Dog Trainer Answers Kids’ Canine Questions
Dogs are lovable and important members of many families. Kids and dogs go hand in paw, and often kids’ curious minds have lots of questions about their four-legged friends. Special guest, the Dog Trainer is on hand to answer their delightfully candid and often hilarious questions.
Cheryl Butler
Listen
Dog Trainer Answers Kids’ Canine Questions
Not only does the Butler household consist of 8 kids, it also includes 2 dogs that are definitely very important members of our family.
Molly, our black lab, is 9 years old and was a surprise Christmas gift to our kids nearly 10 years ago. I’ll never forget how my husband smuggled her into the house under his rain coat. He stood in the dining room as the kids and I were having dinner and pretended it was just another night. Finally, one of my kids noticed there was a black tail wagging from inside his coat and the entire house broke out into the most excited squeals I’ve ever heard in all my years of motherhood.
Last year we unexpectedly added a new four-legged addition, Gracie, an adorably sweet, yet mischievous Pomeranian puppy. To make a long story short, my daughter who was leaving for college found out that Gracie didn’t have a home. She brought her home hoping we would say she could keep her (yes, we’re suckers!) and the moment I made eye contact with that little fluff ball, the rest, as they say, is history.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy.com offers everything you need to make a name for yourself on the Web, including domain name registration, website hosting, and more. Get 20% off your hosting plan purchase at GoDaddy.com by using the code hostpod64 at checkout.
Although we’ve had dogs in our home for 10 years now, my kids often ask some pretty interesting, and often funny, questions about why our dogs do some of the things that they do. Lucky for us, my Quick and Dirty Tips colleague, Jolanta Benal, the fantastic Dog Trainer, is joining Mighty Mommy and three of my kids, Brendan (age 13), Brady (age 10), and Annie (age 7) to answer some of the questions that have been on their minds.
A Trashy Pomeranian
Brendan Butler: Our Pomeranian dog is 1 ½ and loves to pick through the trash and then hide it under my mom’s bed. Why does she do this? Also, when we try to get something back that she’s hiding, if she is next to it under the bed, she growls at us. She’s never bitten us, but we are afraid to stick our hands near her and take away the shoe or pencil or whatever it is she has stolen. What should we do?
Dog Trainer: Sometimes dogs do things for the same reasons we do – because they’re fun and interesting. Whatever Gracie is finding in the trash, it’s something she really likes. That’s why she runs away and hides with it. Maybe your family needs trash cans with tight lids. And practice putting your shoes away! Also, Gracie might be looking for action because she’s bored. Try playing with her if she likes to play, and taking her for lots of walks. Dogs need interesting things to do, just like us.
How to handle it when Gracie steals something depends on what it is. If it’s not valuable or dangerous, you could just let her have it, and clean up later. If you need to take something away, get a grownup to help. The grownup should offer Gracie a trade for another toy or a special treat, like a small piece of chicken or cheese. It’s not a good plan to get grabby and stern because that can scare a dog enough to make her fight back. A good dog trainer can show you how to teach Gracie that trades are fun and keep everybody safe.
A Poop-Loving Pooch
Annie: When we walk our dogs, they seem very interested in other dogs’ poop. It’s gross! Why do they sniff it and look like they are going to lick it?
Dog Trainer: Poop probably grosses us out because we evolved that way – poop can make people sick, so people who stayed away from poop were more likely to live long enough to have kids. But sniffing and even licking poop almost never makes dogs sick. So there was no reason for them to evolve to feel disgusted by poop.
Dog poop is probably a big source of information for other dogs. We don’t know exactly what they learn from poop, but some of the things they can tell from smelling pee are whether a dog is male or female and how long ago it was there. Maybe they can even tell when a dog is sick. As an experiment, two dogs were trained to pick out the smell of parasites in sheep poop. The trained dogs were just as good as medical tests!
A Smelly Roller
Brady: Not only does Gracie like to smell and lick poop…we’ve seen her roll in it sometimes. Why, oh why does she do this?
Dog Trainer: Nobody really knows! Some people claim that it’s to cover up their own smell so they can hunt better, but there isn’t any good proof. Plus, it’s hard to see why the smell of dog poop would fool a rabbit into thinking there were no dogs around, right?
