It’s not easy raising children and puppies at the same time. As parents we find ourselves needing to teach both the puppy and the children to be calm.
This is a fun game. We gave each child a number to remember to make it more interesting for them.
They must sit on the couch and wait for their number to be called before getting up to feed the pup.
It’s great for a number of reasons including:
The children get to reward the puppy for lying down.
The puppy learns to enjoy the children approaching.
The puppy gets to practice calm in the face of children.
The children are learning the rules of the game. One at a time and sit on the couch quietly until your turn. They get to practice calm behaviour too!
As with any game, it’s meant to be played for a brief period of time so everyone is successful. Any signs of restlessness from child or dog, means it’s time to stop. Do a shorter game next time.
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