One of the most fun things I’ve ever done, and unfortunately have had only a handful of opportunities to do, is work with children on training dogs. The children always love working with the dogs and the sense of confidence they get from having that sort of control over an animal is amazing to see. The children I’ve worked with definitely came out of their shells in just a few minutes to work with me and a dog for about an hour.
I think a part of the idea of family oriented training is having the children participate in the training as well. It is not just about molding your dog into a people person, it’s also about molding people into knowledgeable dog people. who are equipped with the knowledge to read a dog and know how to appropriately interact with and care for a dog.
We see on shelter dog evaluations is how dogs respond to young children. What this means is that there is special consideration taken with dogs around children. This is because children all bring different energy levels when meeting a dog and are often not aware enough of themselves or the dog to make good decisions.
Now, after finishing reading this article you decide to go through with training your children to train dogs, I still don’t feel like leaving young children and your dog unsupervised is a good idea. It’s up to your discretion and good judgment, but it just seem to me that it would cause more anguish than anything.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get into the mechanics of training children to train dogs. You’ll find that the most effective way to train dogs is often the most effective way to teach people (not just children). What you’ll do is keep everything positive and set up in a way that your child will be successful. Constantly berating the child for not getting right even after what you perceive to be “clear” instruction will only deter the child from ever trying again.
Does your dog know how to sit? Awesome, try having your child work the dog on commands he already knows. This way the dog gets treated easily, which will be nice for him, and your child will get a sense of accomplishment. Everyone is happy and that will make them want to continue to work.
After the initial stage of the dog and child getting comfortable with one another, it’s time to actually give your child a goal. A reasonable goal would be to get the dog to perform a slightly more elaborate version of a command he already knows. Have you taught your dog target training yet?(LINK). If your dog is small enough, have your child teach the dog to crawl between his legs. Or maybe even have your child teach the dog to sit in a chair. Any small thing that adds a bit of depth to an existing command/behavior.
While your child is working, it’s your chance to teach and analyze how he/she is doing. What’s great about teaching dog training, even if you don’t think of yourself as the best trainer, is that you learn how to be better by teaching.
What are you looking for? The two big things I watch for are 1) tone of voice and 2) body language. When giving anything instructions, even our friends and family, we tend to bark them rather like a drill sergeant. Not only will this meanness cause the dog to shut down, but I don’t see it as a good idea to instil that sort of behavior in a child.
Luckily, children’s voice are naturally higher than an adult’s, which normally means that dogs will respond with at least some attentiveness. Encourage your child to keep using that high pitched voice. Avoid sharp, laser like commands. Even though the pitch is high, it can still be smooth and relaxed, just like your child’s body language should be.
The first few things I learned when I got serious with my dog training skills were to relax my shoulders and relax my grip on the leash. Someone pointed out to me that my knuckles were turning white and this was due to my fear that my dog would run away. Then I was told my dog was pulling because I was nervous. I relaxed my body language, and while it didn’t solve the loose leash walking problem completely, it did remove one factor contributing to the pulling.
Now with that relaxed body language, your child could even hold the dog’s leash on walks. Freeing your hands up for other children or even your loved one. Everyone gets to enjoy each other’s company a bit more.
Family oriented training means everyone is involved and included.
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