How to teach your children how to behave round dogs!
We teach our children how to behave around babies, other children and adults but do you teach your children how to behave around dogs? Teaching our children how to behave around dogs can sometimes be forgotten, especially if your child doesn’t mix with dogs…. and then if they don’t mix with dogs how do you teach your children to behave round dogs? Can you see my dilemma?
I am not going to lie, mixing with dogs doesn’t come naturally to George, sure … he says loves them and yes, he talks about them…. A LOT…. But, when it comes to interacting with dogs, George gets a little scared and when a dog is arond he can be found cutting off the circulation round my legs with his eyes tightly shut!! I love animals, especially dogs so it is really important to me that George isn’t scared of dogs and it is also important to me that George understands animals and how to treat them nicely. A question I have often asked myself was “if we don’t have a dog and we rarely come in to contact with dogs how do we teach him to behave around dogs?”
Thankfully, I have discovered a beautiful book series created for this very thing, it is part of the Zara DogDog club series and it is a truly lovely read for a night time story.
What is the Zara DogDog Club
Anna, the founder of Zara DogDog Club was inspired to create this fantastic series based on her own dog – Zara. Anna noticed that when she was out walking her dog, people were often unsure how to behave around her dog. The Zara DogDog Club is designed to help children develop positive relationships with dogs by understanding why dogs behave in certain ways whilst encouraging them to behave safely around dogs. The first book in the Zara DogDog Club book series is called “Zara DogDog on the school run” and I am excited to share our reading experience with you.
The book is beautifully illustrated by the talented Siobhan Barlow and written by the equally as talented Anna Crichton.
In the front of the book you will meet Zara’s family, there is mum, dad, Isaac, Amelia and of course Zara DogDog.
This beautifully illustrated, educational yet straightforward story begins with the alarm going off and Zara DogDog is waking up in the morning ready for her walk. Zara DogDog is initially enjoying her walk until it was cut short as she arrived at Isaac and Amelia’s school. The school was noisy and Zara was scared and began behaving differently.
This book explains very simply signs to look out for when a dog is uncomfortable or scared and it emphasises that you shouldn’t go and stroke a dog without asking first.
The book is aimed at 3 years plus but George understood it and we followed the 3 action steps printed in the back of the book to make it more interactive.
Before we started the books I asked George how he felt about dogs and he said he loves them, I asked him why he is scared when he is around them and he said because they bite, I explained that he doesn’t need to be scared of dogs but he should always ask the owner before stroking the dog.
George loved all the pictures in the book and when Zara DogDog become a little uncomfortable the pictures were clear and easy to understand, they illustrated 3 steps to look out for if a dog is feeling uncomfortable.
Afterwards, I spoke to George about how he felt about dogs now and what he needs to do before he strokes a dog and he said “ask the owner”.
I will continue to read this book each week as George really enjoyed the story and we both look forward to reading
more of Zara DogDogs adventures.
This fabulous book is only £7.99 and can be bought by clicking here.
We have awarded Zara DogDog Club with our Recommended on Badge as we absolutely love the book and the whole concept.
You can purchase your book here
Follow Zara DogDogs adventures by visiting the website
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Carla is the founder of MyBump2Baby. Carla has a huge passion for linking together small businesses and growing families. Carla’s humorous, non-filtered honesty has won the hearts of thousands of parents throughout the UK.
She has previously written for the Metro and made appearances on BBC News, BBC 5 live, LBC etc. Carla is a finalist for Blogger of the Year award with Simply Ladies inc. Carla is also the host of the popular Fifty Shades of Motherhood podcast and The MyBump2Baby Expert podcast.
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