hey, vix! :--)

try U beside the pup, and any child to Ur side of the chair. that way U are a baffle to reaching the dog.

2 free download books are here - Free Downloads | Dog Star Daily
Before U Get Ur Pup and After... they have excellent safe advice, and instructions on teaching Bite Inhibition AKA a soft-mouth.
--- t

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Hi.
I would say that with careful management it will be ok. No one can give you guarantees and it will be difficult to manage and train a young child and a puppy sometimes at the same time but I am sure if you are prepared to put in the work, you will reap the rewards.

Having said that, I wouldnt want to be in your shoes and found it was a relief to be handing my grand daughter back when my pup was a lot younger. I still have to be as vigilant but as they both get older, it is getting easier. Of course when I younger, I did the small children and pup situation. Children have a lot of love to give and mine remember our dog growing up with them and the happy times had by all.

I am sure Millie will give you many happy times too once you get over this.

Great post

I know it is hard with such young children but you must be very carefull with children and dogs of any age,
At least you have seen that it is not just the dogs fault .
Spend time with your pup and the child and explain everything to him as mentioned above and soon both of them will be fine together.

ArwenLune makes a great point about the growling. If Millie does growl don't punish her, do something else so she feel that she doesn't need to growl any more. If you punish her then you may get rid of her warning mechanism / communication which comes before a bite.

This is not to say you do punish her for growling but its worth mentioning as i see so many people who do and teach their dogs not to growl and just snap or bite.

Its great to see you go to classes and use clicker training. I would encourage to teach millie to target your hand then use that as a way of teaching her to get off the couch as oppose to pushing her off.

Info on target training can be found on:
Target Training | Karen Pryor Clickertraining

Hope this helps. It sounds like your trying to change things to prevent further incidents, which is great

__________________
Also check out www.dogstardaily.com for lots more free videos and articles about all things dogs.

Chirag

Chirag Patel BSc (Hons), DipCABT, CPDT
San Francisco SPCA Certificates in Training & Behaviour and Dog Aggression
Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers #00923 (UK) #71093 (US)
Pets as Therapy Assessor

www.domesticatedmanners.com
cpatel@domesticatedmanners.com

I really like the links to children's interactive tools and we will be using them later, thanks.

I have a 7 year old boy with autism, and three girls 4, 2 and 1. I appreciate the concern of the original poster, and I think she is dealing with things well. I always try and make sure they are never alone and repeat many times a day the rules for the dog. They do get occasional nips, which I accept as normal and explain why it happened to the older ones. When I say nips, I mean the dog makes contact with teeth but doesnt break the skin. Once or twice the children's hands have been scratched as they withdraw their hands too quickly. I see this as normal and part of growing up with a dog and learning about boudaries. Im sure if you are vigilant Millie will be fine.

I find the worst times are when the kids get excited and want to run about. I often get Hedleys tug toy out when they are doing this, so he and me can play tug whilst they enjoy their games. The children also tend to play in their rooms or on the first floor landing, which is great as the dog isnt allowed upstairs and we have a stair gate.

We had a JRT before our Yorkie and yes, they are feisty, but they are great little dogs too!

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The other thing you may wish to train with Millie is a "safe haven" this is an area where the dogs learns that they can go to and really nice things happen here (eg. play, grooming - if they enjoy it, feeding, treats...)

The dog also learns that they won't get disturbed in this area and its a kid free zone. So eventually the dog learns to moderate her behaviour and when she feels uneasy she takes her self to this place where she feel safe and enjoys.

__________________
Also check out www.dogstardaily.com for lots more free videos and articles about all things dogs.

Chirag

Chirag Patel BSc (Hons), DipCABT, CPDT
San Francisco SPCA Certificates in Training & Behaviour and Dog Aggression
Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers #00923 (UK) #71093 (US)
Pets as Therapy Assessor

www.domesticatedmanners.com
cpatel@domesticatedmanners.com