Children are a great responsibility and so are pets. They both require lots of care, attention and love. Bringing a dog to a home with a toddler is a big decision. It isn’t easy, but it has its merits.

Your child can grow up to be a dog lover and learn how to coexist with other species. It teaches them a lot about animals and the importance of caring for them.

We have listed below some tips for you if you are planning a canine along with your toddler:

Think About it and Make a Plan

Before actually bringing the dog in, think about it carefully. How it will work and are you up for it. Make a list of things that you would need to do for your dog and the schedule the time you will spend with it.

Don’t forget dogs need just as much attention and supervision.

Think about the breeds that can bring inside your house. Bringing tiny breeds of dogs or puppies inside your house is not a very good idea at this point. Toddlers are very inquisitive, and they do not know that their actions can influence others.

They usually pull and pinch dogs not knowing that this might distress them.

Moreover, with toddlers there is a lot of banging into stuff, falling over and tripping.

Small dogs can have a tough time in these conditions. Consider the size of your house and allocate places for the dog where it can be away from the baby and all its noise.

New dogs can easily be distressed by a child’s crying and tantrums. It is best to make a safe place for them where they can enjoy some time out.

Train Your Dog

As we have discussed that bringing puppies in isn’t an excellent idea, you can opt for two or three-year-old dogs.

Your next mission is to train them to stop and settle down when you ask them to. Moreover, you need to prepare them for the poking and pinching the child might indulge in.

You can do that by lightly poking the dog and then giving it a treat. Pair this with words you think are appropriate.  Slowly poke like a toddler would so when the child does it the dog isn’t too surprised.

You can also put stuff with the baby’s scent in the dogs sleeping are so it would associate good things with the smell.

Take the dog for at least two long walks per day, so they are not fidgety inside the house. Keep your dog training sessions repetitive and frequent, so they become ingrained in their brains.

Train Your Child

Explain to your child that he/she can hurt the dog. Make sure they don’t go near the dog when it’s eating.it is possible that the toddler would forget from time to time to make sure that you prepare the dog for such occasion and it is not caught off guard.

Do not ever leave a child and dog alone even for a second. Dogs have been known to get antsy and try to move a child.

The problem here is that they do it like a mama dog would do it with her child by picking it up with her mouth. This isn’t very safe for children, and some dogs have even hurt children.

Therefore, make sure that the two are never alone.

Raising dogs and children can be a good idea. It makes for an active lifestyle and, better physical and psychological health for the child. Just remember to keep an eye out and be patient