Children and Pets

So Macy went in for her immunisations the other day, she had one in each arm and she did not bat an eyelid, she didn't even flinch, no tears at all.  She understands it is to keep her healthy and part of why she was so good is I take her with me when we take the animals for their annual booster.  Someone said to me well it's a bit different when you are having one yourself but this came from someone who is scared stiff of needles so they are bound to say that.  I don't want Macy to be scared of needles, my husband hates needles and she isn't going to grow up hating them.  Hence why I exposed her to the animals having their vaccinations as she can see it doesn't hurt and it is over in a flash.  Animals have a real benefit in our lives.

Studies also show all sorts of benefits for children who live with animals including lower stress levels and have better empathy.  People laugh when they ask me if Macy is having a brother or sister and I tell them no she has the animals instead.   I can remember someone asking me if I was going to rehome the cat when we had Macy, I was shocked at the question, he is part of the family, there is no way, it didn't even cross my mind!  For more info on studies click here

There is some really bad press about sometimes with regards to dog attacks, it is unfair to blame the animal, it is the owner who is at fault.  No matter how much you think you can trust an animal you should never leave them unattended, I don't think you can ever trust an animal 100%, ever.  And I own the softest, dopiest dog in the world!

A Dogs Story - App for Children & Dog Safety

While I was at the Pedigree/Waltham event day we were told about a new app especially designed for children around dog safety.  When I got home I downloaded it (on android from Google Play) and sat down with my almost 3 year old daughter.  Macy has been brought up around dogs and gets dragged along to agility shows so I would hope she knows how to behave around dogs but being still a toddler and going through a phase of she knows best it is always good to reiterate dog safety.  This app is great as it does just that but in the form of a game so the children are learning but don't realise they are!  

It is basically about a little boy and a dog who steals his brother's ball, the game follows the little boy who meets various people and dogs on the way to finding the dog who stole the ball.  The boy learns how to greet dogs properly, how to read their body language, not to approach sleeping dogs, dogs that are eating and take toys from dogs.  It is great because the child can see what would happen if the boy did the correct thing and what would happen if the boy was to do the incorrect thing and disturb a sleeping dog for example.  

Macy was brilliant, she got some right, she was great at reading their body language and how to stroke the dog.  She thought it would be nice to cuddle a scared dog, which in her mind she would have a cuddle if she was frightened so it is a difficult one for her to understand but with the help of this it is more likely to sink in.  Dinner was ready halfway through our game, as soon as she had finished she wanted to log back on and help the little boy find the dog and ball!  The game had paused it's progress and we started off where we left off until we found the dog with the ball!  At the very end the 'Guru' goes through everything learnt in the app and the child has to press the right option.  

Fantastic app as my 2 year old could play it (I had to show her which option was which as she obviously can't read yet, however some answers are picture format so she could pick herself) and it is also useful for older children.

All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.