Canadian Doodle Puppies

PUPS ARE ALL SOLD. Ebony's and Wrigley's pups at 2 weeks

We are now accepting applications for our guardian home program for male and female pups. Applications for adoptions remain closed. For information on our guardian program, please visit our site at: https://doodlepuppies.ca/becoming-a-guardian-parent/. Please contact us at [email protected] for an application form.

Kids and dogs. Peoples perception of how children and dogs should be together often worries me. I often hear about people getting a dog for the kids. How wonde...rful dogs are with children. How the dogs can protect them, be their best friend. I See photos of children hugging dogs tightly, the dogs looking uncomfortable, giving off subtle signs of distress that go unnoticed. There is often an expectation of dogs to be like lassie. Sadly, a large proportion of dog bites are to children, often due to peoples lack of understanding. If we flip this idea on its head a bit, would we ever think of having a child because it would benefit our dog? Where does the dogs welfare sit in these decisions? I got my first dog when I was 4. I can remember my mum picking me up from school and telling me I had a present. I think it's one of my first clear memories. When we got home, she told me the present was under the table, which I thought was rather odd. As I peered under the table I saw a little bundle of wrinkles, trembling and staying very still. She was called fergie and was a boxer Puppy. Everything in my body wanted to crawl under the table and hug her close to me, tell her I loved her. But my mum told me to come out. She had just left all that she knows, she was feeling scared and I should wait for her to come to me, she needed time. She was right, I sat patiently on the other side of the room and after waiting for what felt like an eternity, fergie walked over to me, her whole body wagging. I wanted to hold her close but mum said that would probably scare her so to be gentle. I was told very firmly to not pester her when she was eating, to never go into her bed and to never approach her when she was asleep. A combination of luck through fergie's genetics and natural temperament and mums strict rules on how to respect her meant she did end up my best friend. Children can have beautiful relationships with dogs but it should never be an expectation. For me having a dog at a young age taught me to respect dogs and I'm very thankful for that. Hugging and playing with her was never seen as a right. I was always taught to listen to her needs too. I see many puppies being handled by children in a way that is scary to them. Children are unpredictable, loud, and don't have the emotional filters that adults have. They often want to show their love by hugging tightly and kissing which can be overwhelming and even scary for most dogs. Instead of getting a dog as a childs best friend, a protector and something the child loves. I believe getting a dog when you have a child should be about teaching children how to respect animals, what it takes to care for another being, how to develop empathy and kindness towards another, and about developing good communication skills without the need for verbal language. In turn, this allows our dogs to feel safe and comfortable around children and is more likely to turn into a beautiful partnership. Any relationship should be for the benefit of both parties. Mutual trust, understanding, and respect. I will always be thankful for that beautiful bond I had with my childhood dog, but more than that, I'm thankful for the lessons it taught me. Not to just take love but to earn it. To empathise with others, to listen, to be patient and kind. By teaching children how to behave around dogs we can teach them so much more than just giving them a friend. You don't get given friends, you earn them.