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| Frodo with Sofia when she was 2 months old |
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Doggie dilemma
About a year after Tim and I were married, we added the first member to our family. His name is Frodo and he is an adorable puggle (pug beagle mix). He is a great dog but since he was the first member of our family he has had a bit of a struggle adjusting to all of the changes lately. He did great with Sofia, which was surprising given that we sold our house which had a fenced in backyard, moved to a third floor apartment and brought home and infant two weeks later. Frodo rolled with the punches. Then this summer he was put out of our family again as he spent most of the summer with my parents since Tim and I were living with his parents who are allergic to dogs. Fast forward to today and we are in a house again, unfortunately it does not have a fenced in yard. Oh, and add two more kids to the mix. A few days ago Frodo growled at Sofia who went in to find him while he was eating. We have had a few other situations where he has growled at Sofia, it usually is always food related. He is a VERY food motivated dog. I'm not sure what to do because we love our dog, Sofia actually loves him the most. She runs to find him almost every morning and loves playing with him and sitting in his bed to read books to him. The feelings definitely aren't mutual, I would say Frodo tolerates her and likes her when she gives him food. Frodo is definitely interested in the twins. I'm concerned that he is too aggressive when it comes to his food. I also know that he just isn't getting the attention that he is used to because of our three kids. He would do great in a home with someone who would let him cuddle with them and sleep all day. Anyways, I would appreciate any thoughts on this dilemma.
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I obviously have NO life experience with this, but have been reading up on how to introduce the future baby to our pup, etc. They had suggested doing things with the dogs food. i.e. while he/she is eating the food, go up and take the food bowl (or even just grab a few pieces from the bowl) away halfway through the meal. then put it back after a little while. OR While the dog is eating, start pulling on his/her tail, etc. I dont know if that is helpful...but just some thoughts, that if you/tim do these items and the pup gets used to it happening, maybe if sofia or the boys get near the pup while food is around he will be used to any possible "interruptions"...AGAIN, take this with a grain of salt, since we dont have any children so dont know how well it ACTUALLY works. i just know how important pets are in a family too, but also how concerning it can be when the dog gets upset with children. i know i'd be concerned too.
ReplyDeleteI read a dog training book that would suggest that when you pour out frodo's food into his bowl, you have the bowl on the kitchen counter where he can only kind of see what it happening. Then after pouring the food into the bowl, you give yourself (first), and then Sofia, and then the twins a little cracker/goldfish/something that Frodo could mistake as similar to the food he is going to eat. When you are all completely finished eating, you give Frodo his food. Repeat, repeat, until Frodo gets the message that he is lowest on the totem pole in the Ruder wolf-pack, at which point in theory his canine instincts will tell him that Sofia has the right to take food from him if he wants. According to the same book (and theory), his behavior of ignoring Sofia is a sure indicator that he thinks he is above her in the pack's standings.
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