If you are a frequent visitor to the blog (thank you!) you will know that we have a certain someone who has recently joined our family. He is small, furry, wrinkly and a bundle of cuteness. He is, of course, our Shar Pei puppy Yoda.
Yoda has fast integrated himself into our hearts, becoming the epitome of a blogger’s dog with his very own Instagram account (which in less than a month has nearly 3500 followers with zero effort from moi! Proper Kardashian style in this house, but, you know… poorer) and is providing us with all the puppy love we could need.
The kids have developed a stead fast bond with Yoda, one that only children and puppies can have really – we also have a 10 year old chihuahua who is a really gentle soul, but bless her heart she is not terribly interested in playing… Unless it involves a stick, then she’s your gal. Anyhoo, the vertifitable pup-love fest that is rocking out in casa de la Shearsmith has taken a bit of a rocky turn over the last few days with the pup and the kids clashing somewhat. Yoda seems to have had enough of being relentlessly teased by his little buddies, and is viewing the kids as his littermates with whom he has to establish a pecking order.
Now, I am a dog lover however there is no way I will ever have a dog who thinks he or she is dominant over a human, be that a baby or a fully grown man. It doesn’t work and is essentially a recipe for disaster – dogs need to know their place in the pack and it is firmly at the bottom along with the husband (the cat resides at the top m, but that is a cat).
The last few days have seen an increase in Yoda nipping the children, only when they have broken the cardinal dog owner rules mind: 1.) Don’t touch a sleeping dog and 2.) Don’t touch a dog or his food when he’s eating. It came to a head for us last week when Reuben went to grab a packet of cat food out of Yoda’s slobbery jaws, something the pup shouldn’t have had and Roo bought her he was being helpful, only to get a growl and a snap in return. Though he wasn’t nipped hard, this was a step too far from our wrinkled companion who was promptly booted outside and given a jolly good rollocking while Roo sobbed about his injury (which was a very vague scratch from those sharp puppy teeth – not even enough to break skin!)
So, how do you set the foundations for a a happy family/dog lifestyle when your puppy is trying to assert himself? The answer is rather simple: it takes time.
I’ve jotted down a few tips to help out (and serve as a reminder to us over time):
1.) Train the kids, not just the dog.
Like I say, all of our growling, nipping and generally poor behaviour from Yoda incidents have happened at a time when the kids have broken a dog husbandry rule. When your kids are little it is so so important to train them to understand how to behave towards a dog and how to respect a dog. While Yoda is learning his boundaries, the boys are too – don’t touch him while he’s eating, never touch his food or try to take food from him, do not tease him, do not poke or pull at him, and do not try to cuddle him when he’s sleeping. To be fair, I want to bite the kids when they are rolling all over me in the night, so how a dog must feel isn’t too difficult to understand.
2.) Involve the kids in training the dog
The kids are humans. The dog is a dog. Very simply put, the human is above the dog. Always. So if this is the case, the dog must learn this – I’ve started encouraging Reuben to help me train Yoda, especially at meal times. We make him sit, paw and lie down. By doing this with the children, Yoda is learning that the children are not pups or his equal and we are giving him a hierarchy in the pack.
3.) Encourage the bond, but work on the “personal space” for both
A bit like I said before, what with training the children as well as the pooch, but more specifically related to SPACE. We all need it, as mothers we’re often found sharing a meme or two about how we don’t get enough of it, and the same is true for the dog. Personal space is a must, so we’ve got a section in our kitchen that has the dog bed and his toys, if he is there the rule is simple: leave him alone. If he is sat on his bed for any reason, be it eating, sleeping or just hiding from the mania that is our hizang, leave him alone.
4.) Establish a hierarchy
I know that over recent years this philosophy has been somewhat discredited but it’s never failed me yet and I’m a firm believer in establishing “this is your pack, you’re the Z lister in it” mentalities for everyone. Yoda and Bibi are fed last in the morning, and last in the evening, they go outside while we eat so they can’t steal food or beg (which he was doing a lot from the kids – who were feeding him and then crying because their food was gone. Ha.) and they are generally the bottom of the to-do list every time. They aren’t the bottom of the list for kisses and cuddles, they are given an abundance of love, but it has become apparent to Yoda quickly that he isn’t top dog in our home.
5.) Keep calm and carry on
You are going to have teething problems in the beginning for both the kids and the pup – a jump timed wrong, a playful nip that hurt and wasn’t done viciously, an attempt at dominance… you’re going to get it all, but just persevere. Reprimanding the party that is out of line is so important, however you choose to do it. I would recommend putting the dog outside if he steps out of line (this is what we do) but not into his bed or crate as that can colour their view of it and make them feel very insecure.
All in all, these are simples. They aren’t difficult tips to follow but they seem to work for us – I’d love to know you tips for introducing a new puppy to children!
H x
How cute!!! This is a great post for parents who are planing on getting a pet. I dont have kids yet but I do want to get a puppy 🙂
omg that dog is the most gorgeous thing! it’s so importnat to teach kids how to deal with animals, i think whether you have a dog or not. my georgie has never been around cihldren so gets anxious when kids want to pet the cute white westie.
I can’t wait to have a little puppy of my own one day! These are such great tips to new pet owners! Thank you 😀
Ahh they are the best Kira 🙂
I want your puppy! Ialways think people dont consider children and animals. At the end of the day animals are animals, and kids need to be wise. Really great post.
I love having him!
Yoda is such a cute puppy, he must be the cutest puppy i have seen in a while x
Ah thank you – he is so smushable!
Never even thought about any of this – so helpful!
Thanks Hannah!
Your pictures are adorable I think Yoda is a great addition to the family. Children do need to be involved in training otherwise pets don’t know were they stand.
Ah thank you! He is a doll!
We were debating whether to get a puppy before or after baby is born, and we have gone with after so I will bookmark this.
Thanks lovely! Hope it helps!
So many good tips. My mum has a Rottweiler and he is the most docile dog ever, but obviously, like all dogs, he can be a bit rough when playing, so we always ensure if the kids are around, he is never left on his own with them x
Thanks lovely x
Aww these photos are priceless. I’m getting a dog next year and I will be introducing it to my 2 yrs old niece. So I will be taking these tips on board. xx
Aw thanks!
Absolutely brilliant post. I’m loving the pics of Roo and Yoda too. We’ve been thinking about getting a dog to aid Finleys development and hopefully encourage communication. We realised his eyes lit up around animals when he was taken to the farm one day. These tips will so help us out! X
That is one of my faves too Jo, I love Roo with animals 🙂
The training the kids as well as the dog is so important. Majority of the time dogs bite it’s for a legit reason. They can’t shout “hey your hurting me” they only have one way of letting you know.
We don’t have our own dog at the moment (sobs) but I’ve had a lot over the years and as kids my parents always allowed us to feed them and made them wait for their food. My dad also trained all our dogs to leave anything they had in their mouth and to allow us to take their food bowl from under them. This meant if we ever did grab anything we were less likely to be bitten but also for the dogs safety that anything they shouldn’t have could be easily removed from them.
Hierarchy is so important especially with young dogs and kids together. Sounds like your doing a great job though. And Yoda is just the most gorgeous thing! X
Ahh thanks lovely!
Your puppy is just gorgeous. I love shar pei’s.
Thank you, oh they are such wonderful dogs!