Children
Children will be children, and dogs will be dogs! A child may pull and tug on your dog, pull his tail, put undue pressure on his spine, and even stick pens in his ear! A dog may jump, scratch, and react by biting if a child hurts or frightens him.
Both need guidance and supervision as they grow up together and they shouldn’t be left alone unsupervised.
If you already have a baby, then be prepared to feel even more exhausted if you want to bring a puppy into the home. Babies and puppies aren’t too dissimilar. Toddlers run around trying to kill themselves by sticking fingers into electrical circuits and jumping off walls. So do puppies! Just like babies, they need to learn how to be safe in the world, and they also take time and patience to toilet train.
Introducing a dog to an older child, say between the ages of five and nine, might be a less stressful idea. But the rules still remain the same - socialising and training your dog is a must, especially around children.
Even if your children are older still, then dogs still need to know the rules, and children need to know their rules too.
Children and dogs can make great companions, and having a dog can make a child grow into the most loving and compassionate adult, but they both need to be given the chance for that relationship to be loving, caring and compassionate.
Your guidance and care can see your loved ones be pals for life.
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