Should I stop this?

[Dooney's Mom]

My 3 1/2 year old nephew LOVES to ride his 3 wheeler bike through the house and have Dooney "chase" him. Chase might be the wrong word to use she usually just runs along side of him and if he stops she puts her front half down with her butt still up in the air waiting for him to go off again. She does not nip at him and if I tell her to leave it and come, she does on first call about 90% of the time, the other 10% takes a couple of calls, but she always leaves him and comes back to me.

I have taught him how to make her sit and lay down and she is getting better about listening to him now that I have taught him her hand signals too.

So since she is not nipping at him or trying to direct where he goes, so I don't believe she is "herding" him as mentioned in another thread. I think she is just running and playing with him. is this behavior ok? or should I put an immediate stop to it? I have only been at my mom's house for about 3 weeks now. So when it comes to kids/dogs I am not 100% where to draw the line on certain behaviors. She is really really good with him and is definitely his protector. They lay on the floor together they play together, he thinks he needs an ice cube when she gets one and tries to act like a dog.

Thank you for any feedback.

[Rerun]

I personally wouldn't allow it with my toddler son or just turned 4 yr old nephew.

For starters, a 90% recall isn't enough, and IMHO it's inviting too much prey play. The dog may not be nipping at him now, but I think it's too much of an invitation.

[AbbyK9]

It's hard to comment on this behavior without having actually seen it, but from what you describe, it sounds like play to me.

If she is just running alongside and then goes into a play bow before he takes off again, I wouldn't be overly worried about the behavior but would definitely always supervise them together since he's so little and she's so big (and has lots of teeth at his face level). It's always better to be safe than sorry but I also think if she's being gentle and not prey-oriented or trying to herd him, I don't see the harm in this game as long as it's supervised.

On a side note ... lucky kid to be allowed to ride his three-wheeler in the house. My parents had a "nothing that rides in the house!" policy for anything with wheels.

[Dooney's Mom]

Thank you both for the input.

And Abby-- my mom's house is big and OPEN and its her grand kid so she spoils him rotten. I can assure you- WE were never allowed to do that as kids. She was asking him what he wanted for dinner last night- I just looked at her and said "well I don't EVER remember being asked what I WANTED to eat, I was told this is what you are eating and don't get up until you are done". She just laughed at me. Can't complain too much- I get to live back in my old room rent free for the 6 months it is going to take me to get a new house since my divorce, and she let Dooney come too (of course she spoils her too) my mom is the only one Dooney howls and goes crazy for when she gets home from work... I don't even get that reaction- LOL

Again thank you both for taking the time to answer!

[mwiacek10]

Wendy, you are lucky to have such a supportive mom. I too was in that position, a long time ago, and wouldn't be where I am today without my mom's guidance and assistance. I let my GSD play with my 6yo & 4yo niece and nephew all the time. The only issue we have with the big wheel is when Gunny bites the front wheel and flips them off! Something you may want to watch for.

[jang]

Gosh, I maybe wrong but what if your dog does this with a kid who is unaware that it is a game and then maybe tries to kick the dog or just plain scares the heck out of him--Maybe this would also lead to the dog chasing people on bigger bakes and causing them to crash--Not trying to be all negative or anything and it sounds like great fun for both ..I dunno--just a thought..
Jan

[mwiacek10]

I don't let my dog play with other kids and he sure isn't around people on bikes without me. Its all good harmless fun.

[jang]

Originally Posted by mwiacek10

I don't let my dog play with other kids and he sure isn't around people on bikes without me. Its all good harmless fun.

I am one of those if it can --it will go wrong people--didn't mean to offend--or imply people don't watch their dogs..
Jan

[mwiacek10]

That's ok jang. I'm a little sensitive. No worries.

[Dooney's Mom]

I wasn't offended Jang- she wants to play with ALL kids ALL the time BEFORE she played with Jack this way- I've worked with her on that with the LAT game and it works wonders, she used to go ballistic when she saw a kid she wanted to play with one so bad. When my niece (who is 3 months younger than Jack) comes over she doesn't chase her- she simply sniffs her and moves on (after trying to lick her a few times). She has REALLY bonded to Jack (had a previous post about her being TOO protective over him) that is HER boy.

With this recent transition she is back sliding a bit on her behavior and we don't get to go for as many walks because there are WAY too many loose dogs in my mom's neighborhood, so I try to bring her to the parks on weekends to walk and get out.

Thanks for the input!