Living with Kids and Dogs . . . Without Losing Your Mind: A Parent's Guide to Controlling the Chaos

by Colleen Pelar

Overview

At last! A kids-and-dogs book for parents written by someone who "gets it." "This is a wonderful book. Useful, useful, useful information-all the main points in an extremely easy-to-read style. As a trainer and a mom, Colleen sees the full picture." - Dr. Ian Dunbar Living with Kids and Dogs . . . Without Losing Your Mind by Colleen Pelar, CPDT, covers more than introducing a baby to the family dog. It has chapters devoted to each stage of a child's life with parental pointers for setting their family up for success while raising kids and dogs together. Parenting books say control your dog; dog-training books say control your kids. The reality is far more complex and goes way beyond placing blame on either children or dogs for being who they are. Living with Kids & Dogs . . . Without Losing Your Mind provides busy parents with simple, realistic advice to help ensure that the relationship between their kids and their dog is safe and enjoyable for all. You will learn how to - Help your child and dog develop a strong relationship, built on trust and cooperation - Set your family up for success with a minimum of effort - Recognize canine stress signals and know when your dog is getting worried about normal kid activity - Identify serious behavior problems before someone gets hurt - Provide specific help for managing the interactions with dogs through each stage of your kids' lives from infancy through the teen years - Prevent your child from becoming part of a growing statistic-children who have been bitten by a dog.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933562124
Publisher:	Dream Dog Productions
Publication date:	11/27/2012
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	186
Sales rank:	741,643
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Colleen Pelar lives the reality. In addition to being training manager of one of the largest dog-training facilities in Virginia, she's a mom busy with her three sons. Colleen is passionate about helping kids develop good relationships with dogs and preventing dog bites to children.

