Children & Dogs Together Are YOUR Responsibility</SPAN>

Important Info

Children & Dogs Together Are YOUR Responsibility

A: BE RESPONSIBLE

Restrain your dog on your own premises, in the back yard and house.

Always have it on a leash when you take it out in public.

Socialise your dog to other animals and people outside the family.

Train your dog to be obedient and to accept humans are its pack leaders.

Do not neglect your dog by chaining it all day or leaving it alone to its own devices—bored or psychologically damaged dogs can become unpredictable.

Spend time enjoying your dog with all the family together.

Neuter or spay your dog- entires are three times more likely to be in the attack lists.

Restrain your dog when strangers come or a new experience occurs, show it how to act normally e.g. if a workman enters, put the dog in its crate or another room at first.

Teach your dog to sit and wait for the command to be greeted when visitors come.

Discourage barking and jumping up on people, train the dog while young.

Ensure all family members treat the dog the same way as regards behaviour rules.

Teach the children to respect the dog’s own area and toys and bones.

Teach them never to interfere with a dog while it eats, sleeps, chews a bone, is pregnant or has puppies.

Never allow games with the dog that encourage biting or dominance, such as tug-o-war, chasy or “siccem”.

If you see signs of any threat from the dog to another animal or a human, seek professional help before it develops further—your vet, a canine behaviorist, or registered trainer can help.

B: TEACH CHILDREN

How to play with the dog — don’t tease, don’t scream & jump with arms waved about the dog may grow excited, wish to join in and it can only use its mouth.

Don’t move quickly and jerkily around a dog’s head or eyes.

Don’t put their own face near a dog’s or close to its head when playing.

A dog should never be approached from the rear. Let it see you coming.

A dog should never be slapped, or hit with any object for any reason.

A dog should not be stared down, look to the side of its head, as dogs challenge through engaging eyes.

Ask the owner’s permission to pat a dog, let it sniff your hand and pat it on the chest, never on the head.

Children should never attempt to lift a dog when it is sick or injured.

Never lean over a fence or into a car, or enter a yard alone to pat a strange dog.

Never run past a strange dog in the street or run away from it and turn your back.

Stand like a “Tree”-arms at sides, stand still, look to the side of the dog, make no sound and wait for it to go.

If a dog knocks you down, be silent, curl into a ball, hands over ears, and lie like “a log” until it goes away.

If a dog attacks you, use a jacket, schoolbag, your bike or anything as a barrier to feed to him and distract him from your flesh.

ALL DOG ATTACKS SHOULD BE REPORTED QUICKLY TO COUNCIL ANIMAL CONTROL.

IF YOUR DOG BITES SOMEONE, CO-OPERATE WITH FULL INFORMATION, RESTRAIN THE DOG WHILE YOU CARE FOR THE VICTIM---LATER, IF APPROPRIATE, AND SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP TO RETRAIN THE DOG AND FAMILY.

IT IS UNETHICAL TO GIVE AWAY A DANGEROUS DOG TO SOME OTHER OWNER UNLESS HE/SHE IS ABLE TO PREVENT FURTHER PROBLEMS.

How To Be The Boss

From the moment you bring the pup home someone is going to be the leader—dogs live in packs and the pup had an order in his litter, with his mum as the leader!

To ensure the pup grows to his full potential and knows his place, you must ensure all humans are clearly above his station and teach him this firmly but gently.

A great tool is NFF—Nothing For Free—puppy has to be in correct position for all attention, hugs, tidbits etc, he earns it from the start, and he respects the BOSS!

The single best thing to teach early is the SIT and STAY! Then you build on that.

Here are some proven tips for the “pecking order” in your home.

When puppy is clearly fine and ready for bed, put him in his own area and leave him .Do NOT respond to whimpers and barks.

If after some time you suspect he may need toileting, remain outside the room or crate, and growl –GRRR! QUIET!! - like his mum did--if he acts up. The instant he is quiet, speak encouragingly & get him out for the toilet trip

When you feed the pup, for the first few days, put a bit of your biscuit next to his bowl and insist he sits, and then you eat the biscuit. He is then permitted to eat from his bowl—in the pack, the leader eats first and of the choicest!

Never feed the dog before feeding the human family and place him in his crate or behind baby gates out of the way. He eats after all humans have eaten.

Always make sure all humans in their age order leave or enter the room before the pup—teach him to stand aside at the door and wait for his turn—the pack leader goes first and tells others when it is safe to follow.

Whenever you return always check the mail or read a page of the news and ignore the pup for a few minutes--never allow him to be greeted or to rush for a greeting immediately, and train children to do this to, and keep it calm—the leader will decide when social communication takes place.

