A dog can bring years of joy to your kids and family as a whole. In fact, they can be just as much a part of the family as your kids are.
Though, raising a pet is much more of a challenge when you have kids. Especially if they are small.
Once you’ve picked the right dog for your family, you’ll need some tips on how to take care of her.
In this article, we will go through the different things kids can do to help with pet care according to their age.
Under 3
At this age, your child will learn most by watching how you take care of your dog. Understand that most of the work is going to be done by you as the kids are too small to bear much of the burden.
Show them how you do things and tell them why.
Show them how much food to give the dog and explain that too much food is not good for the doggo. You should be feeding your dog high quality dog food like Orijen dog food, and explain to your child why this particular kind of food is best. This way they appreciate that you are giving your dog the best because you care for it.
Ages 4 to 5
At this point, you can give your children small responsibilities. You won’t have them responsible for feeding the dog, but they can be the ones to give them treats at a specific time.
Walking a large dog may be too much, but if the dog is small, then you can give them a couple of minutes at a time with the leash to teach them how to be responsible.
Ages 6 to 8
Now that your child is getting older, he or she can handle a bit more of the work. And it can be fun work, too. Let them be the ones to play fetch to give the dog its exercise. And explain why this exercise is important so they understand it isn’t just for fun and games.
Grooming the dog is also a good way to teach them how to care for their pet. They can handle a brush now and be taught how to be gentle with it.
Ages 8 to 11
Under the watchful eye of a parent, kids around 10 years old can handle walking the dog. And even picking up the poop! Just make sure they are strong enough to handle the dog in case he tries to run away.
They should be responsible for feeding the dog the right portion of food and stick to a feeding schedule without forgetting. Though, they may need some gentle reminders.
Age 12 and over
By this age, they should feel that they are the dog’s caretaker. You can move much of the responsibility of the care to your kids once they are over 12. If you have been teaching your kids over the years and giving them lots of details then they understand much of what needs to be done without needing constant reminders.
Great post! So glad I stopped by to read it!
My kids are a bit young to help – one is 18 months and the other is almost 4. We do go on family walks with the dog, and the kids will play with her, but that’s about it for now. I look forward to the day they’re old enough to be trusted to do things regularly on their own haha.
The kids of my family both were above 12 years old when I brought the pet pug home, rather they made us bring him. Initially, they did well on their commitment towards Mack, but after a while, they got complacent, lost interest and now I am doing all the duties along with my wife and brother.