Raising a puppy and raising your child – two of the most rewarding experiences on this Earth. When the two intersect, they bring both joys and unique challenges. If your family has room in your heart for little ones both two-legged and four-legged, Puppies ‘N Love and Animal Kingdom is here to help you on your journey!
Still searching for that perfect match? Try our blog on the best dog breeds for kids or take our Puppy Matchmaker Quiz.
Just getting started with introducing children and dogs? Check out our blog on how to prepare for a puppy with kids for some tips and best practices!
If you know what you’re looking for in a puppy and you’ve brushed up on the basics, you can now start to consider how to make all those rosy dreams of your puppy and your child growing up together a reality. There are many ways that your child can bond with your new puppy. Today we will discuss an oft overlooked technique – handfeeding your puppy with your child!
What is Handfeeding?
To put it simply, handfeeding is the act of feeding your dog from your hand rather than using a bowl. Please note that this is not the same thing as feeding your dog scraps at the table, which can encourage unwanted behavior such as food theft or begging. Rather, hand-feeding takes place at a designated time while humans are not eating, utilizing your dog’s own kibble.
Handfeeding has quite a few potential benefits! Whether you have a child in the home or not, we highly recommend that anyone with a new puppy give handfeeding a try for one or more meals per day. Here are just a few of the reasons that handfeeding is worthwhile:
Jump-Start Your Bond
Handfeeding is an excellent way to build trust and affection with your new puppy! While very intelligent beings, dogs are quite simple in many ways. Food is good! Getting food is a good thing! Therefore, when you are around, good things (food) happen! Think of it like your boss handing you your paycheck versus your paycheck arriving in the mail. This is an easy and effective way to start your puppy building a positive association with your presence.
No “Magic Bowl”
On the flip side, by choosing not to hand feed your dog, they may come to associate the reward of food with their bowl rather than with you. This mistaken belief that the bowl is the food source can lead them to becoming overly possessive. This, in turn, can lead to resource-guarding and food aggression. Handfeeding negates this mix-up. While it is important to demonstrate to your dog that you provide food, please do not cover the food while they are eating or take away their food in the middle of a meal. Rather than showing that you bring them food, this creates a frustration that may increase food-related aggression.
Handfeeding is also an excellent opportunity for your puppy to learn to take food nicely. Hold the food in a closed fist until your puppy stops attempting to get at the food. When they are waiting patiently, open your hand and tell them “take it”. At first, this may take some time, and be aware that puppy teeth can be sharp! The more you practice this skill, the more quickly your puppy will quiet, and eventually you will have a dog who has learned to take food from your hands gently.
Slower Mealtimes
Some dogs get a little too excited about their food and scarf it down in the blink of an eye. This can cause health issues such as vomiting, gas, diarrhea, or even potentially dangerous bloating! If your puppy is one of these overeager eaters, your veterinarian may recommend a slow feeder bowl to force your dog to take their time. One great thing about handfeeding – in this case, you are the slow feeder! By parceling out your dog’s food gradually, you can control the pace of the meal.
Brain Food
By taking the time to handfeed your puppy, you can easily have mealtime double as training time! Ask your pup to perform a basic obedience command for you. In lieu of a treat, reward them with a few pieces of kibble. This also helps to focus your dog’s attention on you, which will be infinitely helpful in obedience sessions outside of the meal. That’s not all – did you know that using their brains can help your puppy expend excess energy? Learn more about it in our blog on how to tire out your pup.
Handfeeding and Kids
In addition to all these listed benefits, there are a few extra reasons that having your child handfeed your dog is a good idea! Puppies tend to instinctively see children as playmates and will be more prone to testing boundaries. By having your child handfeed your puppy, you create the connection that the child is a respected provider of resources. This discourages behaviors such as stealing food from a child’s hands or resource-guarding from the child.
If you’re ready to get started handfeeding with your child, we have a few pieces of advice to help things go smoothly.
Age-Appropriate Only
Make sure that everybody involved is the correct age! Handfeeding should only be attempted with children five and up. If you are looking to help your very young child bond with your puppy, have them participate in fetching games instead. Similarly, this advice is intended for children and puppies. While there are still benefits to handfeeding adult dogs, they may have already formed some difficult habits related to food. Because of this, we strongly emphasize that handfeeding adult dogs should only be practiced by adults. The exception to this would be, of course, if your puppy has grown to adulthood being handfed by your child and is known to behave well.
Try it Yourself First
Before you try to instruct your child on how to handfeed your puppy, be sure to try it yourself first. Some puppies will take food gently, but others might be a little too eager and mistake your fingers for Snausages! It is important to know how your puppy behaves around food before having your child attempt hand feeding.
How to Handfeed Your Puppy with a Child
Around one of your dog’s established mealtimes, fill their bowl with the appropriate amount of food for their age and weight. Have your child scoop a handful of food from the bowl and hold it out to the dog. If your puppy is still working on learning to take food nicely, make sure that your child holds the food in the palm of their hand rather than their fingers. Allow your puppy to thoroughly chew and swallow between each handful. Once your child is comfortable, consider throwing in some commands to make your puppy work for the food. A simple “sit” is great place to start, but in no time at all you can progress to “come” or even to a spin trick!
A Few Final Notes
Handfeeding can be rewarding for everyone involved, but may take some trial and error to find a method that works well for everyone. The good news is that puppies are extremely adaptable; with a little patience, you and your family will find a routine. For safety reasons, please only have children handfeed dogs with parental supervision. Finally, while handfeeding is an excellent bonding and training method, do feed your dog in the bowl at least occasionally. If there is ever a situation where they must stay overnight at the vet or with a pet sitter, your puppy needs to be comfortable eating from a bowl.
Happy handfeeding!
