Dear children and young people, this text is addressed to you.

For a successful friendship between humans and animals, it is first of all important that you understand your puppy. Your parents will certainly help you to learn a few simple rules to understand how important it is to observe them in everyday life.

If you manage to remember this in your daily life with your dog, you are sure to have a lot of fun with your puppy.

If you meet a strange dog on the street, please always ask its owner first if you can stroke it. He knows the animal best and will tell you whether you can approach the animal or whether it would be better for both of you to keep your distance.

If you are out and about with your dog, make sure that other people ask you before they approach him. You know him best and know how he reacts to other people.

What you should know and what you must always remember: ”Dogs have a hunting instinct and often run after everything once their instinct is awakened”.

Surely you know that there are many different breeds of dog. As with people, dogs cannot be compared with each other. They all have fur, four paws, a mouth – also known as a snout – and a tail, but each dog has a different character. This means you should look at every dog you meet from a distance and get to know them a little better before approaching them. The best thing to do is to always ask the owner if it is a strange dog.

If the dog is a new member of your family, it will take some time for him to get used to you and for you to get used to him. Your parents will certainly help you with this.

All dogs are pack animals. The pack could be compared to a human family in which everyone has their own place and task. Now your dog lives with you and your family and has to learn what task it has and what place it should take. Your parents are the pack leaders for the dog – they are big and strong in his eyes and determine the place and tasks of all the other family members.

As long as you yourself have not yet reached puberty, your dog will not initially see you as a threat. For him, you are of equal rank with him and he sees you as a playmate. Your dog must first learn, together with your parents and you, which place he has to take in the hierarchy (family). Looking a dog straight in the eye at this moment means that he has to fear or even fight for his place. Until he has learned where his place is and until he accepts your parents or you as his – pack leader – it would be better not to stare at him directly.

When playing with your dog, despite good training, it may well happen that your new friend forgets which place he actually has in the hierarchy. It would therefore be better in the beginning if your parents stayed nearby to be able to help if you get into such a situation.

You have probably often seen two strange dogs barking at each other on the street, attacking each other or even starting to fight. In any case, avoid intervening yourself to separate the two animals and seek the help of an adult. This can prevent injuries caused by a dog bite.

Would you like it if someone pulled your ears or yanked your hair? Your new friend can hear perfectly well, but unfortunately he can’t speak. To ”tell” you what he likes or dislikes, he can either growl or sometimes even bite. He shows you with his behavior whether he is doing well or not. Your dog also uses his tail to show you how he feels in certain situations. If he is happy, he will wag his tail excitedly, if he is sad or scared, he will often tuck his tail between his hind legs.

If you want to learn to understand your new friend even better, pay attention to the corresponding movements of the dog’s tail. You probably already know that you don’t pull a dog’s tail or deliberately step on it. If you were to injure the tail, your dog would have one less opportunity to show you how much he likes you or whether he is missing something.

Your dog uses his teeth to hold on to things. If your fingers get caught between his teeth while playing with him, perhaps because he is holding onto his ball, try not to jerk the ball and fingers out of your dog’s mouth. Otherwise your dog might defend his toy and bite you for it.

Dogs love to eat undisturbed. If you disturb your dog while he is eating, he may think that you want to take it away from him. He doesn’t know any better because he relies on his inner instinct and would defend his food at any time to survive.

Before you feed a strange dog, first ask the owner if it is okay for him and the dog.

There are many dog breeds that appear very small, delicate and “fragile” compared to other breeds, even if the animal is already fully grown. If you come across such an animal, please note that it is more easily injured due to its stature and bone structure. Even small dogs don’t want to be dressed up and carried around like barby dolls. They want to run around and play, need exercise and care just like any other dog.

There is a PDF file on the DVD under “Dog and child” which explains this again.