- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Toddlers: 24 Months+
ShariJenn
member
My son's mission in life is to torture the dog...
ShariJenn
member
Is anyone else have a problem teaching their child that the dog is not a rag doll? My pup is 10lbs and scared of life as it is...and my son is just torturing her and chasing her and pulling her tail. I discipiline him, but im afraid the dog is going to get mad one day and nip him.
I try to keep them separated as much as possible, but that means putting the dog in a confined area which makes her really upset too.
Anyone else have these issues? Any advice?
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: My son's mission in life is to torture the dog...
I think because I have relatively few issues that I am completely adamant about them following the rules 100% of the time no exceptions (being mean to the dogs is one of those things), they really never pushed those boundaries after they realized I was absolutely not backing down. They simply were NOT ever allowed to pull on their ears or tails, be rough with them, bother them while they were sleeping, mess with their food, pull hair, push or hit, etc.
When they were figuring out how serious I was about this, there were a lot of tantrums, quite a few timeouts, and a lot of tears over it, because they didn't like to be in trouble all the time, but it wouldn't have been fair to my dogs for me to allow it. The kids would get a warning about the behavior and then immediate timeout/removal from the room if it continued (unless it was something as serious as hitting or being physically mean, in which case it was immediate removal). It was frustrating having to be the "bad guy" so often for a little while, but the dogs are happier, the kids are nice and respectful of them all the time, no exceptions now, and I'm not constantly worried that one day one of the dogs is going to snap and bite somebody.
I have been in the pet industry for close to 15 years, some advice Re dogs and kids..... They can mix fine, if both know the rules. That means DS and doggy.
Your DS is old enough now to be learning things like playing gently, and "ow that hurts!"
He needs to be taught the dog rules. No pulling chasing or grabbing. If dog runs away, dog wants to be alone. You may need to get very firm with DS about these rules. Start now!
Your dog also needs a special place the DS cannot get to. Maybe a doggie door to small for DS so dog can go out back without Ds following?
Dogs, in general, are nuturing of the "pack puppies" and do not want to snap or bite. But if your dog has no escape, she will react at some point in a very negative fashion. Not because she is vicious, but because she has not option. And if your son pushes her and pushes her, not listening to the rules, it wont be the dogs fault.
So just like listening when you tell Ds to clean up his toys, he needs to listen when you tell him to leave "fluffy" alone.
You can speak to a pet trainer, they will have great advice for training both your son and the dog to interact safely.