1. Do not let the children play any mouth games with the puppy. Puppies and dogs have approximately 42 teeth and children only have ten fingers.

By allowing mouth games it is encouraging your puppy to test the authority of your childrens status within the pack and this can lead to dominance problems.

2. Do not allow your children to play any games of strength with your puppy as this can quickly turn into a disastrous situation.

Puppies and dogs do not like to be stared directly in the eyes as this is very confrontational to a puppy or dog.

As pulling games mean that your children will be staring into the puppy's eyes this could lead to a serious problem as your puppy may feel he is being directly challenged.

3. Do not start sharing or mixing the childrens toys with your puppy's toys.

Your childrens toys are there for your children only. If your puppy starts to play with your childrens toys it maybe worth getting a deterrent spray than tastes bitter and will stop your puppy using them - (although it is always better to use positive reinforcement rather than negative punishment).

A good way of making sure that the toys don't get mixed up is to have a box where you put all of your puppy's toys.

4. Do not allow your children to start teasing the puppy with pieces of food.

This will cause puppy behavior problems and will encourage your puppy to snatch the food (not a good idea with 42 teeth!)

Adult Supervision

All puppy games that your children play with your puppy or puppies should be supervised by an adult and obviously games should be appropriate to the size of your puppy or dog.

The 'fetch' game when it is played by children and puppy's should only use a well-trained puppy.

After the toy has been thrown and then retrieved by the puppy, the toy should then be taken from the puppy's mouth supervised by an adult.

Until your child is emotionally mature and is able to understand how to control a puppy and behave with a puppy the adult should continue to supervise all puppy games.

When your child takes the toy from the puppy after it has been retrieved the puppy should get a reward and some praise (remember the adult is still supervising.)

By playing regular games with the puppy your children are telling the puppy that they also have authority within the family unit - crucial when dog obedience training.

Your puppy should realize that all toys belong to the person playing the game i.e your children.

After the game has been finished the toys should be placed back into the toy box and this should be done in full view of your puppy - this will again reinforce your childrens authority.