Is it good when a dog lives in the house? Of course, everyone has their own opinion on this matter – some are categorically against, others, on the contrary, cannot do without a four-legged friend. This is the opinion of adults, but children, perhaps, all want a dog.
Since childhood, I dreamed of a dog. I did everything I could to make a four-legged friend: I asked my parents; blowing out the candles on the cake, thinking about the puppy; brought homeless dogs from the street, but mom and dad were categorically against it. It’s not that they didn’t like animals (I had cats, parrots, aquarium fish), but they didn’t want to get a dog, apparently believing that it would cause too much trouble.
Thinking about the dog, I always felt a kind of despair – I really want a puppy, but I can’t do anything, it’s not up to me that he appears at our house …
With tears in my eyes, I watched the cartoon “Mitten” (this is where the mother did not allow her daughter to have a dog, and the girl began to play with the mitten, presenting her as a puppy). I also tried to play like that …
When I turned 12, my dad took pity on me and brought home a puppy. It was a fox terrier (a relative gave birth to a hunting dog). How happy my sister and I were! Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived – the puppy was stolen. We could not get it back. I sobbed for a very long time. They didn’t have any more dogs, the parents didn’t want to hear about it.
I always knew that I would definitely allow my child to have a four-legged friend. And a year ago we had a new family member – the English Spaniel. Before making the final decision in favor of this breed, I read a lot about it. And hurray – this is one of the most ideal dogs for children!
My son also really wanted a dog. He is now 7 years old. As psychologists say, this is the best age to have a puppy. At this time, children have a need to take care of someone.
We went for the dog together. I believe that the child will be even more happy if he can choose a puppy himself. We liked the most playful girl. This is how little Candy appeared at our house. By the way, the nickname was also chosen together. My son really liked that Candy is translated as “candy”.
You might think that everything always starts out very nice and touching, and then you run into problems later. Not at all! Candy has been living with us for a year now, and we have never regretted the decision to have a dog.
All of us frightened us with difficulties. Here’s my experience, what is true and what is myth. And the top 10 reasons why you and your child should have a dog.
- Yes, the first two nights were sleepless. The puppy whined in a strange place away from mom. I tried a couple of times to take him to my bed (I thought he would fall asleep), but he started to play. I read in time on the Internet that you don’t need to do this – then you won’t kick it out. Soon the puppy got used to sleeping peacefully on his rug. I gladly sewed a patchwork quilt for the dog.
- What worries most of all is where the dog will go to the toilet, how to walk it. For the first two months we did not go outside at all, as we had vaccinations (two) and waited for them to take effect. At this time, we used disposable diapers. They put the diaper in a certain place and at first carried the puppy there several times, as soon as they saw that he wanted to do “his own business.” Our Candy got used to “walking” on the diapers pretty quickly (sometimes, however, she missed the pile, but removing was not a big problem).
When we started to go out with her, for the first few days our dog did not do what was required of her. We walked for an hour or more, but she couldn’t … At some point, she began to rush home and, having run into the apartment, first of all sat down on her diaper. I already thought about taking the diaper with me outside, but I didn’t have to – Candy understood everything herself.
- Many are not happy with the prospect of getting up at 6 am and walking the dog. I realized that the time depends on how you train the dog yourself. At 6 in the morning, my dog sleeps beautifully herself. We go out for a walk not earlier than eight, and on weekends generally at 9 and later. And no puddles and heaps at home! We walk 2-3 times a day.
- How to feed your dog? Here everything is as simple as shelling pears – there are now a lot of dry food. For me, it’s so easy to cook our own food, we often do this. By the way, for Candy’s favorite treat is cabbage. She will eat enough meat, and after that she will not refuse cabbage. And in the summer, at the dacha, I tried to eat the heads of cabbage in the garden.
As you can see, there is not so much hassle. But how much happiness a dog brings to its owners!
The son in Candy simply does not like a soul! With pleasure he walks with her, washes, feeds, plays. Thanks to the dog, it became easier for him to make friends (on the street everyone pays attention and wants to play together), the dog removes the bad mood as if by hand (not only in a child, but also in adults). It’s really a lot of fun and warmth with her!
Animals can be great educators for children. Even small children learn to observe, to draw conclusions, to anticipate the consequences. This can be understood by observing the interaction of a child with a dog. Without saying anything, they understand each other and are friends. The benefits of dogs are not only psychological. Four-legged friends help to treat some serious diseases – autism, mental disorders. Treatment with dogs is called canistherapy.
I would list several reasons why a four-legged pet is necessary:
— Dogs teach children kindness and compassion. They can instill in a child a respectful attitude towards others. If a child learns to be gentle with a pet and to treat him with care, it is highly likely that he will also treat his parents and peers. If a child behaves aggressively towards an animal, then it is worth thinking about the behavior of adults or about whether the child is offended in kindergarten or school.
– Teenagers have a four-footed friend reduces the manifestations of irritability, develops a sense of responsibility, tolerance, kindness, improves character, smoothing out or completely eliminating such character traits as selfishness and aggression. Dogs act as an alarm clock, forcing their owner to wake up on time.
— Baby will never feel lonely or get bored, because the dog is a friendly and cheerful creature, it just won’t let him do it. With such a friend, it is less dangerous to leave the children alone in the house.
– Studies have shown that children often trust their secrets to the family dog, spending as much time talking with her as with their loved ones or friends. When parents or other close relatives are not nearby, the dog often replaces them.
— The pet helps the development of imagination and a creative approach, since when communicating with a dog, you need to come up with various games.
– There are cases when four-legged pets saved their owners from a possible irreparable deed. No matter how gloomy the inner state was, the sight of the pet charged them with positive energy, brought them back to life.
I hope there will be more happy children after this article! Be sure – and you will not be able to resist the charm of a four-legged friend. And he is really a Friend with a capital letter!
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