Thank you for taking this important step of including the kid or kids in your home in the shared journey of raising and training a puppy. We have found that one of the best recipes for success is getting everyone in the household on the same page, and we hope this book will help with that mission.
This book is intended for 8- to 12-year-olds. If you have younger children, it would be great to read the book aloud to them; however, the activities in this book are not recommended for younger kids. Most puppies will view 8- to 12-year-olds as people, but they’ll view younger children as fellow puppies. That could mean chasing, wrestling, nipping, biting, and other behaviors that are normal for puppy-to-puppy interactions, but potentially dangerous to small children.
The goal of this book is for children to develop a deep understanding of their puppy’s needs and drives and to provide the children with helpful suggestions and activities to deepen the bonds of communication. This can be a great boon to you, as having a child well-versed in puppy behavior gives you an extra set of eyes and ears around the home to report to you when they notice anything in need of attention.
But this is not a stand-alone puppy training book. We highly recommend that you, the grown-up, are the one actually responsible for your puppy’s basic training, even if you got your puppy as a gift for your child with the understanding that they are going to be “responsible” for the puppy. We believe kids ages 8 and up can and should have important jobs around the home with regard to puppy care, but they shouldn’t tackle this all on their own.
If you haven’t already, we recommend that you get a copy of our companion book, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog
, which is
intended to be a comprehensive puppy training guide.
The activities and games in this volume are a complement to that book and provide many opportunities for children to assist in the raising of your new puppy.
Lastly, even though we think 8- to 12-year-olds make excellent trainers, there is always some degree of risk involved. Throughout the book, we will recommend that kids ask a grown-up for supervision or assistance. Accidents can happen, and when they do happen, they happen fast
.