Never allow visitors to rush up and greet the pup or the pup to rush them—have him on a lead and warn them before opening the door at first while training—you introduce and control the greetings, as the leader decides who will be greeted and in what order. Don’t permit jumping on people.

Never permit the pup to sleep in the bed with its human—in a crate / basket by the bed, is the closest he should be in case he needs a midnight walk outdoors! Getting into bed is being at the same level as the leader, and puppy may become overly possessive of you—any break in the pack order means an active and outgoing dog will want to test limits! Yes, this is a HARD rule! Try a lift in, sometimes, for a short cuddle only in bed? Once trained, it’s noted, the dog could accept a child as leader and sleep near them without unnecessary jealousy.

Never allow the pup to travel in the car on a human’s knee—it is potentially dangerous for him to be unrestrained and again he is at the human level. Get a dog harness or a travel cage to use for all trips in the car.

Take care the games you or children play with the pup do not reinforce undesirable actions such as growling, snarling, biting or trials of strength—tug-o-war, jump for a stick etc are not suitable games for a pup growing up-- leave them for the obedience trained, reliable adult dog we know he is going to be later on!!!

Bite Inhibition

Dogs have a very functional mouth full of teeth! Sharp, needle like baby teeth, gleaming white, strong teeth well set into already powerful crocodile jaws. The baby or milk teeth start to erupt when the whelps are only 14 days old! By four to 7 months, the dog usually has a complete set, that is 42 strong, well placed and very functional teeth, which are firmly secured in the jaw with one to three roots to anchor them in place. There should be 20 teeth in the upper, and 22 teeth in the lower jaw!

These super dazzling teeth are one of main tools of our dog! In years gone by, when our dogs' ancestors, the wolves had to hunt for their tucker, the teeth were an essential tool, used in the hunt, enabling them to keep their pack supplied with food and in prime condition. Today they have us, with our can openers, and as a consequence, rotten teeth!

The long, sharp canines are, together with the mighty carnassials (P4 & M1), are excellent weapons with which to bring down their prey for the kill. The points of the teeth are angled inwards, so that the prey could not easily escape from their jaws. The small, very pointy pre-molars help to keep a tight grip on the prey, before they start to rip and tear bite size bits off! The mighty, carnassials, and molars, these grinding teeth, are aligned in a scissor like arrangement so that they can shear or cleanly cut bite sized portions out of the flesh, to be wolfed down as soon as they are cut or torn free. The small incisors are used to scrape the last bits off the bone. Then the powerful molars are used again, to crack the bones with the incredible strength of the dog's jaws, in order to get to the delicious and nourishing marrow.

The neat little incisors, are also ideally suited for the dog's coat care - grooming! Little loving nibbles, massage and aid the circulation under the skin, remove the odd, tickling loose hair, and crack the nasty little flea or tick that shouldn't be in the coat at all!
Your own dog will spend many hours blissfully gnawing a bone, cracking the shank to get at the tasty and fatty marrow and carefully peeling the last bit of gristle off the rounded sections. Larger bits of bone are ground down, into manageable size and swallowed in smallish bits to be part of the delectable and wholesome meal!

Today's dogs no longer require these wonderful tools for the hunt, because WE provide their tucker. We purchase the best food that money can buy, and present an assortment of tasty biscuits, kibble, canned food or semi moist, and all our dogs have to do, is to grab and swallow! Lucky is the dog who gets thrown a bone! So, GIVE your dog a bone! Raw, meaty bones are an excellent food for large dogs and small! Feeding bones, also helps to keep our dogs' teeth and gums healthy, and if it were not for hours and hours of play, they would hardly ever use their teeth today!

Play is of the utmost importance for the dog! During play, the dog can give his instincts free reign! He can give chase, grip and hold, wrestle and fight. Dogs that have ample opportunity to use all their instincts and drive in play, very rarely become aggressive.

Dogs that have no opportunity for interaction can easily suffer from an accumulation of frustrated drive that desperately needs release. Sometimes this actually causes them to chase and even attack anything that triggers their pent up instinctive need for action!

This is one of the reasons why it is important that children and dogs learn how to play together! When you watch your dog in play with the children, you may find that there is the occasional snap, but the dog is most careful to see that he doesn't actually get anything between his teeth! Even so, the teeth can scrape across the skin, in a painful pinch or scrape if you are foolish and careless enough to let the dog and child play without supervision and allow then to get too carried away in their roughhouse game!
With adults, maybe that doesn't matter much, but with children it may easily result in a tear in delicate skin, a nasty, painful bruise and even a gash requiring stitches, if the careless snap was aimed at the face! The fright is immense, for both, the child and the dog!

