Should Your Child Walk Your New Puppy?

I don't know about you but one of the reasons I got a dog was to enjoy nice, leisurely walks. I would see people walking in the evening, strolling along with their dog walking nicely beside their human.

I've had dogs for the past 14 years. I still see people strolling along after dinner with their dogs. I also see some people being dragged along; their dogs barking, lunging, jumping and behaving in a less than desirable manner.

I live in a neighborhood with lots of children of all ages and lots of new puppies. I love the idea of children growing up with a family pet and of children learning the responsibility of caring for an animal.

What I don't love is seeing young children with the family pet on a leash and no adult supervising the interaction. Young puppies are very impressionable when you first get them. They are always making associations - whether good or bad.

Imagine this scenario:

3 or 4 young children outside with a new puppy on a flat collar and a short leash. The puppy is doing what puppies do - pull, chew, dig, jump, bark, get over aroused.

Children, excited to have a puppy, are also aroused - yelling, shouting, screaming in high pitched voices, jumping around. The puppy is getting more and more bitey and out of control. The children don't have the skills to calm themselves, let alone the puppy.

The children are jerking the puppy's leash, along with screaming and jumping around because they don't know what to do as the puppy keeps pulling and barking at people and dogs passing by.

Think of what the puppy is learning. He is making lots of associations which will impact what he experiences for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, they are not the associations you want him to make. See people = get jerked on the leash. See dogs = get jerked on the leash.

It's no different than your first experiences of anything novel with your teacher - whether piano, dance, baseball, math, you name it. A good teacher will make sure the experience is fun and ensure you want to continue. If you have a bad teacher, you never want to play the piano or continue with dance classes again.

A puppy who is jerked around on leash when he sees people, bicycles, children, cars, or other dogs, for example, will have negative associations with those things.

If you would like a well-adjusted adult dog, the first experiences a new puppy needs are positive ones. See children = get chicken! See cars = chicken!

In my opinion, any untrained puppy needs to be walked by someone who can guide both child and puppy during this very important learning period.

Puppyhood and adolescence have different challenges. Both phases need the guidance of an adult so unwanted behavior does not develop and desired behavior is reinforced.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-Your-Child-Walk-Your-New-Puppy?&id=9409337