Hi guys having an issue with Milo at the moment with my 3 year old grandson. Milo is 4 months and still nipping he is fine alone obeys me although still has the puppy mad nipping session now and again. When my grandson is here he goes out of control and anything that goes wrong Milo gets the blame its driving me mad i know they have to be watched but i feel my grandson needs to learn too. Anyone else had the same problem as really stressing?
Re: lab puppies with toddlers I haven't actually had the situation, but I completely agree with you, your grandson needs to learn how to behave around your puppy. HOWEVER, you must be completely super-vigilant and never, ever leave the two alone together even for a minute. Heaven forbid your grandson might get bitten - but if he did, Milo would think it was part of a game, but the rest of your family would NOT.
Re: lab puppies with toddlers Puppies and toddlers need time apart.....crates and baby gates are great for this Lizzie knows how to treat an older dog but not a puppy. I would never leave her alone with a puppy or an unknown dog. So she could learn I would supervise their playtime. They don't need loads of time together though I don't think.
Re: lab puppies with toddlers I can really sympathise. When Molly was 4 months old, and a real biting machine my pregnant daughter, her husband and nearly 3 year old daughter came to live with us. They were victims of last winter's floods and we had no warning. It was a case of make the beds up. It was great fun,not, living with 2 highly stressed adults, a healthy noisy running around toddler and what was effectively a toddler dog. Basically large bouncy dogs and toddlers are not a good mix. Molly has been taught to take a treat gently from an outstretched palm, but ONLY. When she hears the words "take it". This keeps her sat calmly as it is very much in her interests to do so. It teaches Alicia to be calm and quiet around Molly. Does use up an awful lot of kibble though
Re: lab puppies with toddlers Hi there Chrissie, Lovely to see you on the Forum.I live in Dubai so we couldn't import our dog until he was 5 months,at which time my niece was 2 and my nephew was 3 1/2 and they visit me most days.it was impossible to keep any party calm when they got together ,it was all play but Dexter was strong and did knock Sophie over the first day they met ( not helped by my sister giving her a snack at Dexter level : ) so she was quite nervous after that .We managed it by never leaving them unsupervised and Dexter having an area that he could be secured in ( behind a baby gate in our utility room which is where his crate is) if everything got a bit hectic and noisy.id pop him in there with a frozen kong and everyone had their space and could settle down. The kids were trained in 'don't run' we drummed it into them to the point where they even said it to each other ??? .we also taught them to stand still,fold their arms across their body and turn their back on him if he was a bit jumpy .They were taught they weren't allowed in Dexters area and definitely not his cage or bed.He wasn't allowed to take their toys,they weren't allowed to take his ( they did when I was with them though as he doesn't have any problem with that and I wanted him to have supervised practice playing like that) Food and drinks were only eaten in the kitchen at the table and they weren't to feed him.we trained the children to learn to put their things on the dining table out of reach ( there were incidents though as you can imagine !) ......considering they were so young they did really well and are pretty much bomb proof at that now at 4 and 5..... Dex has never been a great thief though so I've been quite lucky. My sister is not 'doggy' at all ,she is really good about Dexter though and has always tolerated him being around the children.I know I test her patience a bit sometimes but she's always been on board with what I'm doing so that has helped me no end It does get better,there is just such a lot of excitable energy with toddlers and dogs that it does need careful management , Good luck Angela x
Re: lab puppies with toddlers Small kids can definitely learn to be good around dogs - I don't have kids, so not sure at what age they can learn. Charlie is lucky to have quite a few small human friends who were born into multi-dog households, and they are all as good as gold with him. He was also lucky to have had a puppy minder who minded him, her babies and toddlers all at the same time. These are two he has known for about 16 months now: kids charlie #2 by julieandcharlie, on Flickr I know you shouldn't have kids on the floor with dogs :-[ but they have always been fine with Charlie. These two kids live in a pack of labradors and spaniels at home.
Re: lab puppies with toddlers My own children and now grandchildren have all been brought up around dogs , a wonderful combination but one which must be managed carefully , I firmly believe that children must learn respect to all animals and, as the others have said , not be left unsupervised x
