11-week old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy and 5.5 yr old human boy!

Post date: 2018-09-18 05:56:08

I've read tons of the puppy biting questions and they are so helpful. However, we have the added twist of a 5.5 yr old super active and physical young boy. I'd love some advice or even a pep talk that this will work out.

2 weeks ago we picked up a Ridgeback puppy. He is super sweet and sleepy. However, of course, he has moments of playful times with lots of biting. We're trying to have toys in our hands at all times, yelping when necessary, saying no, etc. Going on lots of walks too.

We have a cat, dog is fine with the cat so far. We're crate training and he's doing pretty well. We have one in the kitchen area and he sleeps in another in our bedroom.

This weekend was insanely stressful. It felt like all we did was yell at our kid or correct him - "don't let the dog chase you" - "the dog is biting you, stand up stand up..." "have a toy in your hand" etc. It put us in a bad mood and our kid, too. He became more defiant and wouldn't listen. He just started a new school/kindergarten also 2 weeks ago so is already going through a tough transition... yes, I know this wasn't the best timing.

We're looking to bring a trainer into the house. One of us has trained 2 pugs before who were lovely dogs (the second just passed away about a month and a half ago) and wants to eventually run with the Ridgeback once he's old enough. She's wanted a Ridgeback for 20 years... so this is a big deal.

My parents were around puppy and kid this weekend and thought - he's a good puppy AND my kid is just being a kid (and believe me, they're the first ones to say when my kid isn't being "obedient"). I'm just feeling overwhelmed and like we barely have time with 2 FT jobs (we do have a dog walker 2x a day right now), and kid... and now when we're home it's constant correction between kid and puppy.

This puppy will be pretty huge soon. I'm worried when we can't stem the running/chasing/biting with our kid that we're training him to ... bite and chase. We're getting gates to be able to keep the dog in one room when needed, in addition to crate and as I said, bringing in a trainer.

Has anyone successfully lived through puppy and a young kid who can't seem to stay on board with the training rules. I mean, he's 5.5... I know, but I wish it were a tiny bit easier. He's an only child who I think eventually will be best friends with this dog. And like I said, this dog seems like SUCH a good guy with a good temperament.

Puppy pictures here and here!

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