The lacking supervision may mean that a child could be scarred for life, and the dog is branded as vicious! It is important for children to learn, that when they are playing exciting games with the dogs, they must keep their distance from those teeth! As soon as you notice a dog is careless in the use of his teeth, STOP the game! Leave the dog. Go away! Desert him!

For the dogs, it is vitally important to learn, that our skin is NOT like their skin, loosely fitting and covered by dense fur! When puppies play, even as tiny babies, and one bites too hard, the other one YELPS and stops playing! There is a few seconds of silence, while both consider the information exchanged:
HE can bite hard if I don't watch it, is learnt by the one, and

The GAME is OVER if I bite too hard, is learned by the other!

BITE INHIBITION needs to be TAUGHT! Puppies learn it from each other. Our pups need to be taught by US, that we can romp and play, but they must NOT BITE! The baby teeth are tiny and can tear an elderly person's delicate skin, so it's not only young children that can get hurt playing with a pup!
Baby puppies want to nibble on our hands and shoes and socks and toes all the time! So, if it hurts, we need to yell and let the pup know that he bit too hard, and that we don't like it!

If we STOP the pup from biting too early, he will never learn that he has powerful jaws and sharp teeth that HURT! We can allow the pup to put his teeth on us and bite gently! He's too little to hurt us - yet - but he IS GROWING! So is your responsibility to your puppy, to teach him how to control his mouth! And I don't mean "Shut uppa your face!"

Day by day, little by little, the puppy will get the message that he must be gentle in the use of his teeth if we cry OUCH, THAT HURTS, if he bites too hard, and then we straighten up, cold and aloof, and turn away from the pup!

With some very lively pups, it is best to calmly walk out of the room and stay away for 5 seconds! This is a Powerful Training Tool called "NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT"! We are punishing the pup by taking away something good, our presence and our attention! Dogs HATE that! Repeat this every time your puppy bites a little too hard, and he will become a little gentler day by day!

In the beginning we can actually get the puppy revved up, until he bites just a little harder and then we yell OUCH and give him the cold shoulder treatment! Our OUCH will become the "conditioned stimulus" to tell the pup that PUNISHMENT follows: Negative Punishment!

5 seconds of cold blooded desertion! NEVER a slap! We take our precious selves away from him and he gets to feel the consequence of his hard bite in his sensitive little heart! THAT hurts! Little by little, over a period of several weeks, you teach your puppy to bite a little less. If you prohibit biting altogether, he will not learn to use his teeth with all the sensitivity that a dog is capable of! When he is riled, he will snap! Instead, let him learn in easy stages, to control and inhibit his bite. He WANTS to play, he WANTS your company, he WANTS to interact, so gentle nibbles are OK. Medium pressure is punished with OUCH as the warning stimulus. This is not a loving little, "ouch, be gentle, that's not nice!" because THAT slows down the learning process! It is an OUCH! Sharp and explosive, let him know he HURTS!

Soon your dog will give you soft little nibbles and bites that you can hardly feel at all. By this time he will be nearing 4 months, and now it is time to let him know that dogs' teeth have no place on human skin! Even a gentle little nibble gets an outraged OUCH, that hurts! You desert him for 5 seconds by turning your back on him, with hands folded across your chest!
With retrieving games and offered chew toys, there are many great games we can play, where our dog must have bite inhibitions, no matter how excited he gets with HAPPY TRAINING!

Am I Ready For A Dog . . By Karen Peak

Am I ready for a dog? I need to take the time and consider the following:

Want: Why do I want a dog? Do I want a companion to share my life with or do I want a status symbol to show off to my friends and impress them? Do I want a dog I can hunt with or do sports with? Or do I want a lawn ornament so I can be just like everyone else? Do I need something to make me look good? Or do I want a devoted companion and want to put the effort into making this relationship happen?

Time Commitment: Can I devote the time to properly raising and training a puppy? Can I commit to the next 10 – 15 or more years to this animal? Will I take the time every day to properly exercise the dog, train and socialize or find someone to help me out of needed during the day if I am not home? If I cannot devote almost as much time to raising a human child, I am not ready for a puppy. I will also be willing to take the time to wait for the right dog to show up. If I am impatient, I am not ready.

Cost: Can I afford not only the cost of a puppy from a reputable source but can I afford all the things a pup needs from a crate to training classes, food, toys, vaccines? Will I pay for a dog walker or day care if I work fulltime? Can I afford at least $600 per year in general upkeep? Can I afford medical emergencies or the care for chronic health problems? Do I realize the there is no such thing as a cheap dog? Can I remember that one goes to a shelter to save a life, NOT to get a cheaper pet? Will I accept all the costs financial and emotional that go along with dog ownership?

