Dog keeps knocking my 2yo over: how do I stop it?

Haha yikes definitely don't use the spray bottle!!! You don't want him to associate anything negative with the children!! You want to be sure his good behavior is rewarded with attention around the kids.

DEFINITELY do NOT spray when he gets close to Laurel.

a lightweight nylon leash is definitely teh way to go.

Its a little hard to diagnose over the internet but I would take a multifacet approach. First off, sounds like he needs more hard exercise. Assuming that he's over 1, jogging, playing fetch w/2 balls, biking should do it. build up to it just like you'd build up your own fitness. If he's <1, your options are a little more limited since forced exercised is Not recommended.

Then, have L teach him a down. use tiny bits of food as a reward. Eventually, you/she should be able to work up to doing a down in motion - one of THE most useful commands out there.

actually that anything that kids can teach a dog will help reinforce their status in the pack. my kids like to have the dogs jump through a hula hoop for treats.

and reinforce walking in the house. my doberman was never allowed to run in the house once I had kids b/c its too easy to knock the kids down. randomly, when he's walking, say good walking and throw him a treat.

and finally, understand that accidents WILL happen. Just like any other sibling behavior - sometimes it just goes wrong.

You've gotten some great advice on the door scenario. Manage real homecomings with the leash for now, and practice fake ones when you can.

As for when he's excited and accidentally knocking kids over, you can practice getting him to calm down quickly so when he gets in that state, you can give a command if the kids are near. Obviously, some accidents will still happen, but hopefully you can prevent some of them. Just choose a command, then get him riled up, give the command to calm down, and help him calm down. Give him a treat when he's still and calm and repeat the command (Good Calm!)

Definitely involve the kids in feeding time. Have them hold the bowl off the ground and wait until he's sitting and calm. Then have them put the bowl right in front of him, don't let him come to the food. Also practice taking the food away before he's done, putting your hand in the bowl, etc. When you know he's fine with you doing that, get the kids to do it, too.

My kids love teaching our dog new tricks, so you could get them involved in that, too. Their favorite is hide and go seek. We start off with one kid having a container of hard treats that make a loud noise when shaken. They hide (very easy spots at first), then I give the command, "Find Colwyn" - and Colwyn shakes the treats. Dog goes running, finds Colwyn, and gets a treat. Slowly make the hiding spots harder, and eventually eliminate the shaking so he has to use his nose.

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Originally Posted by doberbrat

Its a little hard to diagnose over the internet but I would take a multifacet approach. First off, sounds like he needs more hard exercise. Assuming that he's over 1, jogging, playing fetch w/2 balls, biking should do it. build up to it just like you'd build up your own fitness. If he's <1, your options are a little more limited since forced exercised is Not recommended.

Then, have L teach him a down. use tiny bits of food as a reward. Eventually, you/she should be able to work up to doing a down in motion - one of THE most useful commands out there.

actually that anything that kids can teach a dog will help reinforce their status in the pack. my kids like to have the dogs jump through a hula hoop for treats.

and reinforce walking in the house. my doberman was never allowed to run in the house once I had kids b/c its too easy to knock the kids down. randomly, when he's walking, say good walking and throw him a treat.

and finally, understand that accidents WILL happen. Just like any other sibling behavior - sometimes it just goes wrong.

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Yes, Shep is not yet 1. His age is a little hazy, but I've designated Aug 1st as his bday. It's probably a little generous, but I figured better to err on the conservative side. I do take him running/walking every morning, walking every evening, and depending on the day, long walk/run mid mornings 3-4 times a week. So he gets plenty of structured exercise (pack walk). Learning to fetch a ball is going to take time. We tried throwing the ball and he was like, "ooh, new chew toy?":hysterical:

I've never heard of having very young children teaching dog tricks, but I will give it a try. He already knows sit, and down, and we're working on stay. The older ones ALWAYS want to give him a cookie, so might as well make him work for them. Dora is able to lure him into his crate with a chewy. Arwyn wants to, but she's still a little leery, so her hand just isn't assertive enough.

Thanks for all the suggestions. BBB comes through once again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maestramommy

I've never heard of having very young children teaching dog tricks, but I will give it a try. He already knows sit, and down, and we're working on stay. The older ones ALWAYS want to give him a cookie, so might as well make him work for them. Dora is able to lure him into his crate with a chewy. Arwyn wants to, but she's still a little leery, so her hand just isn't assertive enough.

Thanks for all the suggestions. BBB comes through once again!

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For little ones or kids who are nervous, they can just drop the treat on the floor in front of the dog. Say you were teaching him sit (which he already knows, but it's an easy example). You'd have Arwyn hold a treat and say, "Sit!" You'd maneuver Shep into a sitting position, then you both say, "Good Sit!" and she could drop the treat on the floor.