Hey everyone so Marley is 16 weeks and we had a pre booked holiday last week so he went to spend the week with my aunt who he knows very well. Anyway so since he's been back now he's taking it upon himself everything my 3 year old has he's snatching it off of him, doesn't matter what it is a toy, food everything and I'm worried that he's going to catch the little ones hand. He didn't do this before we went away and now he's doing it which leads me to believe this is what he was getting away with when I was on holiday. So just wondered if any of you can help with what to do as I can't have him doing this. Thanks guys xx
Hi @marley❤ one thing you can do is teach food refusal. The idea is that the dog needs permission or a cue to eat food. It starts with reverse luring. Assistant holds low value food in front of your dog about one metre away. Not so long that the dog fails. Reward your dog for not taking the food from the assistant. Use high value food for the treat. Over repetitions the assistant comes closer, and the food is held for longer. Keep rewarding. Yes and treat. Start adding a cue when your dog takes the food from you. Since you have a pup, who will not have a reliable stay, use a lead. Your dog should never succeed in getting the food from the assistant. Remember to tell the appropriate person what is the cue that permits the dog to take food. The food refusal exercise is not the same as leave it which only works when your are there or vigilant enough to give the cue.
I would really be separating baby and dog more. A 3 year old is pretty small and easily accessible to a dog - anything they are holding is extremely reachable. Moreover, they aren't going to react fast enough to remove something before the dog can get it and thereby teach the dog not to attempt to get it. So you're really expecting a dog not to attempt to get reinforcers which are easily accessible and within a reachable distance and in their eyes are as much something for them, as something on the floor is. It is extremely hard to teach a dog never to attempt to get something which is reinforcing and within their reach unless you are *always* training the dog and reinforcing that decision every single time they make it. And the vast majority of people don't want to be constantly reinforcing the dog around the house... (permanently). Instead, it is best to either have toddler in playpen and dog out - or dog behind a stair gate, with child on the other side - but essentially to try not to have both free-range around the same area, at the same time. An exuberant dog, even jumping up, can easily knock a toddler over... they can hit their heads... and so on. It's just not a good mix.
They arnt ever left in the same area on their own but as you can imagine Marley is alot quicker then me snatching out of hand. I agree they do have time apart, but then how much time are they suppose to be seperated as their suppose to be getting used to each other aswell. After all he is a family pet and I would like to maintain healthy interaction with them. If he's taking toys etc off of him and I just seperate them then surely the puppy isn't learning he's not suppose to just take them aswell.. it's all confusing isn't it this puppy learning lol
Well, no. Dogs are creatures of habit and if you prevent something for long enough, they won't try to do it - even when it is possible for them to start to do it. This means that if he has never learnt to take things off children as a young dog, because it was never possible, he would be unlikely just to start doing it once he were an adult - certainly not if you were closely supervising. And the kid would be older and taller by then anyway(!). On the other hand, if he has frequently taken things which are rewarding in themselves off kids, then he has reinforced himself for doing it - and he will only continue trying to do it. This is just one of the many problems involved in raising a puppy and a young child at the same time. It is a romantic ideal, the dog-child growing up together thing, and it really isn't all it's cracked up to be! I wouldn't worry about that, just by virtue of living in the same house and walking past each other and noticing each other continually, they are plenty exposed to each other. They don't need to be at dog-child face height any time the child is picking up or holding things. If the child is playing with something, then they need to know they are in a safe area where the dog isn't going to take whatever off them - equally, the dog needs to be protected from continually having stuff taken off them - which can predispose to resource guarding if it continues. To a dog, anything they can reach is a chew toy and a fun game and there's no way they can be expected to know any different, whether it's on the floor or taken from a child - it's at dog-accessibility height. Until a dog is out of puppyhood and has got through the 'pick everything up' phase or learnt to trade stuff for treats, separation when the child is actively playing and ensuring all non-dog toys are picked up, is the way forwards.
Ahh ok that's very true,thank you for the advice I'll start doing things like that and see how it goes. I must admit they probably are too together, you can't see where the pup ends and my son begins lol, no it has been challenging doing raising the 2 together but it does have plus points aswell... xx
Right, so when your son is playing with toys, picking stuff up frequently, eating - then make sure the surrounding area is dog-free. You can do that by using a play-pen for your son, or using a stair gate for the dog or your son sitting on your lap out of reach of the dog, or a highchair (when eating food) and so on. As your son gets older (5+) you can start to include him in the training - he can ask the dog to sit, and give a treat. So hopefully if the dog does want something he has, the dog will learn to just sit in front of him to 'ask' for it, rather than taking it off him. And when he is a bit older, he will be physically more able to hang onto things to prevent the dog just taking them off him. Part of the problem with little kids is they don't have the reflexes or strength to hang onto something when the dog tries to pinch it - then the dog is reinforced when they get the thing and will try it more in future... so just try to supervise and separate for a while longer.
I will do. Thank you it makes total sense I've been doing it today, they both get their own time from now on so it's good for everyone. Thank you again I appreciate the help xx
