The Benefits of the Family Dog

Our dog Oscar, a black and white lhasa apso, was our first baby! Before Teddy and Charlie came along we decided we wanted a dog, we had just bought our first home together so it seemed like the perfect addition to our new home. So along came Oscar, adorable, cuddly and extremely excitable, he was a great introduction to see what its like to take care of a little creature, animal or human! You might remember a post i wrote a while ago about introducing the dog to the newborn.

Not too long after we welcomed Oscar into our home, Teddy soon made an appearance too! It’s been a whirlwind of dog walks with the pram, changing nappy’s with a dog playing around our ankles and making sure Teddy didn’t drink from the water bowl, but it’s fun family life and we wouldn’t change it for the world.

Happy Birthday Oscar 🐶 He was my first baby! Here are some of my highlights...#cute #dogs pic.twitter.com/YMjPALy93M

— Yorkshire Dad (@TheYorkshireDad) November 2, 2015

From having our family pet, we have seen all the benefits for the boys and Oscar. Just like a dog is to it’s adult companions, dogs are great friends to children, having a cuddle or a play with Oscar, the boys are able to have fun and relieve any stress and forget about what they were having a tantrum over just ten minutes ago!

Perhaps one of the best parts of our boys growing up with Oscar is the amount of fun and happiness they bring each other. That aside, recent studies have also shown that babies raised in close contact with pets tend to get sick less in the first year of their little life. It’s no secret that dogs bring in some of the outdoors with them after playing in the garden or back from a walk, constantly hoovering up and bathing Oscar every time is just not possible, but in actual fact this isn’t a bad thing. This bacterium is helping to improve the boy’s immune systems.

Daily walks with Oscar means that we are always getting out and staying active, even on the rainy days. This means that Teddy and Charlie are getting out the house on a regular basis, either to the park or muddy puddle jumping! Vitamin D is so important for young children so being outside with the dog regularly, means we don’t have to supplement vitamin D into the boys diet.

Having a dog comes with great responsibility, feeding, taking to the vets and walking. Because of this Teddy is starting to learn about his caring side, showing compassion for his little friend is just adorable and fills me with pride. Now Teddy is 3, we are asking him to help make sure that Oscar has the right food and water. This is helping Teddy understand accountability and obligation, and also increases Teddy self esteem as his learns responsibility.

To ensure that we are feeding Oscar with the right food we buy Advance Dog Food online at VPD. Whether your dog is an active working breed, or you need total wellbeing, dental care or puppy feed, VPD stock quality produce helping give your dog the right balance of nutrition.