Way back in the early spring I shared my first Mr. Darcy's Book Club review and promised to share some dog training books for kids to read over the summer. Time did get away from me....but I think that this is actually the perfect time for this. When my boys were younger, I remember the first few weeks of summer were pretty blissful. By the time we got to the second half of the holidays things started to heat up in more ways than one. No matter what they think, kids do well with routines! Drumroll......and so do our dogs!!
Whether you are at home this summer, taking some camping trips or hanging out at the cottage, if you have a dog and a kid around this article is for you!
The first recommendation I have is a book by Vanessa Estrada Marin, "Dog Training for Kids".
My favourite things about this book:
It is extremely well laid out and easy to follow with training broken down into steps
She includes clear yellow thought bubbles with "Safety Tips" throughout the book
The basics are completely covered. From housetraining to basic cues and tricks to common dog behaviors.
For each of the cues she notes if there are other cues the dog should already know before attempting that one. For example, to do "paws up", your dog needs to know when you want them to "sit".
The cues are labeled to indicate a level of difficulty.
The bonus items for me are the information she includes about potty training and walking schedules for puppies. I wasn't expecting that to be included and it makes this book an excellent gift for anyone getting a puppy.
This book is fun, practical and easy to follow!
My next recommendation is by Kyra Sundance, "101 Dog Tricks Kids Edition".
My favourite things about this book are:
It includes a wide variety of activities, games and crafts. I feel like you could create a whole Summer Camp curriculum!
This book is also really nicely colour coded to highlight levels of difficulty, tips, troubleshooting and more.
Sundance has a lot of photographs to illustrate the activities so that you can really visualize what you and your dog should be doing.
Best of all...for those of you who don't already know this, Kyra Sundance is the founder of Do More With Your Dog. Visit her website to find out how your kids (and you!) could earn Trick Titles! What a cool summer project that would be!!
If you aren't ready to invest in these, then ask your local library to bring them in for you. Bringing these books to the shelves would be such a gift for the whole community!
I should end by sharing that I am not paid in any way to do these reviews and I don't have links on this page that give me commission of any kind. I am simply a girl who has a love of dogs and books!
Comments