Raising children along with a dog is a vision many families see as an American dream; providing a consistent friend, a happy face, and a shoulder to cry on for your child. However, raising a puppy with young children can also turn into the opposite of this dream; a constant nightmare. Play biting and nipping, jumping up, excessive barking and house training are a few of the most frequent puppy complaints, often amplified by young children.

BITING AND NIPPING

Puppies need consistency when training to understand what is expected out of him or her, especially when it comes to their natural instinct to nip and bit. A young child does not know how to act appropriately around a puppy or have the ability to provide consistency in molding desired behaviors. With adult guidance, an older child can teach a puppy how to play appropriately, and they can think fast enough to communicate with a puppy if he is biting too hard or inappropriately biting articles of clothing. In this situation, I usually recommend a child yelp loudly then ignore the puppy even if that means standing up and crossing his arms or even going behind a door so the puppy learns this is not how to play. To prevent inappropriate biting, I also recommend all children remember to carry a toy with them if the puppy is awake and out with the family. Consistently supervise a puppy and younger child, and step in when biting or nipping occurs to stay consistent in your dog’s training without confusing the puppy.

JUMPING

Jumping to greet a new face is a natural behavior for a puppy - this is how he would greet another dog. When a puppy meets a small child, it is natural for him to bounce excitedly and even lick the child’s face, however, for most, this is not a desirable behavior. Adults can be educated to ignore a puppy when it is jumping up and consistently put an end to licking. A small child could giggle or cry, both of which would excite and essentially reward the puppy for such behavior. This again provides confusion and inconsistency for the puppy.

HOUSE TRAINING

Potty training a puppy with young children that need constant attention proves time and time again to be one of the biggest challenges families who choose to raise both little kids and a puppy at the same time. There are several factors that play in to this - one of them being kennel training. A common problem comes with the hesitation to let a puppy bark and cry in the kennel while young kids are sleeping. What happens next? The puppy either sleeps with someone in bed then wanders around having accidents without anyone noticing or a parent quickly lets the puppy out of his kennel to potty multiple times a night. Neither of these “solutions” help house training in the slightest, in fact they prolong the process and confuse the puppy.

Another big problem with house training a puppy while trying to care for a young child is the reality of taking a puppy outside to reward him as soon as he’s finished going potty outside. For someone to leave their child unsupervised in a hurry to go watch the puppy isn’t something many parents are comfortable with. Finally, watching the puppy constantly to prevent any unseen potty accidents while trying to keep track of small kids is another very hard task for any parent. Accidents go unseen and the puppy does not have a black and white picture of it always being negative if he tries to potty in the house, which results in a very confused puppy.

While it is possible for small kids and puppies to be raised together, it is important families understand how much extra work they will have to put in. It will be exhausting keeping toys picked up so a puppy doesn’t chew them up, being prepared to coddle little ones with wounds from sharp puppy teeth, along with constantly having to pay attention to the interactions between the puppy and kid. Potential owners need to know the truth, it is not another child they’re bringing home, it is a dog that will try to run the show and in many cases will end up rehomed or in a shelter. If children are old enough to understand how to provide a consistent environment for a puppy, puppy raising and training can be a fun and rewarding experience for the whole family.