New here, Help with twin babies

[Sugar'sBossLady]

We've had our Sugar Bear for almost a year. She was a rescue. The lady who had her before moved into an apartment, so she couldn't keep her. She's really been the best first dog anyone could ask for...Now the "but"...
We have 18 month old twin boys...
I am the master...She will listen to me better than anyone besides my hubby. She will come when the other children call her, but not as quickly.
Now, the problem I am really having is with the twins. She will try to fit through the same small space as them, going first, and knocking them down..she is anything but sumbissive to them. She knocked one off the deck last week. This has only become an issue because they are just now getting outside more, and getting around..they've mastered the stairs, so they go down there with me more, etc.
When we got her, she was already trained..very well too..We have always kept on with her, making sure she did it, making her sit before she eats, etc..

I will add that some time ago, she got one of our chickens...Just one, but after that, we made her lay down while dh held the chicken in front of her, and taught her to submit to the chicken..Never had a problem since..They lay together all day..Should I do the same with the babies?


She's also 5 this month. Any help? Thanks!!!

[nick's spirit]

Welcome Sugar'sBossLady....your girl sounds like a very wonderful addition to your family....look forward to hearing more about her & you.

Not sure how much you have read about Pyr's, but saying you are "the master" ans she must "submit" to the chicken....well those just aren't words associated with Pyr's normally. She listens to you because you have earned her trust & respect... she is probably with you more & has learned you are a "giver" of many things that she likes in her life. All she learned from the chicken episode is that it got her in deep trouble with you & it upset her.

With the twins, you might have to take Sugar Bear back to basics, even using a leash so that she doesn't knock them down anymore. She may actually be trying to "protect" them & is nervous because they are moving about so much.
When/if you use a leash, have the twins walk and when Sugar wants to walk between them, hold her leash tell her WAIT try not to use NO as you want to give her a positive direction & reward & praise her when she does what you ask (and make it a big deal!!) Sometimes just uttering a gutteral "ach" to get her attention & make her stop whatever she was doing that wasn't correct, then when she pays attention to you, she's again the greatest dog in the world...praise, praise praise!!! Everyone in the house uses the same words to mean the same thing.
Usually a Pyr is not a first dog as they take a bit more patience & breed understanding as well as a confident human to direct them, glad she is doing so well so far
Let us know how things work out

Nancy & Holly

[Sugar'sBossLady]

You're right..I do spend the most time with her. He is so awesome with our 3yo..We got Sugar when he was 2...He used to be so scared of dogs..We had looked at several pyrs but when she came out, she laid down right infront of this tiny 2yo and was wonderful from there on out..She sits when he tells her to, etc..They are really the best of buds..
Submission or not, whatever you want to call it, it worked with the chickens..We had a fox devistate our chickens..that's why we got Sugar...She's so funny too, because she can be so sneaky, and when I just mention her name, she tucks tail!
We dearly love her, but I just wasn't sure how to handle her with the babies..They are never ever mean to her. I've taught them to stroke in a very nice manner when I say the word :nice:...They do it to eachother, and I usually use the nice thing when they start to hit..But, again, they've never been left alone with Sugar, and so I've made darn sure they've always been "nice" to her..I think I may have to take one baby and Sugar on a walk..Cant do two and a dog..not at this age anyway...Thanks for the tips!

[Lou Lou]

Hi there! Welcome to the site!

We don't have kids so sorry if my advice is completely out of whack LOL Our Ralphie is generally very consious of where kids are and is super gentle.

I'm not sure where the behaviour fits in because it sounds pretty generic for a large dog but generally Pyr who do well with children are calm and pretty aware of their size and where kids are. Does it seem like Sugar isn't giving the kids enough consideration? Or is she just kind of storming in and balance be darned to the little one, almost like they have to give way to her space?

How is she with food around the kids? Does she give them space? or is she kind of all over them? That to me speaks volumes about the respect and boundaries between dog and kiddo. If the dog knows and understands the boundaries they tend to respect that, if not you tend to get the snatching of crackers from little hands when they turn their little heads.

You mention that she's good with your 3 year old. Has she always had access to the kids, getting as close as she wants when she wants? Maybe she doesn't understand boundaries with the younger ones but does with the older one? It could be as Nancy mentioned, she's just toooo into everything the kids are doing.. But I'm almost thinking if that were the case she'd be more aware of them and where they were instead of knocking them down.

But maybe she's just become intense about checking out areas they're getting into? And bumping them away from things she's worried about? That's a typical Pyr behaviour between Pyrs and their flock. Does that seem more like what she's doing?

[nick's spirit]

Sugar'sBossLady
you have your hands full!!
anyway, what I meant to say is...if....you can put Sugar on a lead, maybe sometime when you are out with her & the twins, & if she starts to try to knock them over, grab the leash & tell her Wait or Sit or some other positive command.
Sounds like you & she have a very nice relationship, especially if you can just say her name, obviously in a tone that let's her know she's not behaving & she tucks her tail for you!!
and you are helping the twins learn respect for their big protector.
my guess is that Sugar Bear will come around for you, this might just be something you need to remind her about.

[mulewagon]

Well, I like Dr. Dunbar's take on things. He says it's not useful to speculate on a dog's motivations, since we can't know them. We should just decide what we want the dog to do, and then teach him how to do it.

That's what you did when Sugar Bear ate the chicken; you taught her how you wanted her to behave with chickens.

So I would analyze where the problems are in her interactions with the twins, and teach her what you want her to do. It will help if you enforce the same routine for everyone.

For instance, decide what you want her to do when she meets someone in the doorway (probably sit and wait until the person is past.) Then practice the routine over and over, on leash and off, with different people in different doorways. Everybody should try to enforce the same habit. Then do lots of practice specifically with a twin in different doorways - as she improves back off, command more softly, etc until you can get her doing it by habit.