Hi,
I know Ed advises to the center of your pup's world for the first thirty days.

My issue is: How do you handle this with children? Do any of you allow your children to do anything with/for the dog? (Under supervision of course.)

Another question: What type of vehicle do you transport your dog(s) and family in. (I mean everyone in together. How many dogs? How many people?

In a perfect world no.But I know I let a lot slip. Grand babies wanting to play, wife not understanding how dogs realy think etc. My dogs have all turned out ok. I am sure the rest out there have also not gone 100% by the book as well and there dogs are also ok. Just try to do your best. I would not let the children feed or use any training comands but some supervised interaction should be ok. Hope this helps some. I have read it and can see I am not very clear this morning, sorry

For the first month or even two, the dog is mine.
Hard as it is for kids, I think it needs to be this way for the bond and for the confidence levels in the dog.
Then I start incorporating socialization since they are SAR dogs. My PPD prospect will be socialized with my husband. Other than that, it is a look but don't touch type of thing, unless permission is granted.

I find that even though you explain things to people, they still do the whole "spoil the dog routine".
I work with a person that used to let my dogs out of their crates if I run to get the mail, SO there are locks on the crates.
"Oh they wanted out" is what I hear.....
I know she tries to get them back in before I get back.


I also have kennel help for when I go out of town and my husband is busy or goes with me. These four people know working dogs and they go out and feed, change water and clean. They do take the Bloodhound out for a walk, but I know that they will not do anything stupid with him, like, turn him loose.

Hi Carolyn!

I kept my pup tethered to me when he was young. Carbon was VERY mouthy when he was little and really did make some painful grabs at my hands. My kid would certainly have tooth marks on him if I let them interact much.

But I wanted him to be aware of my 7 year old son, and realize that he was a part of the pack. I didn't want my son to be something I sprung on my pup when he was adolescent and starting to be protective. I also wanted him to see how wild and noisy a child could be, and be acclimated to that without thinking it's behavior he needs to address. They were around each other almost constantly, but not directly interacting, if that makes sense.

And actually, at 6 months old, that's still how they interact for the most part. My pup will greet my son when he gets home from school with flat ears and happy whining, and then they sort of go their seperate ways. I still do NOT let my son or his friends run around acting nutty around an off-leash Carbon though.

The dog needs kid manners and the kid needs dog manners.

As for the car, we got a 2007 Honda CR-V. The back cargo area with a divider gate worked well. We have a GSD, a Corgi, two adults and a kid. I don't know how I'd do it with the smaller car we had before. A puppy would have destroyed anything I left in my car.

I think Amber's advice is perfect. My dog is around kids constantly (I have 3) but always controlled. I had a much easier time introducing the dogs to a baby then kids to a puppy. We have a Ford Explorer, a Chrysler Van and an RV. The Chrysler Van has seats that fold into the floor making a flat surface for a dog crate and the smaller seats and seat belt hight are better fits for the kids. I also have a crate that is 2 inches narrower so it fits next to more things.