See also: Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
In an experiment with wolves, the wolves rolled in lots of different things, including Chanel No. 5 perfume and Old Spice cologne. Wolves might roll in things to bring info about those things back to their friends and family. Dogs aren’t the same as wolves, but they’re close relatives, so their reasons might be the same.
A Housebreaking Conundrum
Brendan: Gracie still pees inside our house, even though we take her out for walks a few times a day. My mom is going to lose her mind, what can we do?
Dog Trainer: Mom, I hate to break it to you, but Gracie needs to go back to basic housetraining, just like a puppy. The basic idea is that you make sure she gets outside every couple of hours. If she’s peed and maybe pooped (depending on how often she usually poops), she can have 10 or 15 minutes to play and run around inside. Then, until her next trip to the doggy toilet she needs to be on leash with you, or in a crate, or in a little pen. I’ve done lots of episodes on housetraining problems. The basic one is here.
It’s easier to housetrain right from the get-go than it is to housetrain a dog who’s had a lot of practice peeing and pooping inside. So you’ll have to be patient with Gracie; it’ll probably take her a couple of months to get it right.
Friend or Foe?
Brady: How can we tell if a dog is friendly and wants to say “hi” to us?
Dog Trainer: Usually, a dog who wants to say hi will come over to you herself. If a dog moves away from you, she for sure doesn’t want to say hi right then.
Sometimes, though, a dog who’s actually a little nervous about you might come over to check you out even though she would really rather you not bend over her or touch her. Here’s how to tell the difference: A dog who’s relaxed and friendly will probably be wiggling her tail and butt. Her eyes might be squinty, and her whole face will look soft and smiley. A dog who’s a little worried and wants to investigate you might come up to you very slowly, with her neck stretched out to sniff you. The rest of her body might be back as far as she can get it, though! Also, if you look at her body all over, it will look tense. A nervous dog might also come up behind you to sniff you.
Usually, a friendly dog will “visit” from right up front.
You can also ask the person with the dog whether that dog likes meeting people. But even if they say yes, you should look at the dog’s behavior for yourself. Many people can’t tell whether their dog is having a good time.
Not the Head!
Brendan: Where are the best places to pet a dog?
Dog Trainer: I’m so glad you asked this question! Most dogs like being scratched under the chin and on their chest. Scratching around the ears is nice. Soft stroking on their backs goes over big with a lot of dogs, too.
Here’s what most dogs really, really don’t like: being patted on the head. Dogs also don’t like being hugged – it probably makes them feel trapped. With small dogs, it’s super important not to just randomly pick them up or lean over them. Think how scary that could be for them!
You can watch a dog’s face to see if she’s having a good time. If her eyes are squinty and her mouth is a little bit open, she’s enjoying herself. If she closes her mouth, she’s feeling tense and you should stop. Stop if the dog moves away from your hand, or if you feel even a little bit nervous. Sometimes we feel nervous when something’s not quite right, even if we can’t tell exactly why.
A Sneaky Thief
Annie: Molly is nine and still jumps up on the counter and steals food. She understands “down,” but when no one is looking, she can’t help herself. What should we do?
Dog Trainer: Ha, ha, ha, this is the easiest of all the questions you asked! Are you ready for the answer? Are you ready? Here it is: PUT THE FOOD AWAY.
“Stealing food” is also known as “scavenging” – looking around for food that’s just lying there, and then, when you find it, eating it. Dogs evolved from wolves that learned how to scavenge from human beings, so scavenging is deep, deep, deep in their nature. If you get mad at Molly, just remind yourself how cute she is.
Do you have a pet dog in your family that your kids have questions about? Share your thoughts in the comment section or post your ideas on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. You can also connect with me on Twitter @MightyMommy or e-mail me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com. create new emailVisit my family-friendly boards at Pinterest.com/MightyMommyQDT.
For those of you with dogs in your life, Brendan, Brady, and Annie hope that some of their questions helped you out as well. Enjoy spending time with your great kids and your fun pets and until next time…happy parenting!
Pomeranian, Boy with Dog and Boy Petting Dog images from Shutterstock