Lifestyle: Am I active or sedentary? Will a breed that can go jogging and hiking with me or a breed that is a couch potato best suit me? Just because I like the looks of a dog does not mean it is the right match for my lifestyle. Am I willing to adapt my lifestyle to fit the dog even if it means not going out after work or partying all weekend? Will I take the dog to various activities such as Agility classes instead of hanging out with my buddies all the time? Will I do what is needed to see the dog gets what he needs even if it impacts my lifestyle? Or am I going to be selfish and keep my life status quo even if the dog is miserable?

Research: Will I take the time to seek out all the information possible about the dog I am looking for? Will I take the time to research breeders and rescues and find the best one to work with?

Experience: How much dog experience do I have? Do I realize that many breeds seen in movies or on television are not the best choices for a new dog owner? Do I realize that these dogs have high-energy needs and may be more than I am willing or able to handle? If I do not think I have the experience to own the dog I like, will I find someone to help me learn?

Human Medical Issues: Does anyone in my family have allergies to dogs? Or is there anyone in my family who has a medical condition that could affect the amount of time I am capable of spending with the dog?

Housing: Am I willing to let my dog live in my house and be part of a family as every pack animal needs to be? Or am I going to leave him outside all the time where he can be at risk of theft, pranks, developing nuisance barking or even biting a child who comes to the fence to say “Hi” when no one is home to stop it? Am I willing to take the time to teach the dog how to live harmoniously in the house?

Grooming: Am I willing to brush a dog at least weekly? Am I willing to bathe when needed? Am I willing to take care to trim nails and clean teeth or find someone to do all the grooming needs for me? How much fur can I handle? Am I willing to put up with shedding?

Long Term: What will happen to the dog should I marry? Am I willing to find a spouse who shares the same animal values I do and who will welcome my dog and me as a unit? What is we have children? Will I be able to take the time to properly prepare my dog for the new addition? What if my job requires moving and travel? Can I fairly keep a dog and am I willing to do what is necessary to keep the dog happy while I am away or make arrangements to bring the dog along?

Golden Years: Am I willing to make the dog’s senior years comfortable? Carry him up and downs stairs if needed? Put up with senior issues like a leaky bladder? Am I willing to take short walks with him so he feels as if he is still useful even if he can no longer be my jogging partner? I can always jog after our walk while the dog sleeps can’t I? Am I willing not to be selfish? When it is time to say goodbye will send him painlessly and with my arms to comfort him to the Rainbow Bridge? Do I realize it is not fair to ask him to hold on just to hold off on my pain of saying goodbye? Can I be selfless when the time comes?

Am I ready for a dog? And if I am not, am I willing to listen to my brain and NOT my heart? Am I willing to do the right thing and not take on the responsibility of a new life if I am not fully prepared to accept all the fun and pain and work?

THE RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNER

PUT YOURSELF IN THIS PICTURE

I understand all possible costs, time and benefits of dog ownership and give a lifetime commitment to my dog.

I research breeds thoroughly and select a breed which will fit into my family’s lifestyle.

I learn all the typical breed attributes, the requirements for exercise, the training and grooming needs for my dog.

I select my pup from a responsible and ethical registered breeder or a clean caring shelter.

I provide a clear path to the front door, dog’s fenced yard at the rear.

I provide the dog with sufficient shelter, shade, bedding, water and food---I ensure it is secure from any danger or undesirable outside influences when I have to leave it alone.

I spend time enjoying the companionship of my dog and make it a family member.

I register my dog with the local authority, neuter it if it is a pet, and provide identification.

I regularly vaccinate and worm my dog and provide any necessary veterinary care throughout its lifetime.

I socialise my dog to other people, dogs, other pets and situations.

I obedience train my dog to level 3 approx. as a good canine citizen.

I regularly exercise my dog and keep it leashed in public, unless in an off-leash area.

I do not allow my dog to roam, bark or annoy neighbors and I clean up after it in public.

I always supervise children with the dog. I ensure it is not teased and that games or hugging are appropriate and safe.

When going on holidays, I arrange for my dog to accompany the family or be dog -sat at home, minded by a familiar person, or kenneled at a reputable boarding kennel I have thoroughly checked out—I do NOT leave it alone in the yard with only a neighbour feeding it once daily. I know this would cause anxiety to the dog and cause it to begin inappropriate habits.

When the time comes, I do not prolong any suffering, but I am there holding my beloved companion for the journey to the Rainbow Bridge and bid it a loving farewell.

Is the Amstaff for you?

Things to know when you buy a new puppy!

American Staffordshire Terrier Information