Ok, this is really starting to get under my skin. I knew it would be hard, but how do you guys do it?? Here's my problem: Almost anytime my 5 yr old son is allowed to play with our 3 month old puppy it ends poorly. My son will do everything in his power to provoke puppy to chase, jump, and bite. Even having multiple discussions with him and being stern about it (I've had him in tears a couple times, either from scolding or puppy bites). My son will partially listen, but he really likes to run with the puppy. This, in turn, will make the puppy chase him. And sometimes I tell myself they are just children and let them play. But every single time it will escalate to the point of the puppy jumping and mauling him and then biting and chewing on his arm with greater and greater intensity. Of course, my son thinks this is great fun up to the point of getting bit hard enough he cries. And the whole time I am just thinking he is basically "training" the puppy to be a wild dog with no manners. I take great effort to raise a calm dog and I'm just frustrated that I feel my son is ruining it. Only thing i can think of is to separate them indefinitely but that doesn't seem very fair to a little boy who loves the puppy. I am rambling a bit.... guess i am just frustrated
The answer is to not let your son play with your puppy, except in appropriate ways. Here is a great article - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies-biting/#biting-children And another one here - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-play-safely-with-a-labrador/ If you want a brilliant child training method I strongly recommend 1-2-3 Magic. I'm a primary school teacher and have used it effectively for years. https://www.123magic.com/parenting-challenges/positive-child-discipline Good luck Mmm
I'm with @Boogie on the play front. Running and chasing games will excite the Puppy and lead to biting as that is how they play with their siblings. Puppy siblings have thick fur so the biting has less effect than on human delicate skin. An excellent book on raising happy puppies with children is Babies, kids and dogs: Creating a safe and harmonious relationship https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/184584890X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_VA4DqyCBO473T
My grandson was around the same age when we had Sam as a puppy , he lives close by and so it was essential that ground rules were clearly laid, from the very start .Pups and little ones can be a wonderful mix, but also a chaotic mix , and frankly, one that needs close supervision all the time . You are right in saying that your little one is creating a " wild " puppy , bad habits are formed easily but are hard to correct ! It isn't pups fault , he thinks this is wonderful , but you will have to step in and call a halt when things get out of hand and excitement levels peak, good advice from the two previous replies .
Hi, my twin boys were 6 when we got Meg. I pretty much kept them apart unless under very controlled supervision for many months. I never let them play with her as it's unrealistic to expect a puppy and child to manage that with out ending in tears or injury. We had child gates all over the house and they only really said hello if she was distracted with a Kong or something...she loved chewing cardboard. As she grew and the novelty wore off a bit they spent more time with her. Now she is 3 and they are 8 and they are all best pals and have a wonderful safe relationship. I don't think separation in those early days made any difference to their friendship, in fact it probably saved it as it was probably inevitable that someone would be hurt and it would spoil things forever. Best wishes Emma and Meg.
I would definitely separate. Your 3 month puppy is probably quite small right now, but he's going to get pretty big very quickly and will be far too strong for your son. Then he probably won't enjoy the rough play so much. When I was about 5 we got our first dog and my mam & dad were so strict with us and the dog. You didn't rile the dog up, you didn't pull at the dog, you left the dog alone if it was on its bed and we were never left alone with him. One wrong move and we were out of the room rather than the dog It worked though because we ended up with a gorgeous family pet who was my best friend for 12 years.
It's tough because of course you want your son to have contact with his puppy but ground rules are essential. Maybe you could do a chart with times each day that you supervise your son for time with your puppy, you could do little bits of easy, fun training like sit, paw etc. and let your son do some too to show him how much calmer the puppy will be if he's occupied and not running around being crazy and biting him. If all goes well give your son a star on the chart to let him see how good he has been with the puppy. In time his confidence will grow and he will see much better the puppy is behaving. I know he's only 5 years old but it's worth a try as children catch on quickly and so do pups x
Thanks all. I have read the links and will strongly consider ordering one of those books. My son is a very rough-house type of kid. He loves to run and wrestle. He also loves to throw things for the puppy (which I am very much limiting as I don't want it to ruin her retrieving drive). I also don't want to squash my son's spirit and love for the puppy but something has to change. We had to put down our 9 year old lab last fall. It was very sad for him (all of us actually) and he just isn't use to all the rules for a puppy compared to our older lab. I basically kept the two of them separate all of yesterday and last night and our puppy was much calmer overall so that is good. Now I need to find ways to get them time together and will take some of the suggestions above. I am thinking of making a list of appropriate activities and letting him choose, but if things get wild then will have to separate. I know this will be hard for him......
