wktz
16-02-2007, 14:48
Hi,
I'm not sure if I've put this in the right section, but I was wondering whether anyone can give me any advice on having dogs and toddlers together please?.
We have two beautiful German Shepherd dogs (one X Kelpie) who have always been part of our family, and a nine month old daughter. We followed all the recommendations for preparing pets for a new baby, and had no trouble introducing the baby at all. Our problems seem to be starting now, now that our daughter is a lot more mobile, is completely in love with the dogs and wants to follow them around constantly :eek:
We use a baby gate to keep the dogs / baby apart (as much for their sake as for hers!) but as Madeline has got bigger we have had to extend her area, which in turn means restricting the dogs a little. Maddy also makes a beeline for the dogs whenever they lie down next to the barrier and either pulls their tails / ears / hair or pokes at their feet (she particularly likes their feet for some reason :laughing: ). Our boys have been really good with this behaviour to date, and have just moved out of reach if they have had enough.
This morning however one of the dogs was next to the barrier and was growling, I'm not sure whether it was aimed at Maddy or our other dog. She had given him her rusk and was reaching out for it at the same time as the other dog was also trying to get to it. This is the second time he has growled, both times it could either have been towards Maddy or the other dog, but either way I can't have him growling with her around and I certainly can't risk him snapping at her.
We do tell Maddy 'gentle' all the time, and we don't let her pull the dogs hair hard or annoy them too much, and we are always right next to her if she has crawled over to them at the barrier, but she is only nine months old so I'm not sure how much she understands!!. She certainly doesn't understand that growling is a warning and to back off, in fact she thought it was quite funny. She is also standing up now which means she is staring at them at eye level, which they could be taking as a challenge.
Sorry about the long post, it's just that everything I've ever read concerns babies and dogs, not toddlers, which is when it's more dangerous to have them together I think. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very grateful for them!
Thanks very much
I'm not sure if I've put this in the right section, but I was wondering whether anyone can give me any advice on having dogs and toddlers together please?.
We have two beautiful German Shepherd dogs (one X Kelpie) who have always been part of our family, and a nine month old daughter. We followed all the recommendations for preparing pets for a new baby, and had no trouble introducing the baby at all. Our problems seem to be starting now, now that our daughter is a lot more mobile, is completely in love with the dogs and wants to follow them around constantly :eek:
We use a baby gate to keep the dogs / baby apart (as much for their sake as for hers!) but as Madeline has got bigger we have had to extend her area, which in turn means restricting the dogs a little. Maddy also makes a beeline for the dogs whenever they lie down next to the barrier and either pulls their tails / ears / hair or pokes at their feet (she particularly likes their feet for some reason :laughing: ). Our boys have been really good with this behaviour to date, and have just moved out of reach if they have had enough.
This morning however one of the dogs was next to the barrier and was growling, I'm not sure whether it was aimed at Maddy or our other dog. She had given him her rusk and was reaching out for it at the same time as the other dog was also trying to get to it. This is the second time he has growled, both times it could either have been towards Maddy or the other dog, but either way I can't have him growling with her around and I certainly can't risk him snapping at her.
We do tell Maddy 'gentle' all the time, and we don't let her pull the dogs hair hard or annoy them too much, and we are always right next to her if she has crawled over to them at the barrier, but she is only nine months old so I'm not sure how much she understands!!. She certainly doesn't understand that growling is a warning and to back off, in fact she thought it was quite funny. She is also standing up now which means she is staring at them at eye level, which they could be taking as a challenge.
Sorry about the long post, it's just that everything I've ever read concerns babies and dogs, not toddlers, which is when it's more dangerous to have them together I think. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be very grateful for them!
Thanks very much