Table of Contents

Kids & Dogs: You Can Conquer the Chaos 1

What Makes This Book Important 1

It's Not As Easy as It Looks 2

Dog Training is a Lot Like Parenting 4

Go With Your Gut 4

Safety Concerns 5

The Three Keys to Success 5

Relationship 6

Management 6

Tagging Good Behavior 7

Training 8

Finding a Good Trainer 8

About the Book 9

Words for the Weary 10

Best Friend or Pad Choice: The Right Dog for Your Family 11

Should We Get a Dog? 11

Perhaps a Cat? 12

What Breed of Dog Should We Get? 13

So You Want a Smart Dog 17

What to Look for in a Good Family Dog 18

Extroverts Only 18

No Resource Guarding 19

Thick or Thin? 20

Energy Level 20

Time to Call in the Pros? 21

Pet Stores and Internet Puppies 22

Little Dogs, Big Concerns 22

Temperament Testing 23

Adult or Puppy? 23

Spaying and Neutering Your Pet 25

Evaluating the Dog You Already Have 25

Questions to Consider About Your Dog 26

Garbage In, Garbage Out? 27

How a Trainer Can Help 28

Words for the Weary 28

Preventing Dog Bites: Every Parent's Concern 32

DoggoneSafe.com's Supervision Guidelines 32

The "Good Dogs" Myth 33

Please Don't Punish Growling! 34

The Behavior Continuum 34

Puppies Need Their Mom's Guidance 35

Commonly Overlooked Stress Signals 36

Don't Try This at Home 38

Teaching Bite Inhibition 38

Girls, Boys, and Bites 40

Be a Tree 40

Faster Than Fluffy? 41

The Freeze Dance 41

Childhood Injuries 42

Words for the Weary 44

Deal Breakers: Spotting Serious Behavior Issues 45

Growling Over Food or Objects 45

Training to Avoid Resource Guarding 46

Kid Stuff 47

The Ways Dogs Warn 48

The 5 F's of Stress 48

Excessive Fear 49

How Does He Express His Fear? 49

How Quickly Does He Recover? 49

Teaching Trades/Drop It 50

How Worried is Your Dog in New Situations? 51

Is This a Problem? 51

Chasing, Barking, or Growling at Movement 51

Worried About Visitors 52

Body Sensitivities and Health Concerns 52

Necessary Roughness? 53

Fight-or-Flight Issues 54

Barrier Frustration 54

Bite Thresholds 55

Trainers Can Help 56

Dr. Ian Dunbar's Bite Levels 56

Housetraining 57

Your Most Important Role: Advocate 59

Words for the Weary 59

Essential Equipment: Setting Yourself Up for Success 61

Baby Gates 61

Collars 61

Cordless Phones 62

Crate Training 62

Crates 63

Diaper Pails with Locking Lids 64

Harnesses 64

Head Halters 65

Leashes 65

Mats 66

Storm Doors 66

Tethers 66

Puppy Proofing 67

Tip-Proof Bowls 68

Toys for Dogs 68

Food-Delivery Toys 68

Two Identical Toys 69

Treats 69

Things to Use With Caution 70

Seatbelts for Dogs 70

Swing Sets and Baby Swings 70

Wading Pools 70

Words for the Weary 731

Babies and Toddlers: Coping with Cribs and Kibble 73

Don't Get a New Dog Now 73

Buckle Up: You're In for a Wild Ride! 74

Relationship 74

Pregnancy: Time to Prepare 76

Management 76

Coming Home for the First Time 77

The First Few Months 78

Infant Fatalities 78

Going Mobile 79

Teaching Tots to be Tender 80

Do You Need Help? 81

How Can I Help with the New Baby 82

Training 83

Sit 83

Go to Bed 84

Four Habits to Change Before the Baby Arrives 85

Leave It 86

Drop It 86

Words for the Weary 87

Preschoolers: Someone's Always Underfoot 89

Relationship 89

Learning to be Good Friends 90

Peanut Butter Kisses 90

Teaching What Dogs Enjoy 90

How About a Hug? 91

Teaching What Dogs Don't Enjoy 92

Too Tolerant? 92

Being Deliberately Unkind 94

Halloween: A Scary Holiday 95

Management 95

Never Leave a Child Alone with a Dog 96

Food-Mine or Yours? 96

Training 97

Giving Treats 97

Tip the Scales in Your Child's Favor 98

Name Game, Preschool Style 98

Simple, Easy, and Fast 99

Sit-Stay 99

Hansel & Gretel Trails 100

Crate Training 100

Words for the Weary 100

Elementary Schoolers: Whose Turn Is It to Feed Edzo? 103

Relationship 103

Please? Just This Once? 106

Management 108

At Home with the Family 108

Taking Your Dog Out in Public 110

Three Steps for Meeting a Dog 111

Dogs Don't Hug 113

Jumping Dogs 114

With Company 115

Training 116

Name Game 118

Rainy Day Come 119

Books to Chew On 119

Hide & Seek with Toys 120

Hunting Kibble 121

Two-Toy Fetch and Trading 121

Tricks 123

Boundary Ropes 124

Shaping New Behaviors 125

Words for the Weary 126

Teens: As If Hormones Weren't Enough 127

Relationship 127

Should We Get a Dog Now? 128

Management 129

Risky Business 130

Training 130

Agility 131

Rally Obedience 131

Freestyle 132

Flyball 132

Tricks 132

Driving with a Dog 132

Unscheduled, Unstructured Fun 133

Words for the Weary 134

Saying Goodbye: Life Without Your Dog 135

When Your Dog Dies 135

Telling Your Child What Happened 136

Different Ages, Different Emotions 138

Books to Chew On 137

When Your Dog Cannot Stay in Your Home 139

"Adoption," Not an Option 139

Ways to Say Goodbye 140

When to Get Another Dog 141

Getting a Dog When Your Dog is Geriatric 141

Getting a Dog After Your Dog Dies 142

Words for the Weary 143

Appendix A Photo Gallery 145

Appendix B Recommended Resources 163

Index 167

Editorial Reviews

This is a wonderful book. Useful, useful, useful information - all the main points in an extremely easy-to-read style. As a trainer and mom, Colleen sees the full picture. -- Ian Dunbar "founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers"

This is one of the best books for families that I have read in a long time...This book really opened my eyes to so many aspects of having dogs in our home. This is a definite must-read for any dog owner. -- Nicky Bradley "Families.com"

From the Publisher