Pets

klinky

Anyone have tips for getting LO to be more gentle with the dog?

V is obsessed with the dog.  When he comes into a room she lights up and starts to laugh.  However, any chance she gets she rushes over to him and instantly grabs his face or yanks his tail.  She does it really hard, I know it hurts and I'm worried that he's losing his patience.

We've tried redirecting her (as soon as you let her go, she goes right back to him) and teaching her "gentle" (which usually ends up with her patting him on the top of the head with a hard thud and really isn't gentle at all) and when necessary a firm "NO".  She just can't help herself.  Even when she isn't hurting him, she runs over to him and starts shrieking in his face because she's so excited to be around him.

Any ideas? I feel bad for the dog, he ends up hiding in our room when she's around and I worry that his patience is growing thin.  She probably grabs him at least 5 times a day where he is in major pain.  I can only expect so much tolerance from a dog

belizeitornot

None here, but I'm interested to hear what others say.

We've had the same issue with the dog (luckily our cats just stay out of her way). Our dog has to be right in the middle of things which doesn't help but H isn't aware of where her feet are and steps on her and yanks fur. We've just been trying to reinforce "gentle" and pulling her away when she won't leave the dog alone. We've also been giving a lot of positive rewarding to the dog when she behaves herself amidst the abuse.

Cheekers2010

We have 2 cats.  G loves them and tends to also grab too enthusiastically, pull tails, etc.  We just keep redirecting and trying to teach him "gentle."  I worry that there's eventually going to be a bite or a swat because an animal only has so much patience.

dee12807

It was an issue for us for sure. We have two small dogs (5 pounds each) and T loves to pick them up and cuddle them. Well, my male dog just won't take it. He never bites but he does so the growl/ mouthing/ wiggle thing. My female runs away scared out of her mind. So it's really been a two part traing. 1) teaching T to be gentle, leave puppy alone, it's time for puppy to rest so at with this now, etc. we do alot of helping him pet them gently. 2) teaching the dogs boundaries. Don't go too close to T when he has snacks b/c he will hit you if you try to take them, move away from T if you don't want to be touched... So it's all still a work in progress, but it's making a difference and things are getting better.

mayanut

Although we also reinforce "gentle", at this point he's just not there with the motor skills.  So we have been training the dog to run away from him if he's bothering her.  Normally, she would just sit there and take it while growling and eventually mouth.  Now we've taught her it is her job to move away from him if he's bothering her.

He used to have the excited reaction every time the dog was in the room, but he's gotten over that now.  They are currently at an uneasy truce.

GrayGhost13

We separate them with a baby gate any time we're not paying close attention. (Easier to do with the dogs than the cat, but we'll pick up the cat and move him, if necessary). We don't expect the pets to tolerate any mishandling; it's just not fair not to set them up for success. We have an open-plan house, so it's not like the dogs are locked away all alone; they're just a couple feet away on the other side of the barrier.

When everyone plays together, we usually try to maintain some distance between baby and pets or if DS wants to interact, we help him do it (i.e. hold his hand while he pets or help him hold a treat out). If DS is being persistent or if the dogs are showing any of the early signs of stress (moving away from DS, wide eyes, full body shake or lip licking), we go ahead and separate them.

I think it's important to teach kids how to interact with animals appropriately, but there's only so much you can expect of a 13-month-old or an animal, so we try to set both parties up for success.

If anyone's looking for more pet and baby advice, there are some good links in the Pets Board FAQ. (Link in my sig). HTH!

ETA: Here's a great (and very relevant) article written by a Nestie mom: https://babiesandbeasts.blogspot.com/2009/03/your-dog-is-not-monster-it-is-dog.html

EVM1216

We've had similar problems with DD and our cat.  For her birthday she got a book that had cats and dogs with fur you can pet.  We spent alot of time with her and the book and it seems to have help her learn the gentle pet better than us working directly with her and the cat.  There are times when she still gets too enthusiastic, but we can usually calm her by saying gentle pet.  (Please note she's also gotten a few scratches too, which probably helped her learn the cat's limits)

Also, for Christmas we got the cat a toy that DD could play with him with (see pic below) since she can play with him he has alot more patience with her. 

lilmgirl

Something else to add:  I noticed K tries to imitate us.  So when we pet the dog and reinforce "gentle," it's on their body and not near their face.  He sees us scratching their ears and patting them on the side of their bellies, but he doesn't get we do it lightly.  So he goes up and bangs on them.

On the other hand, I think he likes the sounds it makes on our boxer.  It's a nice loud "thud" sound.