5 Steps for Involving Your Children in Pet Training
Submitted by Paige Johnson
Photo courtesy of Pixabay by platinumportfolio
Watching your child’s eyes light up when you bring a new dog or puppy home for the first time is one of the happiest experiences imaginable. If you’ve recently decided to adopt a four-legged family member, those first few weeks and months are an important adjustment period for both your family and your new pet. By involving your children with obedience training as soon as possible, you’ll help reduce risks of injury while helping your child form a lasting bond with your pet.
Although the full responsibility of pet training should fall upon the adult, you can teach your children how to use positive rewards each time your dog or puppy displays desired behaviors. Even if you child is too young for most pet ownership responsibilities, you can still teach your child some age-appropriate tasks.
The Whole Dog Journal (February 2009 Issue) recommends following this simple, five-step process to involve your child in training your new dog or puppy:
5 Step Training Formula
There is a simple, five-step training formula you can follow when helping your children teach your dog a new trick. Each of these steps should always be supervised by an adult, for the safety of both the child and the dog:
1.Get the dog or puppy to show a desired behavior.
Use a clicker, if necessary. Have your child reward him or her with a treat and praise.
2.Repetition.
Teach your dog the expected behavior and help him/her remember by repeating multiple times to help with learning. Eventually, start saying the word (such as “sit” or “stay”) before showing the dog the treat.
3.Gradually stop providing treats.
Once it becomes clear that your dog or puppy understands the meaning of the commands, you can gradually fade the use of treats. The goal, after all, is to train your pet to perform the behavior even when you’re not holding a treat.
4.Put it on a treat/no treat schedule.
As your dog continues to display the desired behaviors even when you don’t have a treat in your hand, begin to alternate with treats and no treats. This provides variable reinforcement for good behaviors, encouraging the dog to perform the desired behaviors regardless of whether or not the dog receives a treat as a reward. Always praise your dog (such as saying, “Yes! Good boy!”) even when you don’t provide a treat.
5.Practice outside the home.
Once your dog has mastered the behavior in the comfort of your own home, you are ready to practice those same behaviors outside the home. Start with your yard, the dog park, the pet store, and other dog-friendly locations where there will be a few more distractions than around the house.
If you notice that your dog is not listening to the child, or possibly having trouble understanding the commands that your child is saying, you may want to consider a dog clicker. These inexpensive devices can be purchased at any pet store, and are a great training tool. For the best results (February 2009 Issue), use treats along with the clicker.
After trying the options listed above, you may find that your new pet still needs a bit of help learning commands and other desired behaviors. If that’s the case, a positive dog- or puppy-training class can be the perfect way for your child to bond with the dog. Training classes are safe, supportive environments that guide your child through teaching your dog the desired behaviors. Training classes are also great for practicing positive behaviors while surrounded by lots of other distractions.
Whatever route you choose, when it comes to training your new pet, consistency is key. The more your entire family (including your children) can practice training the dog and consistently rewarding positive behaviors, the quicker your dog will learn. Working together as a family will ensure a smooth transition and more quickly teach your pet what behaviors are expected. Soon, you’ll have a well-trained dog and your children will have a sense of pride for being part of the dog-training process with your beloved family pet.
Watching your child’s eyes light up when you bring a new dog or puppy home for the first time is one of the happiest experiences imaginable. If you’ve recently decided to adopt a four-legged family member, those first few weeks and months are an important adjustment period for both your family and your new pet. By involving your children with obedience training as soon as possible, you’ll help reduce risks of injury while helping your child form a lasting bond with your pet.
Although the full responsibility of pet training should fall upon the adult, you can teach your children how to use positive rewards each time your dog or puppy displays desired behaviors. Even if you child is too young for most pet ownership responsibilities, you can still teach your child some age-appropriate tasks.
The Whole Dog Journal (February 2009 Issue) recommends following this simple, five-step process to involve your child in training your new dog or puppy:
5 Step Training Formula
There is a simple, five-step training formula you can follow when helping your children teach your dog a new trick. Each of these steps should always be supervised by an adult, for the safety of both the child and the dog:
1.Get the dog or puppy to show a desired behavior.
Use a clicker, if necessary. Have your child reward him or her with a treat and praise.
2.Repetition.
Teach your dog the expected behavior and help him/her remember by repeating multiple times to help with learning. Eventually, start saying the word (such as “sit” or “stay”) before showing the dog the treat.
3.Gradually stop providing treats.
Once it becomes clear that your dog or puppy understands the meaning of the commands, you can gradually fade the use of treats. The goal, after all, is to train your pet to perform the behavior even when you’re not holding a treat.
4.Put it on a treat/no treat schedule.
As your dog continues to display the desired behaviors even when you don’t have a treat in your hand, begin to alternate with treats and no treats. This provides variable reinforcement for good behaviors, encouraging the dog to perform the desired behaviors regardless of whether or not the dog receives a treat as a reward. Always praise your dog (such as saying, “Yes! Good boy!”) even when you don’t provide a treat.
5.Practice outside the home.
Once your dog has mastered the behavior in the comfort of your own home, you are ready to practice those same behaviors outside the home. Start with your yard, the dog park, the pet store, and other dog-friendly locations where there will be a few more distractions than around the house.
If you notice that your dog is not listening to the child, or possibly having trouble understanding the commands that your child is saying, you may want to consider a dog clicker. These inexpensive devices can be purchased at any pet store, and are a great training tool. For the best results (February 2009 Issue), use treats along with the clicker.
After trying the options listed above, you may find that your new pet still needs a bit of help learning commands and other desired behaviors. If that’s the case, a positive dog- or puppy-training class can be the perfect way for your child to bond with the dog. Training classes are safe, supportive environments that guide your child through teaching your dog the desired behaviors. Training classes are also great for practicing positive behaviors while surrounded by lots of other distractions.
Whatever route you choose, when it comes to training your new pet, consistency is key. The more your entire family (including your children) can practice training the dog and consistently rewarding positive behaviors, the quicker your dog will learn. Working together as a family will ensure a smooth transition and more quickly teach your pet what behaviors are expected. Soon, you’ll have a well-trained dog and your children will have a sense of pride for being part of the dog-training process with your beloved family pet.