[*heather*]

So we took Rogan out for a very short walk last night (nothing major, I know it's a bit risky since he hasn't had his 12 wk shots).. and stopped to say hello to neighbours, who are friends of ours and visited with them for a bit in their yard. Their 5 yr old daughter is in love with Rogan and of course wants to play with him. She starts jumping around and chasing him and of course he returns the fun! Before we know it, he's growling and nipping at fingers and getting too rough as puppies often do!
My question is this: Do we teach the dog to behave and just tolerate the child being hyper around him, or do we ask the child to stop in order to get the dog to calm down?

We were correcting the dog, but it was very difficult to get him to listen with her flailing her arms and carrying on the way she was. I want Rogan to behave properly no matter what's going on around him, so I think I'm doing the right thing... and when it's not your kid, it's a bit of a tough call to start asking the child to please stop acting in a certain way. Kids automatically want to "play" with puppies, and it's hard to know how to teach them to do this without it escalating very quickly into something that I don't want Rogan to think is OK.
I agree with the statement "if you wouldn't want your adult dog to do it, don't let your puppy do it" however I'm finding this is easier said then done sometimes!
Love to hear your thoughts on this! THANKS

 

[Purple Poodle]

Haha I'm one of those people who will correct someone elses childern for misbehaving. Ecspecialy if it affects me or my dogs. What I do when my sisters kids get to rough with the dogs or vice versa is tell everyone to calm down and get the dog to come sit by me and have the kids either sit down or stand still.

I can barly tollerate children so I don't expect my dogs to either but I do teach them to respect humans of all sizes.

If you are in this type of situation agian calmy tell the child to be easy & to calm down. Get your dog to come to you and sit, then have the child pet and be nice to the dog. If the kid won't calm down remove your self from the situation.

 

[KPoos]

We don't allow nipping of any kind. It shouldn't matter if the child is running around waving their arms in the air, it's what behaviors the dog should do not the child. It is hard with puppies to get them to understand that this child is not another puppy but what I would have done in that situation was pick up the puppy and leave. Play time is over when puppy isn't behaving himself.

 

[cbrand]

No way I'd allow a child to interact this way with my puppy. My puppy.... my rules!

If a child wants to visit with my puppy, she must sit quietly with the puppy on her lap while I directly supervise with puppy on leash if necessary. The child needs to talk in a quiet normal voice and NOT wave her hands or get all excited. If the child is not capable of this, she does not get to visit puppy.

If she wants more active play, she can MAYBE get to throw a toy for the puppy and do a little retrieving. Again.... fully supervised with me right there. Because I breed, I have a lot of children in my home who want to play with the puppies. Every single one of them is able to follow my rules without problem.

As for the puppy, he needs to sit quietly when being petted without mouthing or nipping. If he nips, he gets corrected, but do him a favor and set him up in a situation where he is likely to succeed, not fail.

 

[KPoos]

No way I'd allow a child to interact this way with my puppy. My puppy.... my rules!

If a child wants to visit with my puppy, she must sit quietly with the puppy on her lap while I directly supervise with puppy on leash if necessary. The child needs to talk in a quiet normal voice and NOT wave her hands or get all excited. If the child is not capable of this, she does not get to visit puppy.

If she wants more active play, she can MAYBE get to throw a toy for the puppy and do a little retrieving. Again.... fully supervised with me right there. Because I breed, I have a lot of children in my home who want to play with the puppies. Every single one of them is able to follow my rules without problem.

As for the puppy, he needs to sit quietly when being petted without mouthing or nipping. If he nips, he gets corrected, but do him a favor and set him up in a situation where he is likely to succeed, not fail.

But in her situation she was at the child's home so if she wanted it to be her rules wouldn't she need to be at home to enforce them?

 

[cbrand]

But in her situation she was at the child's home so if she wanted it to be her rules wouldn't she need to be at home to enforce them?

No. I'm a big old meany, but interacting with my Poodles is not a right. It is a privilege. If you want to do it, you play by my rules regardless of where I am. Otherwise, I hold the the puppy or go home etc.

I have this issue when I go out in public with my show dogs. Everyone wants to touch the Poodle in show coat. Thing is... you can not rub back and forth or do that scratchy thing behind the ears on show coat. It tangles and the process of de-tangling breaks coat. I always tell people, you have to pet "in one direction". Some adults get offended that they have to be told how to pet a dog (most adults still don't do it correctly!) but I have yet to find a child who would not willingly follow directions in order to put their hands on my dogs. Kids are awesome!

So... your dog... your rules. Otherwise go home.