One of man’s greatest animal friends of all time is the dog. When you have one or many, they shower you with friendship, love, respect, and security. You can always count on them at any time to keep watch of your place, to watch a movie with you, to be there even when you do not need them. Besides, they respect you and never question what you may want to do.
When you have a kid, things may change, some may have a naturally amazing relationship with your dogs, some may not. It will not make you happy that your children do not respect your dog as you do. Your role should, therefore, be to teach them to respect the dogs before things get worse. So how do you them to do that? Here is how.
Teach right body language
A reason that a dog tends to be more close to man than other animals could be the two have always had a way of communicating. Whereas you may not be able to talk to the dog, body language matters. There are things you may do with your hands and body and easily spook a dog. Therefore, take your time to teach your kid the right body language that resonates and shows respect for the dog. The idea is to ensure that the kid not in a flight or fight mode resulting in unintended bites.
Body language is an important skill. It can easily connect people and animals; nevertheless, it can be misinterpreted. I have learned to communicate with my dog, and nothing feels good like communicating with your pet fluently.
Teach children how to pet
Think of how easy it is to make a kid garden with you and make themselves dirty. Kids relate easily to care, therefore, try as much to teach them to care for the dog and treat it as more than an animal. Teach your child to mind the dog. If care supersedes cheekiness, then you will not need to worry about your child disrespecting the dog.
“Sometimes, we do things out of ignorance. For a kid, it looks fun to play with a dog inhumanely and in the process maim it. I have talked to my children caring for our pets, and I have grown jealous of the love the dogs have for my kids,” implies Estelle Leotard, a pet freak and Studyker and Write Scout writer.
Teach kids the meaning of space
When you care about something, you do not want to let go. You want to be next to it, and that can be suffocating. A case is in a romantic relationship. People could easily part ways because there is no space between the two partners. The same applies to your pets, could be a cat or a dog. Let the kid understand that the dog deserves to rest after being played with, the whole day. An example could be a dog has a spot within your compound and any time you give food to it, it runs to that place. Teach the kid to know that is what the dog wants and needs to do.
Teach kids to respect the dog’s body
It will be unreasonable to talk about respect without mentioning respect for the body. You have seen adults and kids pick a cat or a puppy, and throw him to the farthest. Some kids climb on the dog like a horse, some lie on it, suddenly they hit the rib or accidentally step on it like it is obvious and get easily bitten. Well, it’s time to tell the kid to treat the dog like a friend and sibling and respect them as they would want to be respected.
“It is a common saying that we earn respect rather than ask for it. I saw how an army friend’s dog had respect for him and was worried that it was too much. I paid attention and noticed that he had even more respect for it, well, there you have it,” reveals Melanie Sovann, a Subjecto writer.
Equip your child with “dog rules.”
Just think of the number of times someone easily misbehaved next to you. How did it feel? Animals experience an almost similar reaction to various mannerisms. You need to teach your child to behave right when around the dog. Give the kid some principles. Principles set boundaries for the kid, and every time they want to do something that could irritate the dog, they are conscious to stop. One rule is to avoid barking towards the dog. This habit could make the dog more resentful.
Respect does not end with respecting other human beings but other things, such as your pets, could a dog or a cat. Teach your children to respect them. It takes a lot of character to do that. Such discipline transcends other aspects of life.
About the Author: Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she works as a freelance writer at TopEssayWriting and ClassyEssay.
