Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How do i get my three year old to stop hitting/pinching/pulling on my dogs?
He’s old enough 2 punish now
Put him in the corner
Take away a fav toy
Send him 2 his room etc tge dogs DO NOT. Deserve that
It took my niece getting bit one time for her to stop. The dog didn’t bite hard enough to leave a mark but she knew not to do it again after that.
Be a parent and stop letting your kid abuse the dog. The animals don’t deserve that and if you don’t correct it then the next step is your kid will become a bully or worse a murder one day. That’s how it starts ! Maybe a ass whooping will do the job It’s showing him what it feels like to be hit on
Punishment will not teach your child how to behave toward dogs and allowing your dog to bite isn’t a good idea.
Teaching and monitoring your child with your pets and others is the only way. SHOW him what he can and should do. Gentle hands. Gentle touches.
Don’t allow your dogs around your child unsupervised until this has gotten better. Not allowing the kiddo to practice unwanted behaviors works the same as not allowing the dogs to
Start punishing him for it before one of the dogs feel like they have to bite him to protect themselves. If that happens, they might accidentally hurt your baby badly. Then they will have the dogs put down.
Keep your child away from the pets till your child knows to be nice. Cause I guarantee if one of the dogs bit your child you’ll be throwing a big tantrum about it even tho it’s YOUR fault as a parent for allowing it to continue for so long (your child is 3 so yes it’s your fault). Eventually your dogs will have had enough of the childs abusive behavior towards it and will attack the child.
This will make your dogs kid aggressive if you don’t stop it NOW. Discipline the child.
Show him how to be gentle. Hold his hand and help him gently pet the dogs while saying calmly, “What a nice dog! We pet him so gently! We don’t hit! Gentle!” If he starts to hit you grab his hand and help him pet the dog gently. He’s little. He is just learning. You need to redirect him to a toy or something if he continues to hit then have him try again later petting the dogs gently. Also explain to him that the dogs can bite him if he hits them, which really hurts! If he is gentle with the dogs, they will be gentle with him! This is how I taught my daughter to not hit our pets and I am now teaching my son the same.
Discipline. Give him a warning then time out , take tv away, no dessert, pick your punishment but there must be consequences! Not listening is NOT an option.
Separate them tell him if his not nice he can’t play w doggy & stick too it that’s how I got my 2 to stop squeezing kittens
EVERY time he hurts the dog:
- grab kids hand firmly but not hard, get down on his level and say No! Again not yelling but firm enough that there is no question you are disappointed. Turn around and give your dog a couple pats for being good if he didn’t growl.
- Tell him hitting dog is not ok and if he does it again he will not be allowed near the dog for awhile.
- If one more thing happens, then tell him again what he did wrong with some anger in your voice.
- Remove yourself and your dog to your bedroom and praise the heck outta the dog if he was good through all that.
- Keep them apart for a time and if they go looking for dog say nope, you’ve been mean to doggie and you can’t see him right now, he needs a break. Separate however you need to to make your point but do not crate the dog bc it’ll make him feel punished. We want to keep it positive for dog…
I cannot emphasize how important this is to nip in the bud quickly.
Also do not forgot the dog in all this, he needs direction from you the owner when he acts appropriately.
Parents add so much tension coming over mad at their kids and the dog assumes they did something wrong. Then they make a negative association that kids coming around causes tension so they bite to prevent that. It’s how they correct unruly pups so they don’t see it as a big deal like we do.
If you don’t step up and act as the alpha that has “got this” your dog will assume the role.
Please take this seriously, I’ve put down so many dogs bc of parents not teaching kids respect for animals.
Try a kindness jar. I bought a small jar, and some beads. Whenever she’s kind, she gets a bead for her kindness jar. Once it’s filled up, she gets a surprise. She’s been brushing the dogs for a bead, snuggling them, etc. it’s really rewarding so far. She’s always trying to be kind now, especially to the dogs
Spank that butt before he makes a innocent dog get put to sleep
Had a friend who her daughter kept mistreating the dog and the dog bite her ear off…protect your animals…they get mad also…after awhile,they retaliate…best if you smack the kids behind as to have one of your pets bite or tare off your kids ear…
Keep the child away from the pets until they can behave themselves. To many animals bite in self defence and then get put down for it.
Just throw the whole kid out
Relax, Karens. It’s a joke.
