Moms with toddlers and ankle biters... i need advice.
My SO got me a little chawawa for valentines day. He is a cute, white 2 pd dog. My DD is a 1.5 yr old 27 pd toddler who thinks she can sit on this little pup and she picks him up by the neck. She is use to being able to crawl all over our pitbull. She can hold onto his collar and sit on his back and he walks around the house with her like that wagging his tail until she falls off his back.
I need to know how to get her to understand that he is NOT our pitbull and can not take her abuse. I put her in time out a million times, but she loves the cute little dog and just wants to carry it around (by the neck). I ended up sticking him in my hoodie and laughing at my DD as she tried finding him everywhere.
How did you get your toddler adjusted to a little dog?
We dont have a chihuahua but had to teach her how to handle our cat safely. I think he is only 5-7 lbs more then your dog. I suggest treating the dog as you would a newborn baby. She can hold him on her lap when she is sitting calmly on sofa or on floor. She needs to ask you before picking the dog up. At this age, if you can get her to say "puppy please" that would be great. Just have to keep reinforcing gentle touch and perhaps putting her in her bed when she hurts the puppy.
My "lapdogs" are all 85lbs and up... :/ I don´t know IF there is a way to teach a 1 1/2-year-old not do torture this poor little puppy besides keeping her away from the pup until she gets a little older... My concern is that the dog will start hating kids, which would lead to the dog biting at some point.
We had a Dalmation, and two kitties when my son was born... and the way we got him to play differently with the kitty was to sit with him on the couch with the kitty on his/or my lap. I would take his hand and gently stroke the kitty. Maybe this would be an opportunity to practice some positive reinforcement rather than putting her into time out... I would say things like "Love the kitty" "Gently" or "See - she likes you when you pet her nice" etc....With the Big Dog I would remind my son that the dog was bigger. They became very good friends. Hope this helps.
well most animals are carried around by the scruff of their neck by their mothers, so I wouldnt be too worried about that just the sitting on part. Tell her it is a baby and she needs to be nice and soft and then show her what you mean.
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on Feb. 14, 2012 at 4:02 AM