My Funny Picture - Asked once before but looking for more responses...?

Asked once before but looking for more responses...?

I have a dog who is maybe a quarter to half pit, and the rest lab. She will be two in april. I was told when i got her that she was a quarter boxer and they were not sure what else. Anyways, My boyfriends two nephews come over everyday. While the five year old is fine and either pets the dog or just leaves her alone, the two year old runs around screaming at the top of his lungs( for no reason) and for some reason( not innocently or accidently ) always tries to torture her and my cat. He will do things like jump on the dogs tail, try to pull her around by her collar(the front of it), hit her in the face, lay on her, pull on her legs and such,etc.,etc.etc. With the cat he will throw her, pull her tail, try to choke her, stuff her in the toy box and other places. I dont condone of this behavior at all and will put him in time out for these things or slap him on the hand, i normally watch him carefully and will catch him before or in the middle of doing these things but i feel his mother should be the one watching him. I have a two year old son myself and have never had any issues with my dog, i got the dog when my son was 3 months and the dog was about four months. They hit it off from the get go. He has done everything to that dog and she has never even looked at him funny for it. She will either lay there or she will just move. The thing is.. i have always called my son her baby and her my sons dog, they play together and get along great. She has been well socialized with kids, cats, other dogs, pretty much anything you can think of. She is fine with my son putting his hands in her bowl while she is eating or drinking and she is kennel trained. I have always worked with her and she has always been great. The other day though she finally turned around and snapped at my boyfriends nephew. I was suprised and yet at the same time could not blame her for it. She deals with alot and listens to his screams half the day. She did not bite him but she did scare him. She got in trouble and put in the kennel where she stayed the rest of the time he was there. Do you think she has never snapped at my son because she seems him as part of the pack and should i expect her to be just as good with every other child? I thought maybe part of the difference in my son laying on her as opposed to the nephew laying on her is that my son only weighs 22 pounds, the nephew weighs almost 45. Im just irritated, not so much with the dog as i am, my boyfriends sister. She does not watch her kids while they are over and will let them do whatever they want while she sits on the computer or phone. Her response to the dog snapping at him besides being shocked, was that she does not want her son getting bit but maybe he needs to to learn. That is not the way i look at it all. While i dont want him to get bit, i also dont want my dog turning mean and being like this with kids because she thinks that every one of them is going to torture her like this kid does. I guess my question is this. Do i tell the mother that she does not need to being the kid over at all if she cant watch him and he is going to be mean to the animals or do i leave my dog locked up while the boy is here. I dont think its fair for the dog to have to be in the kennel. She has done nothing wrong. My dog weighs around 75 pounds. She is a big girl and i believe had it been her intention to hurt him, it would not have been hard. I am down to the point where i dont want the kid over, i have tried working with him on how to treat the animals although i believe its his mothers job to do this and he has not responded to punishment or being talked to. I think it also doesnt help that the mother doesnt seem to care enough to sit there with me and atleast show him that she does not condone of it either. She thinks everything he does is cute. So, what do i do? tell the mother that she needs to teach her son how to treat animals and not bring him over till he can be nice or do i put the dog in the kennel, garage, room, etc.? * 1 week ago Additional Details 1 week ago Here are some pictures of her, as well as her and my son. http://www.flickr.com/photos/31511057@N0... 1 week ago I told my boyfriend some ground rules need to be set with his sister and he has agreed that it may not be a good idea for them to come over until the boy learns how to treat animals. This has only became a real problem about two days ago when she nipped at him. I have been watching him and her both very closely. Like i said, her normal reaction is to lay there or just walk away, she just got fed up. I have been on the mother of the child about watching him and the child as well but it seems that the child is probably going to have to be kept from coming over. On another note, i really appreciate the feedback and dont want anyone to assume i have done nothing. This child has been put in time out and slapped on the hand for torturing my dog. We have also told the mother she needs to keep a close eye on her son. She has not done so. Tommorrow is going to be the big talk with her because i am fed up, my dog has never acted this way till this kid came around. Also, am going to try taking away the computer from the annoying sister who doesnt watch her kids. hopefully this will help as well. We will see how things go tommorrow, if it goes how i think it will. No more bratty two year old. I hate to say it that way but thats how it is, have met alot of children who acted badly but never one quite like hers. This is not only how he acts towards animals but other kids as well. He has kicked, bit, and layed on my son (my son is 23 pounds, the other child is fourty five pounds and only a month older, my son could not breathe). I dont really trust this child in the house, period, but its not entirely my choice. Half tempted to put him in the kennel when he comes over.

