually.As I asses the situation I would suggest that all behaviours are training opportunities; every time the puppy jumps, mouths, growls or even ignores the owner: the question is; what alternative behaviour do we want?Not surprisingly it is usually the opposite of what is currently happening; no mouthing of skin and clothes, sit stay as opposed to kangarooing around the room and following instruction instead of appearing 'deaf' This is as much about the puppy learning new behaviours as the family learning how dogs learn, precisely why the approach needs to be holistic, after all no behaviour exists in isolation.

Here are some basic rules:

Children should always be responsibly supervised with dogs (as much for the dogs sake as the child) this includes leash walking
Puppy's and dogs need a haven or sanctuary in which they can frequently rest
Children need to understand the dogs 'back off' signals and respect them
Playfighting needs rules set by the human not the dog
No mouthing/biting on skin or clothing is allowed at any time

New blog: behaviour and training

30/11/2010 17:10:00

Welcome to Diamond Dog Blog!

Topics will include just about anything to do with dogs, their behavior and training.

All are welcome so please feel free to contribute to discussions and to suggest topics.