No matter what we say to our children, it’s what we DO that they remember. For children to learn to care for a pet, they need to see someone else take care of it. They need to listen to the way we talk to our pets and observe how we train our pets. If we want our children to grow up loving, caring for and living with pets, we have to show them how.

We should demonstrate that brushing and grooming the dog, isn’t a “chore.” We need to tell them we bathe and take care of the dog for the same reasons we brush their hair and give them a bath. Dogs may not love a bath, although most of them don’t mind at all, but they love to feel clean! It will be very obvious to your child that a dog feels good after his bath. Be sure to tell them Rover feels frisky and full of energy after his bath because he feels good being clean.

We need to learn what to expect from puppy behavior. Puppies, in particular, can cause a lot of damage to the home by chewing. It’s a natural thing for puppies who are cutting teeth, just like babies, to chew everything. Give them appropriate things to chew. Put away things that aren’t appropriate. Above all, we don’t want to lose our temper when they do chew up a shoe that’s been left out, or the leg of a chair when they’ve been left alone. We can explain how unhappy we are, but we shouldn’t blame the puppy. Chewing is another good reason to learn about crate training.

No one should adopt a pet because they want their children to learn responsibility. We should adopt a pet because We want a pet to be a member of our family. When we feed and water the dog, we can use language that will impress upon children the importance of caring for the pet. Example: “Yes, we will make cinnamon toast this morning, but first we have to give Rover his breakfast. He’s as hungry as we are and he needs a drink of fresh water. After that he has to go outside again to go to the bathroom.”

Don’t delegate the care of the pet to children, model the things we do to care for our pets so our children will learn what’s necessary and eventually want to help. If they hear us praise the dog when he accomplishes a task we’re teaching him, it’s a positive message to them too. Let them hear us speak firmly to the dog when we tell him “down.” When we’ve shown that taking care of Rover is the natural thing for us to do the kids will eventually want to help.Gradually “let” them help with the care of the dog.

Kids love to give dogs treats. When the dog “sits” when we tell him to, we can let the kids give him a treat. Show them how to praise the dog and pet him when they give him a reward. Talk about a time in the future when they may be old enough to care for him. When that transition comes, remember we can ask them if we can still help out once in awhile!

The saddest thing that can happen to pets, kids – and the whole family, is to adopt a pet and then expect children to magically be able to assume responsibility for their care. They have to be old enough to understand and they have to be taught. We have to be a good example.