My dog is getting aggressive

[Louisa111]

I just need some advice.. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and our dog is nearly 11.
He's been brilliant up until now with both kids but our little boy is going through a very tricky phase of hitting: biting and generally being a bit unruly.

He has started to hit and generally not leave our dog alone which is resulted in our dog growling and generally getting very aggressive.. I've started to separate the pair of them but my dog is slowly starting to get aggressive with me.. when all is well they play together (under my supervision) and our dog showers him with affection but when things go sour and I go to separate that's when our dog is started to growl and snarl at me.

I can see from his point of view I'm shutting him away when he's not the one in the wrong and he was here before the children but this sort of behaviour is very worrying.. I'm starting to stress that our family dog who we all love may not be able to stay with us for much longer if this behaviour continues. He's perfectly fine with our 5 year old who was always very good around him it's just now this situation has arisen.. help!!!

It is my 2 year old that's doing it.. my 5 year old is fine. He gets a scolding when he does it and we've just starting smacking his hand.. if he carries on he gets put in his cot for 10 mins to learn.. what else can I do??

Keep them apart always. My daughter is 3 and she gets near my dog about once a week (unless we’re out walking) for a stroke. They are always supervised, she’s either in her playpen or the dog is in his crate.

It’s not worth the risk to allow them contact.

You must keep them separate. Please look at
www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/be-safe-dogs
www.doggonesafe.com/Bite-Prevention
www.doggonesafe.com/Speak_Dog
www.familypaws.com/resources/

There are more resources on a Doghouse thread called ‘useful resources’

if he carries on he gets put in his cot for 10 mins to learn.. what else can I do??

Stop giving him the opportunity to do it in the first place! You keep them completely separate at all times, either using baby gates or a playpen or putting them in separate rooms.

You're allowing your child to treat your dog appallingly and if the dog gets fed up and bites (not just growls) he'll be the one looking for a new home, not the toddler. Sort it out, ffs.

Your dog is not becoming aggressive your dog is being abused and at the moment politely telling you that he is uncomfortable about it. He can not say "excuse me could you stop hitting me" so he growls.

You HAVE to stop your child abusing your dog - you child also needs to learn this lesson - yes he is two and you will have to keep repeating yourself or keep your child away from the dog until your child learns. He will not be two forever this is your responsibility as a Mother and a dog owner.