Consistency and time are the only thing that will help and keep the kiddo away from the doggo
(Please don’t smack the kid or take things away from him that’s not the way to solve this ((or anything really)), you cant “punish” the kid because he doesnt understand something)
Baby gates. Your dog needs a place to relax, kid free. Only allow supervised interaction.
Whatrver he does to the dog you do it to him and ask him how does it feel. If he pulls on the dog pull his hair if he pinches the dog u pinch him…not aggressive and mean but make sure he feels it so he understands that it does hurt and its not nice
Not sure, but one day your dogs are gonna act like dogs and teach your 3 yr old a lesson. Sadly, your dog will be wrongfully blamed. I’d keep them separated as best I could until you are able to get it under control.
Please remove the dogs from this situation.
Be extremely firm, don’t let him hurt the dog before you correct him. Initiate the contact and make sure it goes well the whole way, not waiting for him to hit the dog and then correcting the behavior. It only takes one time for your child to possibly be killed. And yes, it can happen with one bad bite. Kids should be taught from the beginning how to respect animals, not starting at 3. At 2 years old my daughter could hold my snakes and knew to be gentle. Too many people let it get to the dogs breaking point and the poor dog is labeled as aggressive and euthanized.
I agree with the showing them how to be gentle, my daughter is 2 and she will chase the cats but she knows not to pick them up and pull at them or the dog anymore when we tell her to be gentle.
The second she gets rough we get after her and tell her that’s wrong and that she’s making the animals sad. Usually that stops her instantly.
Seperate them until the child can behave.
Never allow them together unless you are in control of your child; holding their hand, sitting on your lap, etc. Show him how to interact with the dog. Get him a stuffed animal and have him show you the right way to behave. If he can’t, keep them seperated.
Understand, if it doesn’t stop, the dog shouldn’t be put be down for reacting.
Same as you would do of the dogs were hurting him - separate them until he learns before he gets hurt accidentally by one of them
My 5 year old is the same. He’s got alot better with punishment but it has taken alot of time
Separate her and punishment for hurting dog if needed rehome dog.
I’d start with a stuffed toy ( like dog stuffie) and use it as an example as to how to treat your family pet. Give a little Reward when their gentle and kind. Keep your family pet separate (gates) until your child makes the connection. Good luck !
Those poor dogs , would you allow this to happen to another child no you would put a stop to it . Your dogs are going to end up hating kids and you don’t want that teach your child to respect the dogs before a disaster happens .
I know not all will agree but it worked with my kids because I won’t tolerate animal cruelty. I pinched them back… they didn’t like it. Do whatever they do to the dog… they’ll get it.
Don’t be surprised when the dog bites him. It’s on you
My daughter would get so excited to see the dogs she would hit them I would take her hand and show her you have to pet them nicely and show her how to do it took a while of being repetitive but now she is super sweet to the dogs.
I have always been quite hard on my boys when it comes to our dogs. They’re treated with respect. My youngest used to lie on our smallest pup and she did not like it. Everytime he did, he was moved and unable to spend time with the dogs. He soon learnt. Persistence is the key.
Get rid of the kid 
Is the child mad or feels out of control and is taking it out on the dogs? Maybe your 3-year-old is taking out her/his frustrations on the dogs. See if you can provide safer ways to deal with anger and frustration until little one has enough words to tell you what’s wrong. For example, punching or pinching a pillow, playing with a pop-it or stress ball, asking to run around outside, going someplace where s/he can yell (maybe in your car?), doing jumping jacks, whatever works.
Secondly, practice being gentle and careful with animals and other people, especially babies and old people, or fragile items. We had to tell my son not to tackle my parents because “they ate old and fragile and they will break.” Sometimes kids don’t understand other beings are just like them and can feel pain and hurt and want to retaliate when someone acts mean to them. That’s why some people will (gently) punch or bite or pinch their kids (once) to show them what others feel when they do it.
In the meantime, put your kid in her/his room immediately away from the dogs when s/he mistreats them. Three minutes should do it, followed by a short talk on what went wrong.
Maybe posting rules (even if your child can’t read yet) about how to treat the dogs: only gentle touches, pets and rubs; no startling them or making loud noises; no punching, pulling or slapping. Leave the dogs be when they are eating or sleeping. We won’t let them jump on you when you’re eating or sleeping. Read the rules often, answer any questions, and praise her/him once. s/he has memorized any of the rules. When s/he knows them all by heart s/he gets a treat of some kind.
