we start to have some problems...

[TexasKat]

Miha,

I hate to be harsh, but you need to make the consequences of beating Nanna MUCH more severe. I am not a proponent of physical punishment for either kids or dogs, but there are other ways to handle this.

If your son doesn't understand that hitting an animal is wrong from empathy (the "how would you feel..." method) or by the threat of taking Nanna away, then you'll need to enforce it otherwise. Identify something the child absolutely hates to do (clean bathrooms, dig weeds out of the garden, dig a hole, fill it up and then dig another one... whatever) or take other privileges away (playing video games, playing with friends, watching TV, whatever his favorite things are). Make the consequences of hitting Nanna MORE SEVERE (at least from the child's point of view) regardless of whether he 'gets' why beating the dog is wrong.

Espinay's advice about trying to keep them separated and SUPERVISED is excellent, but I know it's difficult to do with a busy life and children who can be sneaky. You HAVE to impress on your child that it is unacceptable and will NOT be tolerated.

The way things are going now, someone is going to get hurt. Nanna is being hurt now, and it won't be long before she's big enough to defend herself. Your son can be hurt severely (by Nanna defending herself) in the future. It would only take once.

This isn't just a sad situation (though it is), it is a DANGEROUS situation. YOU have to take immediate action to deal with it. Whatever happens from here on may become YOUR regret forever since it is YOUR responsibility to stop it.

[Jewel]

Miha, as shocking and heartbreaking as the truth is, I am very glad that you found the truth. Now you can address the issue properly. It would appear that you were not wrong that Nanna's family does have a calm, stable temperament, she sounds like a very nice puppy. I hope that your efforts to teach your little one how to treat Nanna properly will prove to be successful soon.

[miha engblom]

Abel promised to be kind to her, and we really think that he will try be. We have been really serious with him and I hope he starts to understand how awful is to be bad to an animal.
But the strange thing is that Nanna is always playing with Benjamin (the kinder boy) like tearing his cloths biting his boots and whatever she gets grip on and Benjamin is pretty sad about it, he does not understands why she is always picking on him and always him. He says that she just bites him. I think she is afraid to play with Abel.

[TexasKat]

Try getting both boys to participate in the "peanut butter/kisses" exercises. You have apparently taught Nanna not to nip you, but that doesn't necessarily transfer to everyone.

The peanut butter/kisses exercises intend to teach puppies that puppy teeth don't 'touch' human skin -- only licks are permissible.

[miha engblom]

there she is , my little cutie

[BC19]

Nanna is just trying to play, she isn't trying to hurt your son and I would sit down and explain that to him. To her, using teeth and her paws is just natural until you teach her other wise. She doesn't know it hurts. She isn't trying to terrorize them, she is trying show him she prefers him because he is nice to her.

[Maggie's mom]

Abel promised to be kind to her, and we really think that he will try be. We have been really serious with him and I hope he starts to understand how awful is to be bad to an animal.

TRY???? Hope????
Yes, we HOPE he will TRY to understand that beating a puppy is a "no no".

I think she is afraid to play with Abel.

Surprise!!!!!

tick-tick-tick--kabooom!!!!!

Sorry...this really bothers me. I have deleted 4 replies so that I am not offensive.

Good luck with your poor sweet puppy.

[Jack]

Hi,

There are two good articles to read which may aid you in finding a solution to your problem regarding your son and your puppy. I hope the links work. By the way, your puppy is beautiful. I hope you get this taken care of before anything else happens to either your son or your dog.

Kids and Dogs: A Common Sense Approach
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/kidsdog2.html

Kids And Dogs: Safety First
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/kidsdog1.html


Good Luck

[miha engblom]

Maggie's mom you should definitively not think that we did not do our very best with our son when it is about his bad behaviour with the dog.
If you do not have kids is difficult to understand how a 5 years old is behaving. For example if you have been meeting nice kids that are nice with dogs otherwise, that does not mean they are nice to their own dog.
My children are like angels when they visit grand-parents, my mother-in-law is always talking that they are such kind loving nice sweet boys, but at home they can play pretty rough with each other sometimes... and when it is about Nanna I think he is like considering her his little sister , I know many older boys that are or have been stupid with their younger sister.... siblings are not always kind with each other especially big brother - little sister.
My boys are twins , they are not used with younger siblings and this is like the normal crisis when new baby comes into the family. You guys should not think that I try to excuse him but I think he had a normal reaction that WE REALLY TRIED OUR BEST to correct... My sister in law is having 4 kids in a row with 1and a half -2 years between them and each time I go there happens that somebody gets stupid with somebody, somebody beats, pushes , or takes toys from somebody... kids normally get like that....
Ok probably I wrote to much about kids being stupid but I do not understand why Maggie's mom is so angry ....
I would not otherwise write about this on the forum but I begun with that growling around the food , and I did not know how to handle it so when I found the source of the problem I decided to share it just in case somebody else might have been experiencing the same and could give good advice...

[miha engblom]

some more pictures... in the first one she is waiting for : "go get it"