Public Comments

it was the nephew's fault. he caused your dog to snap at him. a dog will only take so much abuse before you piss it off.
I mean, I agree with you. HOWEVER, you should always put a child's safety above an animal's comfort. Anytime she comes over with her children from now on, maybe it is best to keep the dog in your bedroom, get a toddler gate. I do think it's a good idea to have your boyfriend have a talk with his sister about her child. It isn't fair that she allows him to treat your animal's poorly, and seemingly relies on you to keep an eye on him while at your house. Maybe she needs to be more aware of her son's treatment of your animals, because one day he might not be so lucky and mistreat an aggressive dog that will actually bite.
Tell her to watch her kid! The dog is just annoyed and it got to the breaking point. Your dog obviously loves your son
Your poor dog did nothing wrong and showed lots of self control. It's the damn kids fault! Dosn't his mom have her own phone/computer? I think you should tell her not to bring the kid over until he can start being nice. I deal with the same problem with my younger siblings doing annoying/painfull stuff that adults think is "cute" and it drives me nuts unless I do something about it. Go ahead and protect your poor dog.
you should have to but your dog away tell her that she tell her son to leave the dog alone!!! obviously she tired of the abuse!
Do not let ANYONE torture your pets in any way! By tolerating this behavior, your nephew is learing that this is acceptable behavior. As much as we'd all love to put the nephew in a crate, and let the dog enjoy his own home, your first priority must be the safety of your pets. They shouldn't have to tolerate being tortured until they snap! Also, it is considered an early sign of mental illness when a child tortures animals for pleasure, so your boyfriend's sister needs to monitor the child more closely, he may need more help than she realizes. As a pet mother, tell your boyfriend to put on his big boy panties and have a blunt conversation with his sister. Either the boy respects your pets, or stays home...period! Eyeyeyeye....I feel for you. My sister's 2 year old thinks it is "cute" to tease my King Charles Spaniel. Although my dog looks like a toy, she could easily be killed by an over-aggressive, obnoxious child.
You are totally right about the ground rules. I would do whatever you feel the most comfortable with. If it takes telling your sister-in-law not to come over, then so be it. Dogs do not like a lot of loud noises not to mention the rough play. Your nephew should be disciplined when his behavior is inappropriate with your dog or if he starts gettin loud. Sounds like he probably acts out in any situation because of lack of disipline. My Rotty is ruined for children because of the same reason, but with 3 children - my dad's step children. She is now 8 years old and will literally try to attack a child and has to be chained. She especially hates loud noises! Don't let this happen to your dog! If the sister in law gets offended, then tough! Good luck!
Ok the dog is only reacting by what they would normally to any puppy that was misbehaving by snapping and giving a gentle but firm enough nip to tell him to stop. One way my husband and I have dealt with the children and the pets is first to show the kids how it feels when they get their hair pulled or their ears tugged on or pinched pulled or anything else sending them to time out only says to them ok I will go there now and later I will do it again so whatever and a hand slap is the same thing once it is done he will go right back to it. Ask the Mom's permission to do the later and if she ok's it then proceed to discipline the child. If not then you have two choices either tell her you are not responsible for the dogs' actions and will not pay for any doctors bill that occur because of the misbehaving child. Or meet them in another place. I am not being mean just truth full the dog is getting fed up with the child and something needs to be done before something happens. Hope this helps.
First you should decide who is more important to you, your dog or this kid. I agree that your dog is not to blame, and has taken way more abuse than most would before defending herself. Your dog will be much safer in her crate when the brat is around. The important thing here though is that your dog is "learning" to dislike small children because of the ongoing abuse. Because your son is around the same age, there is a concern that if your dog learns to fear or dislike toddlers, she could transfer that agression to your son or other kids and create a huge problem. If it were me, I'd keep the brat out of the house until his mom takes some responsibility here. If the brat gets bitten, he may or may not learn a lesson, but your dog goes to quarantine for 10 days at your expense, and has a bite record. The actions of your sister in law are endangering your dog's future!
