How Children Learn From Dogs

How Children Learn From Dogs

Dogs are an important part of the family, however, have you ever thought how much children actually learn from dogs? Not only do they provide them with a great friend, furry hugs and an endless amount of slobbery kisses, but dogs can also teach children lessons about empathy, responsibility, trustworthiness and most of all how to be a kind and caring person.

Take Children Away From Online Devices

Today, kids are growing up in a world filled with electronics, computers, social media and digital devices. It’s so easy for them to become wrapped up in their digital lives, losing sight of the real-time, present world that awaits beyond the digital one. With a canine companion, kids learn to treasure the physical world around them, to communicate and connect with it, no matter how small.

Dogs Expand Children’s Emotions

They learn how to nurture and give unconditional love to something, how to form a bond and maintain that bond while dealing with all the highs and lows life throws at them. Kids learn how to be gentle when training a pet, and even when the pet don’t listen, they learn to stay calm and think before they act. Dogs also help kids experience and understand sadness, because when a beloved canine companion passes away to the Rainbow Bridge, kids learn about loss and the power of grief.

A Dog Will Teach Your Child To Be Responsible

Dogs teach kids about responsibility by expecting to be fed, walked, played with and taken care of, even when it’s cold or raining. They also teach kids how to work through conflicts, as sometimes dogs fight with each other or become territorial. Through such times, kids learn that communication is important, and open dialogue is always going to be better than shouting.

Children Will Gain Self Worth 

Having a furry friend teaches kids lessons that no technology ever can. Kids feel special and gain sense of self-worth when they know they have an animal counting on them, an animal that loves them no matter what. Dogs give kids an understanding that the world is a beautiful place, not just filled with pixels and screens. That’s why having a canine companion can be such an invaluable lesson to any child.

A relationship with a well-trained dog  can teach a child the following:

Manners

Caring

Trust

Gentleness

Responsibility

Empathy

Patience

Compassion

However, some important points need to be considered before introducing a pet to small children.

The child must be old enough to respect the dog’s space and to not accidentally hurt him by pulling fur etc. Also, never leave a child and dog unsupervised no matter how much you feel you know your dog. Animals are unpredictable and unfortunately, accidents happen. Furthermore, a young child can’t understand a dogs behaviour and body language like an adult can.

Dogs have a pack mentality. Usually, they would consider an adult in the family the pack leader, with children lower down the family hierarchy. A dog may perceive a child to be on the same level, or even lower in the pack order, as himself. This might mean that the dog has difficulty taking instruction from a child.

Teach the child to stroke gently, not to go up close to the face and not to poke ears and eyes. Older children can be shown how to help with feeding and also how to offer a treat. Most importantly, they need to be taught to never approach strange dogs, no matter how cute.

 

 

Matt Cassels researched the relationships between children and their pets. He found that not only would a child turn to his pet for support in times of adversity, but he would do so more than he would turn to a sibling. The study also demonstrated that children who had strong relationships with a pet had better pro-social skills such as helping, sharing and cooperating than their peers.

 

 

We all remember our first pets and look back fondly on times spent together. Sometimes the loss of a pet can be a child’s first experience of death and grieving, also it is a valuable lesson about the circle of life.

Here is a poem I wrote about welcoming a new puppy into your home.

Today is the day, we’ve waited for

A brand-new puppy to love and adore

He has a new collar and a comfortable bed

So when he gets tired he can rest his sweet head

The house is ready, the gardens secure

There’s treats in the cupboard, a lead by the door

We’ll pat his head and throw his ball

Teach him to fetch and good recall

We’ll keep him healthy, safe and well

So, full of pride, our hearts will swell

And as the months turn into years

He’ll make us laugh and dry our tears.

                                                                                               Kate Hanford

 

Here is my first ever dog, her name was Dinky.

 

Apologies for the grainy photo, it’s over forty years old. This is Dinky my first ever dog, my best friend as a child and also the one who started my lifetime obsession with dogs.

The intention was not to get a dog but my mother couldn’t refuse. So one day she picked me up from school with a little white dog beside her. Consequently, we didn’t know Dinky as a puppy or get to choose her name. However, before long it felt like she had always been there.

What memories do you have about your first pet?

Additional Reading

Mental Health Therapy From Dogs