# Advice about behaviour towards pet



## Beebo (Oct 21, 2012)

We had a three year old boy placed with us for adoption nearly four months ago. He is generally settling well but we are concerned about his behaviour towards our dog - sometimes he is very gentle but at other times he deliberately hits/pokes/pinches her. This often happens when he is bored or has just been told off about something else. Thus far our dog has been remarkably tolerant but we are worried that one day she might decide to react in a negative way - and we don't want things to get to the stage where she actively dislikes him!

We have tried demonstrating how to be gentle, praising good behaviour with dog, explaining that is is wrong to hurt any animal, that is may be dangerous to hurt animals, that she is our special pet dog and we must look after her - nothing seems to work. Recently we banned him from touching her at all for three days, explaining that he could not stroke her until he learned to behave appropriately. However after three days of being allowed to stroke her again he has just hit and pinched her in the face when I asked him to do something he didn't want to do (put his shoes on).

Does anyone have any advice? I wonder if there are any books which might be helpful - he loves to read.

Many thanks....


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## Dame Edna (May 17, 2007)

Hi Beebo

In this situation, I would be concerned about your son because he is provoking the dog and doesn't understand the risks  

At the moment, he is high risk around your dog.  I would be inclined to put the dog in a crate or keep them apart when you are not around to supervise.  Then, you can expose them to each other in a controlled, very gradual and safe way.

You said you are concerned that one day your dog might react in a negative way.  The only way to prevent this from happening is supervised and gradual exposure.

X


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## Beebo (Oct 21, 2012)

I agree Dame Edna - although our dog has been great, we don't trust our son to be with her unsupervised! 

It would be really helpful if any others who have been in similar situations could advise about how they taught their child to move on from their behaviours...


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## Mummy DIY Diva (Feb 18, 2012)

Our daughter was like this with our dog. She basically did it if she was annoyed when she thought no one was looking.  I gave constant reinforcement of gentle hands with the dog praised her for any gentle action.  Let her help with brushing giving treats etc to build relationship.  Also I gave her a roasting for hurting the dog and wouldn't allow her to touch him after like you.  I'd tell her things she could hit e.g. cushions sofa teddies if she was cross.  In time she loved him and wouldn't want to hurt him.  She definitely loved the dog before us which helped.  We're a year in and she's brilliant with him and has for months now xxx


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## Beebo (Oct 21, 2012)

Thanks DIY Diva. That is great advice and very encouraging to hear...


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## GERTIE179 (Apr 20, 2005)

It's best to supervise or separate until LO settles more and you can mirror behaviour and teach them to understand.

Like Diva, our LO bonded to our dog and loved him but any anxiety he had he felt the need to lash out at the dog. Unfortunately I had to separate them to protect my dog and not dare give SWs something to worry about. I actually trusted the dog more than my son. 

Over time, he has learned and treats the dog with lots of respect but if wobbly/anxious then he's been known to try and be rough to the dog so we go back to separating and dealing with his Wobblies. Once it's passed we get him to apologise and do something nice for the dog to reiterate the dog gets respect as we don't hurt in our house. The dog is also well trained in that he knows his place in the household.
Hope this helps x


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