Children And Puppy/dog Bonding

[jess live die]

is it possible for a 2 year old and a puppy to get a strong bond even if the child is that young?

[Danois]

How would a 2 year old get a chance?

Any interaction between a 2 year old and a puppy should be very closely supervised.

How do you see a puppy and a 2 year old bonding?

[jess live die]

i always watch my kids around dogs so they are always supervised

but i know some children and some breeds just bond straight away and was wondering if thats the same even if they are young.

my 4 year old daughter bonded straight away with my dads GSD and she very protective of her never leaves her side when shes with her.

i hope that makes scene

[~Shepherd~]

Of course they will.

Amy was almost 2 when Squid died. Squid adored her and was so gentle. I have the most amazing film of the two of them together, Squid a Belgian Shepherd type of dog was 7 when I had Amy. They were always supervised, played ball, brushed and Squid would come everywhere with us, even in the car to the park when Amy was only a few months old. Elliot was 13. he didnt care either way as the only thing he really bonded with was with food. including the hand that fed him and it didnt really matter whos hand. That worked ok because toddlers have foody hands and smells so Elliot loved them all.

Squid died suddenly from Hermangiosarcoma when Amy was 2. She was beside herself as he had gone. He heeled to the pram every night for the walk and Amy would hold the lead. I was pregnant at the time with my 2nd girl. We decided to get another pup (probably too early) for our family. She was a little Whippet. She and Amy formed a very good bond at age 2 and the whippet would follow Amy everywhere. When Skyla was born a few months later, the Whippet wasnt at all put out just minded her business and hung out with Amy. Amy is now 4 and Charlie sleeps in her room on her old kid couch (now Charlies couch). I got Amy involved in training even at aged 2 they get a kick out of it, and they earn a bit of respect from the dog at the same time.

So, situation now is Elliot, the old Goldie died last year at age 17. I am having another baby girl on the 18th of Feb, I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old girl. I thing its better (for us) to bring a dog in whilst pregnant. The dog can go through the changes with you, adapt to the changes slowly, have time to establish changes of routine etc. We were going to get another puppy (to show) in a years time, but I decided I could not commit enough time to doing this to the best of my ability for at least another 4 or 5 years. I desperately wanted a Shepherd, then the perfect opportunity popped up for an older pup that would be perfectly suited to our lifestyle. She came at the end of December and is the best thing that has happened to us in years. It works, its easy and she adores my kids and Whippet. She often smells my tummy then plonks her big white head in my lap. She spends the morning collecting sticks with the 4 year old, then the 2 year old and Whippet stuff up the pile and run off with them. When the kids are unsupervised for whatever reason, both dogs are crate trained, so its perfect. My 2 year old isnt as animal obsessed as Amy was, but both the dogs respect her and she respects them.

The key to a harmonious young family with dogs is Respect.

Good luck with it, but early training for both human and kid are a must, they have to earn their respect somehow. No running, teasing, walking around with food, poking. They will bond for sure if you can get the ground rules set from day 1. I have seen kids put out by new pups taking the limelight so be concious of this too, empower your kid to be a good trainer and be a good model for the kid by keeping things very consistent.

[Dfa Dog]

I guess it depends on the dog and the child. There are some dogs that absolutely are great (and forgiving) of children, but I would think that bonding would be stunted by the fact that you would have to be very cautious of all interaction between the child and dog. I was put on the floor to sleep on the family Golden Retriever when I was but a few months old. Very old, trustworthy dog, but still, I would NEVER do that with my Newfoundland.. not that I don't trust him.. but just in case something startled him and he put a paw in the wrong place, or stood up and knocked the child over or something. At the same time, I do think some dogs truley understand they need to be careful with kids.

[Purpley]

I think it depends on the dog, the child and the boundaries that are set by the responsible adult. My dogs are very bonded to my children. Ages 9, 5, 2.5 and 15mths. I set strict boundaries for both the puppy and for the child. I am constantly involved in the interaction between child and puppy.

If you do these things correctly, it is very possible for a bond to occur.

Just as a side note - can you please find your shift key.

Edited January 24, 2010 by Isiss

[twodoggies2001]

i always watch my kids around dogs so they are always supervised

but i know some children and some breeds just bond straight away and was wondering if thats the same even if they are young.

my 4 year old daughter bonded straight away with my dads GSD and she very protective of her never leaves her side when shes with her.

i hope that makes scene

[/quoteOur family had a standard and a miniature schnauzer when our first granddaughter was born. From the first moment that our new grandchild was brought to our house, that dog never left her side when she was here. He had no real contact with babies in the past. He was always cautious whenever anyone except me touched the baby. He and I had a very special bond, and he just assumed that Jordan was mine, and what's mine, is his lol. Jordan was always taught to be very gentle with him, treat him with respect, and loved him just as much as we did. When he left at 14.5 years old, she was visibly upset, and still now at 5, talks about her friend, and misses him terribly. So yes, I think even young children can bond with dogs from an early age.

[newfsie]

From the age of two, I had a GSD as my shadow, until I was seventeen............The day Odin Died is still the one of the saddest days of my life. I adored him and he me. We were a team

My Parents bred GSD's and were very good dog owners and trained dogs for the Army and Police. My Younger sister also had a GSD called Karin, She only lived to be ten, but they were also inseparable.

Due to the work my Dad did, Civil Engineer, we moved around a lot and four GSD's went everywhere with us. Our dogs were indoor dogs and they just went wherever we went as kids out and about. people would be shocked today, but our dogs travelled everywhere off lead. We used to meet up with other kids and dogs all of lead. I still have such so many fond memories of those days