Good luck! Hugs to you and your child & belly rubs and scratches for your dogs. 
Who is first ? The dog or your child ? Get rid of the dog.
Ur kid doesnt understand what they are doing is painful etc… there is only one way to explain it at that age and its through experience. My kid was the same he even would bite the cats, so I showed him what it felt like and he NEVER did it again. Rather than have one of ur pets hurt him badly or get hurt badly, I’d employ this method asap!
Spank his little ass.
With all due respect…. Keep those dogs safe and away from your child 
they don’t deserve that treatment from any human, young or old. And it’s also your job as a responsible pet owner to not allow this to happen.
Hopefully dog doesn’t bite when he’s had enough. Seperate .time out when it happens really need explain it’s Not ok at all
Spare the rod spoil the child bust his butt.
I’ve always made sure my son knows to respect animals. If a dog is pushed and pushed it will bite just a natural reaction.
We tell my 3 yo daughter “be soft” and show her what it means. So even when she’s playing with me, maybe being rough with my face, I’ll take her hand and show her to touch soft on my face. And we do this with the dog as well. So she kinda knows “be soft” in general. You have to be consistent though.
Is the child around other adults and peers? Teaching soft touches is nice but seperate Ming them might be the only way. No one likes to be hurt
My daughter went through a phase like that. Is there any stressors she may be dealing with or maybe a big change like moving? Sometimes that’s hard on littles. She recently started being mean to him, I saw her kick him so she got an immediate spank (NOT HARD, but enough to show her it’s not ok). I told her it hurts him, and she will get a spank any time I see her hit or kick him. Thank goodness my dog is very tolerant and loving. But her and her dog are best friends and they sleep cuddled up together and everything. I think we are finally past it though. 
It is concerning. How does the child treat other animals? People? Any remorse?
From birth my daughters were raised around animals. They were taught to have gentle hands and if they were rough I will tell them no and be gentle. There is no need for children to abuse animals if they have been told from an early age to be kind. A 3 year old is not to late to teach them to be gentle and if they will not listen then the animal should not suffer the abuse.
Ger rid of the dogs now! Give them to a home that they deserve! This is animal cruelty, just wow!!!
Have you ever tried time out? My two year old understands the concept, he hates time out and no longer smacks because time out became his best friend once he kept smacking and biting. He knocked it off cause he got tired of time out. Now he leaves me and my cats alone
Get him evaluated now, do not wait. Speaking from experience.
A 3yo is old enough to take a telling. You watch the child carefully and read the situation. You stop it before it happens. Spend time teaching your child to pet gently . Do not allow them together without supervision and teach your child when the dog walks away it wants peace and they must leave it alone. Make sure your dog has a safe place and your child is not allowed to touch the dog if thats where it goes.
Be firm with your child. Watch him carefully.
You are leader of the pack and must take charge…before your dog grows to hate your child and attacks .
Seek some professional help for your little one. You’ve given us nothing else about how your child behaves and any other struggles they have behaviour wise so it’s hard for us to advise you. There could be a number of reasons why your 3 year old is lashing out and not responding to being taught otherwise - get some professional help from a GP or pediatrician. There could be underlying reasons, conditions why your child is behaving this way. In the mean time supervise when your child is around your dog don’t leave them together on their own. All the best.
My daughter is almost 1 and a half and she’s gentle 98% of the time and I just tell her “be gentle” every time. And seems to work there’s an odd time she does pull but not bad but I say no “be gentle”.
I would tell the kid I will be forced to find the pets a safe home if he’s going to hurt them and let them stay at a friend’s for a couple days to make the child really think about what they are dojng
Does the child do this with people too or just the dogs?
My daughter doesn’t hurt our pets- they are cats and stand offish but she will bite / splash throw things at us. I sternly tell he no- one time she randomly came up to me and bite my boob- i screamed and cried.
Id try gentle hands, slapping her hand( not hard), removing her from the dog, making a loud noise when she does this.
have you tried to tell her the dog will bite her because he doesn’t like what she’s doing to him, by pulling his ears??
Let the dog fuck em up
Stick him in the corner facing the wall
I hope they bite her then she might learn a lesson.