Toddler vs dog- help!

[Jess785]

Our 2.5 DS is obsessed with our 11 year old dog, but just doesn't know how to interact with her. He is very rough with her, constantly hits and grabs her, and gets jealous whenever we show her any attention. He's never had any problems with hitting or acting inappropriately with other kids at nursery.

Our poor gentle doggie doesn't want to be anywhere near him, and is usually agitated whenever we are all at home together. We try to teach him to give the dog her own space and be gentle with her, but it's really not working.

Does anyone have any advice on how we can deal with this?

We were lucky with this our toddler is quite good with animals. We just taught her the right way which I'm sure you've done anyway. One thing we did do from when she was a baby was get a dog gate so they can be apart - I wasn't sure if this is something you've got?

You absolutely HAVE to separate them, it is not acceptable to allow your toddler to hit and pull on your dog - your poor old dog is at risk of losing her temper and snapping unless you control this situation better.

Make sure that she has a safe space away from your toddler, but in an area where she's comfortable and has toys/chews etc. so she isn't being put somewhere isolating and boring - use baby gates to keep them separate.
Ensure that she is NEVER disturbed when eating, sleeping or with toys/treats as these are potential triggers. Take her to a vet to check for arthritis and dental issues, which could predispose her to pain and aggression - basically set her up to succeed with this stressful situation.

Only allow your toddler to interact if he is gentle and you are ACTIVELY supervising: The link below has some excellent image guides of appropriate interaction and active supervision.

imnotamonster.org/any-dog-can-bite/

Spend quality time with your dog when you toddler is in bed

You get stair gates up to seperate them and only allow them together if you're there to very closely supervise and any violence to the dog is stopped before contact is made. Before the dog snaps and bites your toddler.