Weims and kids...and Weim attitude

KarenTag

Does anyone here have any advice on kids and Weimaraners together. Our roommate has a 5 year old little boy. He is not around the dogs a whole lot, they live upstair and we live downstairs with the dogs, but sometimes they are in the kitchen or outside together.

My thing is that Lucy can be very rough sometimes. Today she jumped on his back while they were outside playing. He said she bit his back, but his dad thinks that it was just her nails on him. Apparently they were playing tug of war with a toy and he swung it behind him and she jumped for it. She stands taller then him when she is on her hing legs. We never had any problems with our lab playing with him. They have played together since he was about 2 1/2 or so.

Lucy is sometimes bad about jumping on us and nipping. If she gets mad at us for telling her no or taking something she isn't suppose to have she will bite at us. Sometimes she will get too rough and excited jumping and biting on Julia and if I tell her to stop or no she turns and bites at me (while making noises-she talks back alot).

I'm not sure what to do about her and the 5 year old. I'm not sure he really understands that the way he plays with her may cause her to jump on him. I just worry that she may end up hurting him as she gets bigger. He is really the only child that she is around. She will eventually be around my niece and nephew (who are currently 2 and 4) but she hasn't spent a lot of time around them. Our roommate's girlfriend has a 9 month old that comes only once a week or so and we don't let Lucy anywhere near her because she runs towards her in very crazy manner when she sees her. Again with Julia (our lab) she loves kids and if very calm with them. She likes to just walk over to the baby and sniff her but she never gets too close. I want Lucy to be able to be around the kids but I also want everyone to be safe.

kamfam · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:45 am Post subject:

Kam was like that with kids that didn't live with us. He would "play" rough and get nippy. The only thing that would help was to supervise at all times. It was a total pain, because my kids are old enough to play in the backyard without me standing over them, but when a friend was over I had to be out there correcting Kam. She'll get the hang of it eventually, but in the meantime, you'll need to correct her and teach the boy to firmly tell her "OFF" and "NO" or whatever commands you use.

Bo's like this too, but with my kids as well. I told my husband that he has ZERO prey drive because he does not even give a bird or squirrel a glance and my husband said that's because he's too busy hunting down our kids Laughing

!

weimdawgs · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:08 am Post subject:

They have to be supervised around kids ALL THE TIME. I have four dogs and two little granddaughters. They love the dogs and the dogs love them. But the dogs are big and they really don't distinguish between children and adults.

Jake was asleep on the kitchen floor last weekend and Bella (7) stepped over him. Well, it startled him and he jumped up and grumped at her (different than a growl) just to let her know he was annoyed. I was right there and corrected him. He laid right down, she bent down to tell him she was sorry and he kissed her.

Later on, Bella and Ky were in the pool and Gunnar and Scout were in, too. Gunnar decided he wanted to play and he swam up behind Bella and put his paws on her shoulders (as he would do with Daddy) and pushed her under. I was right there and grabbed Gunnar and my son got Bella. She was scared but fine. He didn't mean anything. But you can NEVER leave a small child alone with a dog.

I know of an incident last year in my area. Tragic really. The family's Golden Retriever was outside with their 5 or 6 year old daughter playing. The dog and the little girl where fine together. Apparently the little girl had a scarf on and the dog decided it was time to play. He accidentally strangled her with scarf and no body was out there to stop it.

Had there been an adult out there, it would not have happened. Naturally the family rehomed the dog...they did not have him put down.

GailB · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:23 am Post subject:

Just be there when the dogs and kids are in the same space...

I also have a lab and a weim, but when the grand-children or even my own children are sharing a space with the dogs, there is always an adult in the space as well.

Those weim toenails=ouch Laughing

Wrench · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:21 pm Post subject:

Agree with NEVER letting a small child a dog alone together even for a minute...as well as since you are there you are able to constantly teach the child how to be around the dog and the dog to be around the child.

We don't have kids yet but we will in a couple of years and so we totally get Wrench the kids and babies of all ages all the time...at first he would jump and bite their face and hands...now he has learned to lay down when a kid approaches for a belly rub and he may lick hands to see if they have food but he takes treats very delicately and he's not allowed to lick faces just because we don't want him to think going for the face is ok in case the lick turns to a bite.

I wouldn't let a child play tug of war with him at all.....maybe fetch or a non contact kind of sport you know.

The story about the scarf is so sad and I have heard these stories many times because someones dog " would NEVER hurt a child" and we have to remember that no mater how much the dogs our our babies they are still dogs with claws and fangs and teeth and size and weight that they don't always understand themselves. Also Wrench is able to play with some small dogs pretty rough so he would think a small child could be played with like that too.

2kids2weims · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:49 pm Post subject:

I agree - supervise dog + kids at all times. I am incredibly paranoid about this for 2 reasons: Once, as a pup, Cooper grabbed a playmate's arm when the child raised his hand to our kid (in a game). Also I have had my dog at kids football games & had parents send their toddlers to see my dog without supervison!!! YIKES! Shocked

I feel I can trust my dogs in general, but I am afraid of instinctual reactions when they are unexpectedly exposed to something I have not prepared them for - I know I've reacted poorly at times in a unfamiliar situations.

