Do you have a poster of your family dog? I was asked this unlikely question a while ago by an even more unlikely source: my children’s piano teacher. Let me explain. My two daughters have been taking piano lessons from Susan, a very kind and talented musician, for several years. During this period, Susan has become smitten with our family dog, a Yorkshire Terrier named Benny, in part because he scampers through our kitchen with glee every time she arrives. I realized Susan was love-bitten the day she earnestly implored my wife and me to consider moving to California so handsome Benny … [Read more...]
Prepare Dogs for Baby Coming into Their Lives
We had two dogs before my daughter was born: a 9-year-old Rottweiler and a 2-year-old Boxer. Bailey and Sydney were spoiled rotten. We took them on walks, played with them relentlessly, and they both slept soundly in our bedroom. When expecting our first child, we received numerous suggestions – baby gadgets to buy, ways to raise our kids, stores to shop at, etc. One suggestion was on how to prepare dogs for baby entering their lives. Wait. Prepare the dogs? Are you kidding me? People warned us the dogs would not be ready for our new normal (we weren’t ready either, but that’s another … [Read more...]
Want Better Kids? Get a Dog.
If you want to see an improvement in your kids' level of responsibility and behavior, you may want to get a dog. That's completely opposite the usual logic, right? Most of the time, we question whether children have the level of maturity and intelligence to care, feed, train, etc. I get it. I was right there. We had some serious doubts about how my 4-year-old and nearly 6-year-old would handle us getting a 50-pound greyhound through a rescue group. When my kids were babies, we had a greyhound -- a white with red brindle older girl -- who tolerated them as long as we kept them far away … [Read more...]
We Talk to Our Dog and Kids the Same Way
Before my wife and I had children, we bought a dog. No discussion. No real thought. We just did it. All it took was a mention or two from some friends who were visiting from out of state, and about 30 minutes of looking at dogs online before we decided to take the plunge. We didn’t get just any dog though, we got a rescue dog. We also didn’t want him to be the same type of dog you saw at the park, or behind fences in our neighborhood. We wanted him to be smart. You know, a true reflection of his owners. He attended and graduated two Petsmart obedience classes (beginner and intermediate) and … [Read more...]