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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 3.5 yo DS is like yours. We have a dog (who we had before we had DS). We are very fortunate that ours is a wonderfully sweet and patient cockapoo.

Almost on a daily basis I've had to separate DS from the dog because he's bothering her way too much and she's getting to the end of her rope. I'm not afraid that she will bite him (she hasn't come close in all this time), but she has tried to dominate him (hump) to get him to lay off. Sometimes I let her do it to teach DS that she's saying "no".

I keep hoping that as he grows he will chill out a bit and be less relentless with her (hugging on her constantly, grabbing her, etc.), but I keep a close eye on him with her nonetheless. When he's getting to pesty with the dog, I try to channel his attention to her in a more positive way - getting him to throw her toys (which she likes) and having him put her food in her bowl each day/give her a treat.

If I were you I wouldn't get a dog because of your son. You need to get a dog because the family wants one and you're prepared to love and care for one. And if you do get one, given what you know about your son, you're going to have to be hyper-vigilant to make sure that he's not bothering the dog too much. Dogs get easily overwhelmed and you have no idea whether the dog you will end up with will have the temperament to withstand the constant pestering.[/quote]

You should not be surprised when one day, out of the blue, your dog bites your child. For the sake of the dog, your child, and your family, please do not assume that just because she hasn't done so yet that she won't. I've seen this happen with both Cocker Spaniels and Poodles.[/quote]

I suspect your dog is giving lots of stress cues that show she is uncomfortable (yawning, licking lips, whale eye, turning head away) and as PP nots, it may only be a matter of time before she lashes out in her own defence. So many people play innocent and gasp "but she's never given any indication that she would bite!", when all the while, their dog was slowly reaching the end of her rope. The problem is then, they end up euthanized because people can't have a dog that bites around children, when the real problem is how the child was allowed to treat the dog. [/quote]

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