This Dog Care Tips post is sponsored by © Nature’s Recipe, LLC. All opinions are my own.

Learn about these dog care tips to teach kids so they can learn responsibilities!

Our dogs were our first children, but they are getting up there in years. Daisy and Baxter turned 13 in March and Junior turned 12 in March. And while they are definitely a bit more lethargic, they still love running around in the backyard, barking at the neighbors, and playing like puppies at every opportunity. Now that my kids are approaching 9 and 7 years old, I thought it would be the right time to teach them to care for their furry friends. Here are simple dog care tips to teach kids.

Dog Care Tips to Teach Kids: Play Time

This is the easiest way to get your kids more involved in caring for your dogs. When we are not home, my dogs are in a small room of our home. We leave them with comfy bedding, food, and water, but they are still limited in what they can do within that space. When my kids arrive home from school and need a little movement after sitting at desks most of the day, it’s the perfect time to send the two kids and three dogs into the backyard to play together! Because my dogs are smaller and older, it’s important that my kids are reminded to play with them carefully for their safety.

Dog Care Tips to Teach Kids: Meal Time

My kids are definitely old enough and mature enough to feed the dogs. We recommend Nature’s Recipe® Grain Free varieties. Nature’s Recipe is premium dog food made with real lamb, chicken, or salmon as the first ingredient. It is free of corn, wheat, soy, poultry by-product meal, artificial flavors, and preservatives, so it is easy for dogs to digest {great for my three older dogs}. Nature’s Recipe provides the nutrition needed to fuel your dog’s day, with added vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Teach your kids how often your dogs need to be fed and the proper quantity so they can feed the dogs independently.

Dog Care Tips to Teach Kids: Outdoor Time

When nature calls, we let our dogs roam in our fenced-in backyard to go. This is an easy task we encourage our kids to do without our assistance. They can call the dogs to the door, let them outside, and after about five minutes, call their names to have them come back inside. Bryce is not always the most motivated child when it comes to chores, so this is a chore we can give him that makes him feel like he’s really helping out and makes him feel good about himself!

Dog Care Tips to Teach Kids: Bath Time

Lydia, by nature, is a helper. She loves helping in the kitchen, helping in her classroom, and helping with the dogs. Giving them a good bath is a great way for her to assist in caring for the dogs. I get the water set to the right temperature, add the shampoo to the dogs’ fur, and set aside towels to dry them. Lydia does a great job scrubbing the dogs from head to tail and rinsing them off. She thinks it’s funny when they shake the water off their bodies when they are drying off!

Head to Walmart where you can purchase Nature’s Recipe Grain Free dog food in the following varieties down the pet aisle:

Nature’s Recipe Grain Free Salmon
Nature’s Recipe Grain Free Chicken
Nature’s Recipe Grain Free Small Breed Chicken
Nature’s Recipe Grain Free Puppy Chicken
Nature’s Recipe Grain Free Lamb