What's the first thing a kid who is unfamiliar with dogs does? Tries to stare it in the eyes & put a hand on top of the dog's head, often while crowding it into a corner. All aggressive & threatening in dog-speak!!!

One time I had a child come & literally jump on the dog's back from behind us & cover it's eyes while I was showing him to another child. We were lucky that time - to tell the truth I wanted to bite that kid myself! Twisted Evil

ange165 · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:07 pm Post subject:

dog bites with children ALWAYS hit the news here in Aus, and everyone always wait anxiously to hear what they are going to do with the dog - usually it's pts.
Not too far from the town I lived about 5-6 years ago, a couple who owned a rhodesian ridgeback, brought their fourth baby home from hospital. The ridgeback got in the house somehow and attacked the baby - and killed her. Very sad and rocked the community.
This has made me paranoid about dogs and babies quite alot. Kids will come up to me around the neighbourhood when I am walking asking to pat Ruby, and she seems to understand that they are smaller humans and is alot more gentler. 2kids2weims is right, children can be quite intimidating for timid dogs if they aren't used to them.

kcos · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:06 am Post subject:

I'm the 'never letting children alone with a dog, theirs or not' group. Even with our son..I have an eye on him and them all the time. Just in case one party gets too rough or isn't playing the way that they should I can be there to correct it. Our son is nine and loves his girls more than anything but the group together can get a little rough sometimes...but definitely teaching your neighbor what to do, how to play nice with a dog and what NOT to do to a dog. It will be a valuable education that he'll have forever and help them in the long run. It always seems like little kids always want to go straight for the face or tail..that would freak me out, haha. Shocked

hoochmamas · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:42 pm Post subject:

just a story.. when kade was not quite 2, my friends lab was old and ill.. kade had no fear.. i was another story.. my friend assured me all was good in the hood with the dog..
well, being a toddler, he went over to the 100lb. dog, and hugged his neck.. the dog had cysts that were apparently painful. the dog "punched" kade in the mouth with his snout, and growled.. kade's lip was swollen, purple and bleeding..
so we took a trip to the nearby ER by her house.. he was fine.. just a nasty bruise and a cut from his own tooth.. i never told his dad, because he wasn't going to see him for 2 weeks, and honestly, i thought he might hurt the poor dog.. my ex sister in law worked out of the hospital we went to, months later found the file somehow, and ratted me out.. talk about breaking patient confidentiality!
needless to say, the poor dog had passed by that point.. but that was some heated argument i had with my ex husband.. Embarassed

i think it's best to help the child learn how to be with the dog.. and i agree to never leave them alone.. but sometimes, accidents happen.

pfunksbn · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:32 am Post subject:

Our daughter (Lil' Pfunk) just turned 5, and when we got Callie (in Jan.), Callie would want to climb on/jump on/mouth on Lil' P all the time. Her acts seemed more playful than aggressive, but it was a concern because they were so close in size. I think Callie thought she was another puppy. We spent a lot of time teaching Lil' Pfunk about how to behave with dogs and what to do when Callie jumped on her, etc. I found a great tip in one of the dog training books I read--it is called the "Looking for Rain" technique. If the dog jumps, or even comes in too close, and the child wants the dog to go away, the child should turn their back to the dog, cross their arms over their chest, and look up into the sky. This engages the whole body in the act of 'ignoring' the dog. It works! Callie would give up trying to engage in play when she was ignored like that.

We also did things to teach Callie that Lil' Pfunk was human and therefore higher up the chain than she is. We taught Lil' Pfunk how to give simple commands to Callie (sit, stay, etc) and also let her feed Callie now and then. It took a little while, but now Callie never jumps on Lil' Pfunk. She does like to follow Lil' P around and likes to snuggle next to her on the couch, but that's about the extent of their interaction for now. Lil' P doesn't seem too into really playing with Callie (petting her, playing fetch or tug or whatever), so there perhaps have not been as many opportunities for Callie to get rough with her.

JacksMommy · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:43 am Post subject:

I have an 8 year old and an 8.5 month old... The 8 y/o I sometimes wonder if Jack sees as another weim LOL and the 8.5 month old, Jack thinks he's his mom.

It takes work, but Lucy can learn to be gentle around kids. Naturally supervision is always necessary (I never let the baby and Jack be alone together unless at night when he's in his crib sleeping and Jack sleeps on the recliner on the opposite end of the room).

We worked with Jack on "Gentle" and "Settle down" (seems like it took forever)

Settle works really well as we taught Jack that "Settle down" means lye down and don't move. LOL

We introduced the baby to Jack while My husband and I both sat on the floor with Jack and I told the baby, "Nice Jack, Jack good boy" and let him pet Jack, and this excited Jack as he was being praised. Now he's VERY careful around the baby and will usually lye down by the baby, but he won't run around him.

LOL Robby (my son, the 8.5 month old) can crawl up to Jack and stick his fingers up Jacks nose, pull his ears, take his bones away, and Jack just lyes there and takes it.

Hannah, however. LOL Jack can get a little rougher with. We're working with the two of them on that one. Jack likes to go running with her and to play fetch with her, and there have been a few times where he's gotten to excited and jumped on her back... we have Hannah yell "Ouch" and pretend to cry by putting her hands over her eyes and then stating "Jack you hurt me".

Jack is slowly learning that this behavior causes pain to his little buddy and lately the jumping has really begun to decrease.