Every now and then Arthur likes to get into Bob's crate and play... I have told him loads of times not to do it. I'm worried that Bob may become protective and get aggressive with him as it is his space, not Arthur's. Bob hasn't shown an ounce of aggression since we got him and fingers crossed it stays this way. I will continue to tell him not to go in. I just wanted to check, is Arthur going into Bob's crate LIKELY to cause Bob to get aggressive at all? Has anyone ever had an experience with this sort of thing before? Or am I worrying about nothing here? Lou x
Re: Son going into Bob's crate I think it completely depends on the dog and his experiences so far. It's generally a good idea for a dog to have his own space, but I don't take that to mean no-one else can ever enter that space (unless that's part of a wider strategy to deal with resource guarding, perhaps). Charlie sits on his towel very firmly though if he thinks I look like I might be thinking of washing it. ;D ;D ;D But, on the whole, I don't think it is sensible for a child to be crawling around in a dog's crate, no matter how fabulous the dog. Have you tried clicker training Arthur?
Re: Son going into Bob's crate [quote author=JulieT link=topic=10655.msg157765#msg157765 date=1429549784] But, on the whole, I don't think it is sensible for a child to be crawling around in a dog's crate, no matter how fabulous the dog. Have you tried clicker training Arthur? [/quote] Arthur thinks he's a dog anyway most of the time. : : : : It may just be worth a go! ;D
Re: Son going into Bob's crate Lizzie got in Obi's crate a few times but as she wasn't alone with Obi I didn't worry. She's bored of it now but if she'd persisted I would have made her a den of her own and tried that....
Re: Son going into Bob's crate Have to admit, this is one of the reasons we haven't got the crate out yet - my 17 month old toddler (and 4 year old for that matter) thought it was a ready-made den when we built it before we got Gibbs! The 17 month old got in it and refused to get out.
Re: Son going into Bob's crate It was a dog house, not a crate, so a bit different, but I hung out in my dog's doghouse WITH her quite a few times when I was younger (maybe 10 or so)? She really didn't mind at all, but was a sweetheart and didn't mind anything really, so that's not a good anecdote. I stopped when I realized there were quite a few BUGS in there (it was an outdoor dog house). So perhaps think of a way to make it unappealing to your son but appealing to Bob ;D
Re: Son going into Bob's crate Homer's bed is in a lovely sunny spot in the kitchen in the morning. Sometimes I sit on his bed with my morning tea. H will be on the sofa and sometimes curls up on my bed. Share and share alike in our house
Re: Son going into Bob's crate The crate has always been out of bounds to my niece and nephew and they've also always been told to never shut themselves in the utility room behind the gate with him.I can't tell you how many cute pictures I've got of them both lying on his bed with him and he is rock solid with them ....but he's a dog and one day he might not be feeling so great and it could end badly so they know they never lie on his bed without me there. Our house is open plan ,Sophie is 4 now and the other week I'd left her sat on the couch with a book ,Dexter on the floor with a frozen kong, when I looked up she was lying on the floor right next to him ....Dexter wasn't a bit bothered and you can take anything off him anytime but I still didn't want to tempt fate and asked her to hop up back onto the sofa...I suppose it's my upbringing,whilst we were always allowed to approach and touch dogs we were always taught to ask first and respect their space.But I also appreciate we are an adult only household most of the time with children only as visitors so Its really easy for me to chip in with what we do when I don't know the half of it! X
Re: Son going into Bob's crate I absolutely agree with you. They are only dogs. We shouldn't put too much responsibility on them. A child could easily get accidentally caught by a dogs tooth for which the dog would be blamed. Children can also make bad decisions, so whilst I trust Molly, who is an amiable , smiling creature I never leave her alone with my Grandchildren. I had 3 children, I know how daft they can be.
