2 1/2 yo tormenting our dog.

[Katiebug]

We've had our dog Maggie (70lb lab/collie cross) for more than 3 years, since before Jake was born. We adopted her from the pound, and she's 9 years old now. He's always been great with her and she's been *very* gentle and patient with him. Well, for the 3 weeks Jake has been in an extremely negative phase of testing every single boundary we've ever laid out, and that includes nearly non-stop harrassment of the dog. He pulls on her fur, follows her aorund, bugging her, rides on her, etc. I *always* stop it when I see it, but he is relentless. It's driving me *crazy* and making me yell at him :blush. I have tried explaining why we need to be gentle, I have gone as far as to say "No touching her *at all*". I was thinking of saying that he'd have to go into his room and stay there so Maggie can be safe, but that seems punitive to me and I'm not even sure it would work anyways.

If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn't mix small kids and a big dog in a small house. But Maggie is part of our family now and I would just as soon get rid of my husband :giggle Any ideas????

[snlmama]

When I have kids that age the dog stays either outside or in another room unless I can be right next to the child or dog constantly and I'm in the mood/have the patience to work w/ the child on "soft touch", etc. When I have time and am able I sit next to the child and the dog and show the child *how* to pet the dog and help them do it w/ their hand. Or show them how to throw the ball outside w/o teasing the dog.

[Amber]

When my ds starts harassing the pets too much I usually send the pet to their "comfort corner" (our bedroom) :giggle to get a bit of a break from ds and to give him a chance to focus on something else.

Does your dog have a crate or someplace that she can go to where your ds can't really bug her when he gets to be too much? Maybe you could gate off an area for you dog to go to when she (or you) needs a break. Perhaps you could give your ds a roll in taking care of Maggie. Being part collie I assume she has longer hair, maybe he could brush her (with supervision), help feed her, be in charge of telling you when the water dish needs to be refilled, or help take her for walks (my ds likes to hold on to the end of the dog's leash during walks). Could he be trying to get her to play with him but doesn't know quite how to start a game that both of them would enjoy...perhaps taking ds to the pet store and letting him pick out a special toy that is only for when he and Maggie play. Then when he starts pestering Maggie you can remind him of their special toy and help show him how to play with her.

I hope you can find something that helps.

[Marielle]

When my ds starts harassing the pets too much I usually send the pet to their "comfort corner" (our bedroom) :giggle to get a bit of a break from ds and to give him a chance to focus on something else.



Oh my goodness I thought I was the only one that did that. Poor dogs (I have 3) if they didn't get a "break" in my room they would be chased all day long by my toddler.

[SouthPaw]

I would definitely try to baby gate off one room for the dog, and even train it (if possible for an elderly canine citizen!) to escape by jumping over. My Pyrenees runs off to the office when my baby assaults him too much, and my collie gets on the couch where baby can't reach her yet.

No advice on the baby itself! Haven't gotten to that point yet :phew

[Joanne]

We have a sticky about children and pets that might offer some info:

http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=1980.0

[Joanne]

We have a sticky about children and pets that might offer some info:

http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=1980.0