New Dog in the House.

I think I adopted a dog from that same shelter about 5 years ago...the same type of dog also..although the dog we had adopted was NOT good with children or any other kind of animal and the shelter had not informed us of this, so we had to find out the hard way. We had to have him put to sleep the day we brought our newborn son home from the hospital because Spike (the dog) literally tried to snatch him from my arms and eat him for lunch. Luckily my son wasn't harmed.

Your priority needs to be your son, not the dog. Your husband is setting a bad example obviously. Have you asked him to please play nice with the dog so that your son will replicate the behavior?

I would be very careful with those kinds of dogs. Even though he seems tolerant of your son torturing him, they can snap at any minute. Dogs are animals, not people. So many seem to forget that when owning the family pet.

Lynsey

He probably doesnt realize how it feels. Children this age do NOT understand the word gentle. This is why they hit and bite. My grand daughter started to annoy and maul my dog and I repeatedly told her to stop. One day she was pulling the dogs ears and I pulled her ears. Not hard, but enough to bother her, then I poked at her eyes, she backed up, then I grabbed her butt and wiggled it back and forth. By now she was upset, which was my intent. I then asked her how she felt, how she enjoyed what I just did. She said no no stop it! I said thats how Ginger feels, but Ginger cant say stop. Do you want Ginger to feel bad? She said no and was very gentle from then on. If she began to get rough I would ask if she wanted me to do that to her.
Your son needs to know how it feels when he mauls the dog. If he runs a trunk into the dog, run one into him. You dont have to hurt him, but make sure its uncomfortable.

This is good for me to think about too, as my baby loves dogs. Eventually, we'll get one, too. As soon as your son hits, or runs into the dog with his truck, say no and remove your son from the room. Put him alone in another (safe) room for 2 minutes with no toys. After 2 minutes (use a timer) bring him to the dog with you and pet the dog, model how to be gentle. Let him try again. Do this EVERY time your son does something inappropriate. Even if you get tired of it. He's not thick, he's just 2 1/2. 2 1/2 year olds need a lot of repetition. DON'T let him see your husband wrestling with the dog, because that is a confusing message for your son. Don't blame the dog if he gets tired of all this wrestling and bites someone. You are also teaching the dog it's ok to be this way.

I have had several large breed dogs, and never allowed anyone to play rough with them. They don't need it to be healthy and active. There are lots of other things you can teach a dog with the time that is wasted with unnecessary rough play. It encourages that behavior with other animals and small children. I would think that your dilemma is really simple, which is monkey see monkey do. Your son is at an age where you can't reason with him on why your model this behavior but he can't mimic it. The answer is simple, only model gentle interactions with the dog.

Children learn by example. You need to show him how to play with the dog nicely and gentle. Dogs are not supposed to be played with rough...at least that's what my dog trainer told me. They get out of hand and someone gets hurt...usually the human.

J.,
I am SO going through this - for the past 2 years, ever since my son became mobile.

What little I have done is to constantly remind him that we use gentle touches on everyone, everything, all the time and everywhere. Constantly.

I also try to de-emphasize (as in not recognize, just move him away from what he is doing and immediately redirect.)

We have gates in our house (and now that I know they are only helping me, not him, I have also wanted them out for the past 2 years!) and I primarily use them to separate the boy/dog. Gates don't help him learn. They just make him want to do it more.

I am looking forward to finding out what other people have done to alleviate or avoid this problem. I strongly suspect it really begins when a baby is tiny, sort of around 6 months, and just conditioning baby to using gentle touches, and not allowing them the freedom of hitting/pulling, etc. Not being my baby's sole care provider, I wasn't able to do this 100%. We'll see with baby #2!

Good luck,
M.

I think your husband is the problm threaten to take the dog back. i think there is only so much the dog can take i wouldnt trust the dog they become aggrressive dont leave them alone.

Consistent reminders...all day long! As you keep your constant eye on him and the dog take every opportunity to remind him of what not to do as well as what is appropriate touching/loving behavior...positive reinforcement of what he is doing right!

I wonder how positive reinforcement would work. Perhaps if you showed him what to do with the dog and left out what not to do his behaviour might change. Could your son get involved brushing the dog's coat, or providing treats as you teach the dog tricks so that he has a whole range of other activities to do with the dog that don't involve hurting him?
Sounds like you got a great dog, very patient and sweet. Aren't they a wonderful addition to a family?

Daddy should be able to play rough with the dog. He is an adult and your son is the child which means he can;t do everything daddy does, he needs to be taught that. The only way for him to treat the dog nicely is to be taught that as well. I run a home daycare and i have a 2 year old mixed lab, and we now have a 10 week old poodle/Dachsan, and I have an 18 month old, a 4 year old a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month and 7 month old, and the only ones that pull on the ears are the 2 baby's the others know how to treat the dogs, and none of them have pets in their home, except the 4 year old she has a rabbit. Your dog is part pitbull, they are unpreditable, it's only going to take one time for your dog to defend itself, one of my friends had a pit bull and her 2 little boys were always mean to it and it bit the youngest in the face twice, and her dog was so sweet and gentle, but one day just had enough, work with your son, like children have the right to be safe in their home, so do pets. they may turn out to be the best of friends. J.

Mom, go to the library and get some children's books asap on this topic and bring your son with to help pick them out. I imagine there are some good children picture books, ask the librarian. I would just keep reminding your son daily when interacting with the dog always to "use gentle hands with ...(dogs name)" and "be nice". I agree with what your are doing and would not leave your son unattended with the dog for at least a yr . ALso pls consider getting the dog neutered asap assuming it is at least 6 mo. old, it is the most responsible thing to do since the world already has too many dogs and cats as u can see at any shelter. Neutering your dog will also calm him down. I would also start taking the dog on daily walks with your son helping so he knows how to start caring for the dog and they will bond more. Hope this helps Mom, thanks for saving a dog's life.