Puppies and Kids: Expert Insight on Best Practices

Dr. Marty Greer, DVM and host Laura Reeves talk about bringing home your new puppy, introducing it to your children, how puppies and children interact appropriately, and how to make that be a really positive experience.

“The first place I would start,” Greer said, “is if you don’t already have a breed that you have selected and you have children, pick a breed that’s good with kids.

“You know, why start off with something that’s likely to set you up for a failure when you could get, oh, let’s say a Labrador or a Golden Retriever, which are notoriously outgoing, happy dogs, and, you know, they’re just easy to live with. They’re great dogs to have her own children. So, you know, don’t start off, and I don’t want to badmouth anybody’s breed, so I’m not going to specifically call up breeds that aren’t good, but don’t start off with a dog that you have concerns about.

“Start out with something that’s happy, friendly, outgoing and was raised in an environment that’s likely to be successful.

“There are situations where if the kids are inappropriate with the dog or really afraid of the dog or the parents aren’t working well with the children, that I just simply have to say to them, ‘you know, this is probably not a good match. Let me help you find another breeder.’

“For starters, I don’t leave the children and the dog unattended ever until maybe the dog’s five. That’s what what XPens are for. That’s what playpens are for. That’s what crates are for. And you can put X-Pens up across doorways.

“And it’s also a great way to introduce a dog to children or a puppy to children. And vice versa, they can see each other without the puppy jumping on the child, without the child shrieking, without the child having a meltdown, or without the child doing something else that’s inappropriate with the dog. So it’s a really safe way to start off is for them to see each other and interact with one another, but through the xpen or through the crate.”

Marty and Laura talk through dog body language, bite inhibition training in baby puppies and the sheer joy of kids and dogs raised together.

The Dog Body Language Chart Marty Greer recommends.