Arthur and Bob are a flippin nightmare together... Arthur pushes Bob, squashes Bob, squeals all the time, sits on the floor letting him jump all over him... GAH! I've tried repeating myself to stay calm and give Bob space and to stop making so much noise around him etc... but he will not listen. And Arthur IS going to get hurt sooner or later.... Actually as I typed that Bob got Arthur's arm and has made a few dents in it with his teeth and made him cry... Lesson learned maybe?! Or maybe not, he's back on the floor with him again.... HELP! Anyone else know what to do? My child does not listen to a word I say... I sound like a bad parent writing that. Maybe it's an autism thing, or maybe I'm just making excuses for him. Any advice? Will he eventually calm down around Bob do you think? Anyone else had kids and puppies??? Thank you!
Re: tormenting the dog It's not always young kids who aren't the best with pups, mine are 14 & 11 and if I've told them once I've told them a million times that if hollie is tired or over excited she will bite and needs to be left alone!!!! Good luck you aren't alone
Re: tormenting the dog How old is Arthur and what level are his communication skills in terms of speech, ability to understand a visual timetable, reading? (I think getting some 'rules and routine' together is probably the key, but we'll need to see how to tailor this for Arthur.)
Re: tormenting the dog Arthur struggles with communication and social issues really...he's 4yo. Diagnosed with mild autism back in July. Maybe visual cues could help?
Re: tormenting the dog OK. You're right that there's a serious risk of Arthur getting hurt unless he can learn safe ways of interacting with Bob. The number one rule has to be that he can only play with Bob if he's sitting on a chair or standing (NEVER sitting or lying on the floor ). To enforce this you could try a football style 'yellow card' and 'red card' - if you spot things getting out of hand, or Arthur on the floor, show him a yellow card which is an opportunity to change the behaviour. If he doesn't, or you spot things seriously out of control, show a red card and pop Bob straight in his crate (I doubt Bob will mind!). The flip side of this is to find new, safer ways for Arthur to do things with Bob. Could he feed him? If Bob has any dry kibble, Arthur could sprinkle it on a rug and watch Bob hoover it up, or Arthur might like making patterns or trails in kibble for Bob to hoover (Bob would have to wait in his crate while this is set out, obviously!) Arthur could hide toys for Bob to find (you might need to show Bob what do do first and introduce a 'find it' cue). He might even be able to do a bit of training along with you, certainly 'sit' and 'down' and things like 'paw'. Have a think, you might be able to come up with some more ideas. Good luck, in no time at all Arthur will be out of the bitey phase and I'm sure they'll be best friends!
Re: tormenting the dog Thanks Kath, Using yellow & red cards are a GREAT idea! I shall make some up tomorrow to use. I think Bob will end up being in his crate quite a bit, but hopefully Arthur will eventually get the idea. The only thing worrying me about sprinkling kibble about is that he may do it with other food stuff as well.... might leave that one for the moment... will think about that. Like the hide and seek game though, but I haven't taught Bob how to 'find it'... Are there any links to Pippa's book that you know of? As that would be a fun thing for him to do. He loves throwing balls for him and playing tug tug.. (but does pull a bit hard sometimes...) But your ideas have got me thinking more, thank you so much!
Re: tormenting the dog [quote author=Loopyloo30 link=topic=8627.msg121778#msg121778 date=1415217236] The only thing worrying me about sprinkling kibble about is that he may do it with other food stuff as well.... [/quote] ;D ;D Good point! I can't think of a link for 'finding' games, but I reckon most labs are likely to pretty much do it naturally. Start by waggling a toy, then hold the pup and get someone else (Arthur?) to hide a toy under a nearby cushion or behind a sofa while he's watching. Then release the pup! Odds are, he'll snuffle straight to it. Then after a while make the 'hides' harder, further away, maybe do a 'pretend' hide before a real one, before finally moving the pup out of the room while things are hidden. Don't worry about him bringing the 'find' back, just distract him with another toy or treat. My 18 month old dog's favourite of all thing to do is 'find Ellie' (my 11 yr old daughter). They do it in the house or on walks! And they can now play on their own as Merla will wait!! I wouldn't recommend this though until Bob's out of the bitey stage, as they both get seriously over-excited by it even at their advanced years ;D ;D
Re: tormenting the dog Thank you Kath, I'll try those ideas out tomorrow Really appreciate all your help and advice.. !
