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Playing too rough with my 3 year old boy
We just adopted a 5 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback. She's 35 lbs already and very rough. She's not aggressive, but very rough. She hurts my 3 year old son all day long. I asked some advice earlier this week, but the advice give was "have my son yelp and turn away". Well she's not responding. We've tried spraying her with water. We've tried putting her in another room. She just keeps jumping, hurting him more. My poor son walks around all day flinching. Now, she's just getting ignored by my son, and he's one of the big reasons we want a dog! She loves him too! She just waits for him to wake up in the morning and sits outside his door in the evening when he goes to bed. If we can get past this, they will be best buds...but how do I keep my son from being REALLY hurt? I'm afraid she's going to push him down and he's going to knock his head into something. Not to mention all the scratch marks all over his body.
Asked by
Tango
on Jun 10th 2009
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in Behavior & Training
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- This question is closed.
Best Answer
Hi there!
I agree with Dieta and Bam-Bam. When Katie first came to us from the pound, she was a crazy-puppy with no socialization, and she wouldn't even look at, let alone listen to us. We got a trainer who saved her (and us) from having to return to the pound. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Give her tons of exercise. A trip to the dog park or dog beach is a great way for her to run off that energy and learn some dog manners from new friends.
2. Hand-feed her at least one meal per day. She will learn to sit or lie quietly as you dole out the kibble, and will start to respect you as a provider.
3. Teach her the "down" command (see www.k9techsupport.com for instructions).
4. Put her on a leash, and have her lie "down." Step on the leash so she can't jump up. Then let your son approach her from the side and pet her back (not near her face). As he does, speak gently to her and give her treats.
Out of room - paw mail me for more ideas!
Katie answered on Jun 10th.
Other Answers
Answers
At this point I would tether dog to you, have leash on him in house, sounds odd but, if you can not supervise the dog every sec when the son is home then that's what I would do.
You will have to take the dog out for a few weeks and teach the dog obedience commands, buy a food pouch for your waist and start to work him. Then after you are successful and the dog knows the commands throughly then have the son work him with you holding the leash and the son feeding him. That way he learns to say the commands right and how to reward the dog.
Hounds can be tough headed so maybe with some patience this will work. I never leave any dog alone with children esp. pups they don't mean to hurt, they just want to be played with and your son ignoring the dog won't be any help esp. if the dog wants his attention, he will jump on the child more. Try to tether the dog to you, and that way the dog is limited on how close he gets to the child, and makes it easy for you to make the dog sit and obey.
Dieta
answered on 6/10/09.
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I agree with the PPs suggestion of obedience classes. If you can't get the pup to respect YOU, then you most certainly cannot expect the pup to respect your son. She is interacting based on how a puppy interacts with things, and you have to teach her the right way to interact. Spraying her with water, time outs, etc, are all fine and dandy, but they only show her how not to behave. You need to replace that behavior by showing her how TO behave and rewarding that behavior. Obedience classes are a must.
Bam-Bam, CGC
answered on 6/10/09.
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Great advice has been given. I agree that Tango needs formal obedience training asap. Check with your SPCA for a class. She needs training with positive reinforcement. She needs to learn sit/stay, come, leave it, drop it, uh-uhh, etc. Jumping is tough to overcome, and you need good direction from a trainer and then you need to be consistent. She needs to know that you are the boss. You might even consider crate training too. Work with her and you'll be able to deal with this behavior. Good luck - Tango is a real cutie!! Those eyes are irresistable!
Max
answered on 6/10/09.
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