HERE'S YOUR ANSWER: First set your dog up for sucess in this hard to deal with situation. If boyfriend wants kids over, he or you have to walk the dog for at least 20-30minutes first before they come over. Make sure she is fed before they come over because some hunger can cause frustration, like when we are starving and are getting grumply cuz we need to eat. The snap is a warning, its like if there is food on the table the dog first sniffs the air and pin points location of food, 2nd walks to the table edge and 3rd may be jumps up on it etc. I'm not saying yoru dog does this, its just an example by step 2 the dog should have already been corrected, because step 3 is coming next. Your dog snap is step 2, and next is a bite that just scratches and doesnt draw blood. So here's what you do, walk the dog first then when kids come in you sit with dog near kids, everytime dog looks at kids you give dog a treat, do this for at least 30 treats, these specail treats like chicken hot dogs for instance only come out when kids do, then its an open bar of food. This way you make them positive so pet wants to see the kids and cannot easily frustrate cuz already ate and worked out. That is how you set your dog up for sucess, I personally would not allow kids like that around my dog for long periods of time, limit it to 1.5-2hrs unless she is sleeping cuz she worked out and ate treats. I normally tell kids that, when your here at my house you have to listen to our rules or you dont get to play her, you may not listen to your mom when she's with you but Im not your mom, and if you dont listen i will put you on time out or whatever you want do, but somekind of punishement. And if they argue with you, you dont argue or lose your temper you grab kids hand and take em to time out or bedroom and they cannot come out or get anything they want til they calm down. usually something like that works great, my friend was child psychologist, gave me awesome pointers. As for your human child - that's your pack, your pet will most likely put up with anything from your pack, but yes always teach good child manner skills with dogs as best you can, go to responsible pet owner alliance and get some good kid pointers hope this helps you out God bless
If you knew the child was causing a problem, why did you not protect your dog? Next time, be the dogs leader and stop the nuisance before it results in your dog being put down. If the mother will not stop the child, then you have to to keep your leadership role by stepping in. Right now you have a lot to prove to your dog in terms of being his leader. On a better note: you seem to realize if your dog really wanted to hurt the child, the child would not have stood a chance. You also realize something needs to be said whether to the child or to the mother(go through the mother first, if that doesnt work, the child will have to be taught by you or your dog(a bite to the face maybe for the rude being)). She saw you watching and not doing anything so I really cant blame her. (dont feel alone, it is something I admit to, but what you can do is fix it). Here is a good site to learn about dog behavior: www.flyingdogpress.com
Please protect your dog and never let that brat near any of your dogs again ever. Then give the mother a number for a good child psych he needs help. Serial killers start out abusing animals first then they get older and move on to killing/hurting people.
set your dog on the nephew and watch him run down the street screaming while your dog and cat chase after him or when he dose this bad bullying lock him in the bathroom for 4 hours ha ha ha ha ha. seriously your nephew is evil tell his parents about his bad behavior.
It sounds like you have a good dog and he is being very patient. I don't think from the sounds of it that he would ever bite your son. However if the other boy keeps torturing the dog he might start biting. Then the dog will be blamed and possibly put down even though its not his fault. If the dog already snapped once he is warning the kid, the time of a real bite is coming soon. The kid and his mother are likely to keep coming over if it is her brother. Explain to the mother in no uncertain terms the kid is going to get bit. If she won't listen or tries to blame the dog, your only choice is to put the dog in a bedroom or a kennel. When the kid gets a little older he might be better with dogs. This is a serious situation because when a dog bites a kid it is always the dog who gets blamed and usually put down.
My dogs are my Pack. Visitors are just that, visitors. Personally I'd invite the sister in law to stay away with her ill mannered brats. There is no way I'd allow an outsider to abuse my pack, and no way I would compromise the pack to facilitate outsiders. Your dog is excellent, that is clear. Your sister in law's kid is a brat. Your boyfriend will either support you, or not, and in that you will learn something about him.
You are in a tough situation! I acquired one of my dogs because my SIL had a child that was going through the "terrible twos". Thankfully, my SIL knew that her child was going to seriously harm the dog, so she gave the dog to me before any injuries occurred. Wow! The child needs to be taught some manners! Some people are not as willing to admit that their child is out of control. I really don't think you have much of a choice but to tell her that you are having a problem with the 2 year old and you don't think it's a good idea that the animals and child be together. Let her know that you are not trying to hurt her feelings, but that the situation is making you a nervous wreck and can't deal with it anymore. You should be able to enjoy your home and your pets. You shouldn't have to lock your pets away because she refuses to take action with her child. And it shouldn't be your responsibility to teach her child - it's hers! I wish you luck!
Yeah. I had a dog as a kid that was great. But when I was really young, I thought it'd be...IDK funny I guess to push him. So I did it and did it, and then my dog snapped at me. HUGE wake up call. Scared the pee out of me lol never did it again. I don't think your dog would bit him, if she was going to, she would have. That was her trying to tell him to knock it off. I think making the mother of the child responsible is a good idea. He needs to learn how to respect animals. It'll cause issues with him later on if he doesn't.