Leo keeps curling up to ds (aged 2) to go to sleep...... whilst he is asleep ds strokes him (occasionally a bit rough, like running cars over his back :rolleyes:) i tell hayden off, and to leave Leo whilst hes asleep (hes 12 weeks today!) however if i MOVE hayden to somewhere else, Leo wakes up and follows hayden and then curls up next to him again......

Im aware of the whole "never disturb puppy whilst hes sleeping" rule, but its a bit impossible to teach ds that whilst Leo is out seeking him!!!

its like he thinks hayden is his brother?! i mean he literally does everything via hayden........ follows him from room to room.... takes his toys and runs off whilst wagging his tail for ds to chase him :D!!

love that they are so close........ but should this be encouraged or not? im confused over this whole "pack" thing :rolleyes: mum has told me that Leo has to find his "Place" but at the moment it appears Equal with the boy.. :D, which i quite like tbh, but ive read a few things that say that ds should be "higher" than leo........ but im really not sure why? i mean i understand that leo shouldn't feel above Hayden, but surely he can feel apart of the family??

Honestly raising a puppy is more contradictive than having a child... EVERYONES AN EXPERT :rolleyes:

I thought that a good relationship should be encouraged, but how to do you teach a dog to respect a 2 year old!!!! when the 2 year old is happier sit by the dogs food bowl hand feeding him kibble instead of just letting him eat!! :D

Forgot to mention, also if the phone rings, both the kid and the dog run to it and then sit on the floor staring at the phone!!!!!!!!! Im wondering who taught who that trick!!

As long as the pup doesn't try to dominate the child (which he probably will at some point) then leave them to enjoy each others company as long as they like it.  always supervised of course and your little lad should be stopped from driving toys over him etc.  Time with the pup should be quiet time.  Play between them should be kept low key too as the child will come off worst in any proper play as the pup will treat baby as a litter mate, as to him out of the humans the child is the nearest thing.

thanks brainless :) he has been discouraged, and the rough play isn't "rough" as in play biting or anything, its just the odd paw swipe from Leo and a little bit of a hard "pat" from ds!

So you dont think i should deter Leo from curling up asleep with ds? he shoudln't be made to sleep in his bed? and then ds not disturb him?

So far its quite scary how well he has fitted in..... we have a couple of issues with him "play biting" us.... but NEVER the kids, its like he knows?!! but with the biting with us, ive read the posts on here and have been doing the "yelp" when he gets too rough..... and he seems to listen to that...

Funniest part was when ds (who doesn't talk very well yet) was getting leo to sit with the command YES........ leo must have sat 8 times in a row with a big tail wag......... i was PMSL!!!

Of course he needs to learn to be alone sometimes, so occasionally confining him to the room where his bed is with a child gate is good for him, but if they are happy having a comfy nap together it is good. 

I had my dogs around toddlers, and made it a rule that dogs and children did not play together as both types of games are inappropriate for the other. 

Their time was for quiet things, a cuddle etc.  This meant the dogs always knew they should be calm and quiet around children, even if they were running around being exciting.  This makes things a lot less stressful when you are out with your dog where children may be running about and screaming, and also when other people kids visit who do not know your dog or dogs in general and do not know how to be around them.  On the other side I think it also makes sure the kids do not view the dog as a toy.

To this end the garden was fenced across to provide the kids with dog free area so they could play without worry of stepping in anything and the dog interfering in their games/getting excited and knocking them down or scaring another child.

The dog should also have a child free area that it can go when things get to much.

When our children were small, we kept a dog bed under the kitchen table. The children were told not to enter this bed as this was the dogs special place and if they needed peace they knew they could get it there. It does work and even the childrens visiting friends learned the rules and respected them fairly quickly. Eventally, the children ignore the dog under the table and play around it. Perhaps this is worth a try for your household too. the dogs used to love the children and play, but knew they could take time out when they had had enough.