Psycho Puppy!

[Snifter]

The growling and head tossing is what they do when they play tug of war, so as has been said above any tugging by you on the pant leg is just going to encourage the behaviour.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

This is what I have taught my son to do when Buddy does that to him. Stop. Don't run or pull the pant leg away. Buddy loves to tug and chase so running away or pulling the pant leg away becomes another game to play. I told my son to stand his ground, tell Buddy "NO" in a firm voice and gently push him away. When Buddy is REALLY excited it is more difficult for my son to stop him so I usually step in at that point, but he is getting much better at dealing with it now. Buddy will usually run off and find something else to do. My son is 7 though so it's a lot easier to teach him that than it would be to teach a 3 year old.

Yeah, I understand it's REALLY hard with a toddler. maybe make it a game you play with her and her brother when the puppy is not around...the statue game. When she gets the idea of the freezing part, you can then introduce the puppy into the mix.

Take care,
Lisa

[RaisinThePug]

Ella doesn't try to run away, she actually just freezes in fear. Then she screams and cries. So we've got the stand still part down, we're working on her not reacting at all. But Raisin's little teeth are sharp (which you all know) and when she gets carried away she does actually bite. Hard to get a not quite 3 year old not to react to that.

The water bottle is working best so far. Raisin looks a bit insulted when you squirt her, and then she walks away. Of course, Ella thinks it's a game and keeps trying to grab the bottle and asking me if she can "spray puppy."

I know young kids and puppies are a difficult mix, but they aren't puppies (or small children for that matter) for long, and I'm a stay at home mom (well, I work part time from home) so I have a good amount of time to work on this and supervise them both.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Glad the bottle is working. A puppy and a toddler IS a full time job!

Enjoy them - in no time she will be a teen and so will he and it will just seem like yesterday they were babies.

Take care,
Lisa

[evfc]

I know young kids and puppies are a difficult mix, but they aren't puppies (or small children for that matter) for long, and I'm a stay at home mom (well, I work part time from home) so I have a good amount of time to work on this and supervise them both.

Exactly. And they become the best of friends as time goes on. I always had dogs growing up and I still remember the feeling that they were always there for me, no matter what.

[RaisinThePug]

This is the reason I wanted to get another dog and have them grow up together. As day by day I think the reality of Ella getting a human sibling is slipping further and further away. I know the troublesome time of the toddler/puppy thing is temporary, and there are lots of fun times that are going along with it as well. They love to run and play outside and I look forward to taking walks as a family and going to the park, once Raisin has all her shots and can go out and about with us.

Is it petty to to point out Raisin is a she? A friend of mind babysat for us a couple weeks ago and kept calling Raisin "he" and it drove me nuts. I guess partly because I've had boy dogs for so long I really wanted a female dog, and I finally got one!

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Sorry. Didn't mean to masculinize Miss Raisin.

Take care,
Lisa

[evfc]

This is the reason I wanted to get another dog and have them grow up together. As day by day I think the reality of Ella getting a human sibling is slipping further and further away.

Yes, my son is an only too and he is so bonded to Buddy already. He says Buddy has made life so much better and it thrills me to see him so happy. And they don't have to fight over their toys!