Puppy Update and Kid Question

[Jenny & Henry]

So, Henry is home!!!  We are just so in love with this little guy.  He is doing great with potty outside.  He is eating pretty good too.  Going to bed in the crate next to my side of the bed and no whimpering or anything.  I think he knows I am right there.  Last night he slept from 10:00 pm until 5:30 this morning.  I was so proud of my little guy. 

 

He LOVES my daughters, who are two and five.  He constantly wants to be with them.  As he has gotten more comfortable he has been playing more and he will try and bite them (playful of course) and I have them standing up and putting their back to him.  The two year old (just about thee), is doing better then the five year old.  <sigh> 

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions.  I am assuming we will just have to ride this phase out.  I love to play with a puppy like that, but from what I read we should not encourage that at all, even when they are this little.

 

Any advice, tips or just thoughts would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Thanks,

Jenny

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When we got our girls our little niece was 3 y/o.  The hardest thing in the world to get her to understand was "DO NOT RUN, WALK".  If you run they are going to chase you and nip at you!   We had a lot of problems with her getting scratched as well.  That always resulted in tears.  She can now come over and things are fairly peaceful .... but it is a challenge.  Kids will be kids and puppies will be puppies.  Fortunately, the sharp little teeth will go away by around 5-6 months.  You can also teach them to have a little chew toy handy and if Henry tries to nip, but the toy in his mouth and say "no bite".    Sounds like things are going well.  You have a very positive outlook on the situations so I think you guys are going to be just fine!

[Trina L Lavoie]

Jenny,

My children are 3 and 1 and my 3 year old has it tougher with Bruno(4 1/2 months). The running is a issue for sure. Our trainer said to teach her to stand like a tree or do 123 red light if the dog started to chase her or nip. We do it ourselves and it stops him in his tracks. She also suggested a leash on the dog at all times and a exercise called sit on the leash 3 times a day at 10-15 minutes at a time or as often as you can with two kids running around. You basically sit on the leash giving the dog enough leeway to sit and lay only and then ignore them. Even when they act up, they will eventually calm done. It helped so much because now if the kids are running or doing something that would get Bruno excited it shows him he still has to remain calm. We had a brief issue with him biting the leash but that passed too. We still have small issues with him and the kids but it has been so much better. Good luck with the dog and the kids!!

[Jenny & Henry]

Thanks for the tips, I am gonna start trying that sit on the leash. 

 

 

[NewfoundlandNic]

Excellent thread. We are getting our puppy in a week and she will be 9 weeks old then. I have lots of experience with dogs, but none with dogs and kids - this time I have a three year old and a nine month old. I know it is going to be a challenge but I really want a family dog, so we are taking the plunge (we lost our 8 year old Lab mix totally unexpectedly to cancer last September).

 

Trina, what is 123 red light? I have a waist lead from previous training and I already have it out. I also plan on doing clicker training classes once we have had puppy for a couple of weeks - I loved those classes for our dear dog Parker. They worked wonders.

 

[Trina L Lavoie]

We had a 11 year old lab too who passed in May of this year from a degenerative disc. I felt the same way about the family dog but it is tough! 123 red light is a kids game, they stop when you say red light and then go when you say 123 green light, works great but my daughter loved standing like a tree. It really does make Bruno stop in his tracks, I use it too outside when he gets really excited and wants to jump. Ava, my 3 year old loves to antagonize the dog with her toys and loved that he chased her, she would also scream when he was doing nothing and my 1 year old now goes after the dog, jumps on him, pulls at his hair. When we first got the puppy Jake was still crawling and Bruno would try to treat him like a pup and attack him thinking he was playing. Funny now the roles are reversed. I think someone else posted about young children having no fear, so true! Good luck with the new pup!

[Jenny & Henry]

It will be tough, but it will be worth it for you and the kids.  My dog has gotten more nippier (playing) the past couple days, biting and fighting with our pant hems at our sneakers.  The girls are pretty good with the tree but they get nervous cause then he jumps and trys to get their shirt hems.  LOL  It's gonna be a long chew phase I think.  :)

 

Sorry to hear about your dog, such a sad loss.

 

 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I don't think there's any getting around the "land shark" phase with the nipping ;)

 

I think it sounds like you are doing great!

[Aimee Santa Monica]

Henry is so cute!     My first few days i let my new pup sleep right next to my bed too- to comfort him, but he was not in a crate,  and never had any accidents in the room.  But  then i started crate training him  in a seperate room & it helped !   Our 2 pups are used to going to that room and go straight into their crate before i put the kids to bed.   I like to have those bedtime hours with my kids and my husband alone.  The pups don't complain.  All is quiet- and it's like heaven.  It's all about consistancy.   I'm loving it!   We've had our 1st (Storm) since the past December, and Ayla came to us this past Febuary.

Storm would get over excited his first month with us, alot of mouthing (teeth were soo sharp!)  and my youngest, 5 yr old, was afraid of his biting. We learned to redirect it with a stuffed toy on a rope- and clicker train with treats.  It's a puppy phase , i think.  That is gone now, and i am glad!  My youngest son loves and plays with Storm, as my other boys do. Ayla never was mouthy, i think because she came to us past that stage, maybe? 

[Jenny & Henry]

First, your dogs are adorable.  They complement each other, so cute.

 

I'm just gonna keep at it and keep on my girls.  They are already doing so much better.  I want them to have fun with him without them being scared. I think they will get it, I hope.  ha ha

[Trina L Lavoie]

I also had my 3 year old start training with me which she loves and it also made Bruno respect her more. She thinks it's great when he sits or goes into down position, she is so proud of herself! As for the running, no way to stop it really, the only thing I have tried to tell her is that we should try to do it when the dog is outside or when I have him doing sit on the leash.

 

[Jenny & Henry]

I think I am gonna try this too!!!

[Jenny & Henry]

That's my two year old right now, she LOVES running from him and he chases her and she just giggles and laughs.  I had taught her to stop and pet him and say good boy, but I think that was wrong now.  LOL 

 

We have not even had Henry a week, and were right there working on it with ya!  :)