Friday, May 17, 2013

How to Deal With a Child Jealous of a Dog

Q: 

My 4-year-old son is mean to our dog, Mac. He says "that's not my dog, it's your dog." He gets mad when Mac follows me around the house.I try explaining that I raised Mac, and he's just being protective. I've tried getting him to interact with Mac by having him do tricks and giving him a treat...but my son ends up teasing Mac with the treat and not wanting to give it to him...What should i do?


A:

Have you ever watched the show "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan?  You might want to watch it with you son so that he can learn that dogs are pack animals.  They like to have a family and they like to have a leader.  If they do not have a leader they act out by constantly barking or misbehaving in various ways.  Tell your son that everybody in the family, including him, should learn to be a pack leader so that the dog can respect them.  When there is a dog in the family, the dog belongs to everybody, and everybody needs to learn how to be "calm assertive" with the dog, to give him guidance (discipline), exercise, and affection.

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