Practicing good manners helps everyone feel more confident once baby arrives. Your dog wants to know what is expected. :) Firm up your basic manners and maybe even add some new ones! Think of what will be most helpful once your little one arrives. Then think once your baby is a toddler, then a preschooler etc. Planning short term and long term goals for manners helps increase the importance and meaning. Keep in mind that like you, your dog always likes to be reminded when he does a good job. We all like to get our pay checks even when we do what is expected. Keep the reward coming every now and then and your dog will stay interested in participating. :) REMEMBER! Do not expect your dog to follow commands they have not been patiently taught. Dogs need hundreds of repetitions to truly know a skill. Be fair and practice. English is not their first language and although dogs sometimes act as if they understand our every word....we can not count on it unless we have taught the desired behavior and reinforced it so that they know what is truly expected. This is especially true and important when the dynamics in an environment are different....such as when you are pregnant or a new baby is in the home. Sometimes using a higher value reward helps keep motivation alive for these times as well as lots of practice and managment.
Welcome! I am Jennifer Shryock, Creator/Director of the Family Paws Parent Education Programs for families with dogs, Dogs & Storks and The Dog and Baby Connection. I am a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Mother of four with a degree in Special Education. kids and dogs are my passion! Our programs offer dog and baby friendly solutions that are safe and easy to implement in your own home. Learn with me as I share my experience of 4 kids and multiple dogs and cats all under one roof!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Good manners
Practicing good manners helps everyone feel more confident once baby arrives. Your dog wants to know what is expected. :) Firm up your basic manners and maybe even add some new ones! Think of what will be most helpful once your little one arrives. Then think once your baby is a toddler, then a preschooler etc. Planning short term and long term goals for manners helps increase the importance and meaning. Keep in mind that like you, your dog always likes to be reminded when he does a good job. We all like to get our pay checks even when we do what is expected. Keep the reward coming every now and then and your dog will stay interested in participating. :) REMEMBER! Do not expect your dog to follow commands they have not been patiently taught. Dogs need hundreds of repetitions to truly know a skill. Be fair and practice. English is not their first language and although dogs sometimes act as if they understand our every word....we can not count on it unless we have taught the desired behavior and reinforced it so that they know what is truly expected. This is especially true and important when the dynamics in an environment are different....such as when you are pregnant or a new baby is in the home. Sometimes using a higher value reward helps keep motivation alive for these times as well as lots of practice and managment.
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