CAn I be the pack leader in my Dog's eyes but will he still love and want to be with my children if he spends lots of time with them and sleeps in his crate in their room?

My other dog is my oldest daughter's dog and he follows her eveyrwhere and wants to be with her constantly. I want this new puppy to be like that with my other two kids 8 and 6. But at the same time I know they are not strong enough to be his pack leader.

So if become his pack leader will can he still be devoted to my little ones?

Thanks!

 Quote: lovella lagdaan

CAn I be the pack leader in my Dog's eyes but will he still love and want to be with my children if he spends lots of time with them and sleeps in his crate in their room?

My other dog is my oldest daughter's dog and he follows her eveyrwhere and wants to be with her constantly. I want this new puppy to be like that with my other two kids 8 and 6. But at the same time I know they are not strong enough to be his pack leader.

So if become his pack leader will can he still be devoted to my little ones?

Thanks!

Lovella, sorry if this sounds harsh but that's kind of a crazy post. Why do you want your dog to "be like that with" your other 2 kids?? Are your kids asking for this or are you? I guess it doesn't really matter. I think bringing a dog into the house w/little ones give us as parents another opportunity to teach our kids very important life lessons - trust, dependability, reliability, leadership, care and concern for another living thing (be it a person or an animal), patience, tolerance, etc., etc.

If you take your role as pack leader seriously, you should end up with a wonderful pet and a house full of kids who treat the dog w/respect and kindness.

In my humble opinion, this is so much more important than having a pet follow your child from room to room.

A dog is gonna drool for you, wag his tail, follow you everywhere, and love doing it MORE to a pack leader and his higher pack members -you kids are also above the dog, remember?
Dogs are just like this... they appreciate and respect a pack leader.

There are many posts I have read here on leerbrug about how affectionate & loving a dog is- these dogs are in training, disciplined structured, environments, not allowed to do things like sit on beds and sofas, some are not even allowed to be played with by children. But they still like them and want to be with them. but they follow their pack leaders rules.

Living as the leader does not break your dog's spirit or oppress him. It free him to be stable, not worry, be safe and focus on enjoying life as a dog in your family.

Make some rules, dog has to follow them, kids practice with him too, dog loves everyone just as much, but without being obnoxious or unsafe.

i'm sorry that must've sounded weird.
Let me clarify.

My 15yr daughter has a dog that her real mom bought her. She is the one that bathes him, feeds him takes him out etc. He doesn't really listen to her though which I would never allow for the new puppy. I personlly think she did not listen to all the things that I said about consistantcy and firmness. If he doesn't listen to her she asks me to tell him to stop or what not.

okay with that being said. My daughter was kind of stingy with her puppy and never let her younger sisters play or touch him so now her dog doesn't like my younger daughters. He doesn't like for them to pet him or hold him.

I guess I originally thought that since he considers my oldest daughter his pack leader he was loyal to her. But maybe by her not letting him be with anyone but her she taught him to like no one but her?

I dont want the new puppy to follow my kids around by any means but I want him to love them, want them to pet him and carry him and cuddle him. I thougth if I spent too much time setting up the rules, training him and stuff then he'd be only like that to me not my younger kids. I let them hold him, play with him and cuddle him as much as possible which he allows so hopefully he will learn to love them not like the other dog.
I am sure to watch my younger daughters when they are with him since he's just a puppy.

If you haven't done so already, I strongly recommend that you work your puppy through Ed's Ground Work to Becoming Your Puppy's Pack Leader program. You can find the eBook here:
http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.htm

As you may have already realized, your children are too young to have them work with your puppy. All children want to do is pet and play with puppies, and nothing more. Nothing wrong with that, but that's just another reason why children should not be allowed to work with puppies/older dogs. What you're going to have to do is teach your children what they can/can't do with the puppy, and when it is/isn't allowed.

I also recommend that you read Ed's eBook on "Preventing Dog Bites in Children/Babies". You can find that eBook on the same link that I gave you earlier. It will make you a much more educated, responsible pet owner. Not that your puppy is aggressive, but you will be happy to have realized some important facts from reading that eBook.

Also, read Ed's Q&A section on Puppy and Obedience. You will find a good amount of information here. When your puppy is loose in the house, it should not be out of your sight. So, the issue of your puppy following your children around the house should not be happening at this point. Allowing a dog to run out of your sight, and allowing it to do whatever it wants goes against Ed's ground work program. Your pup will love your children, just as long as you teach them not to give your puppy a hard time.

no i dont let him go anywhere at this point. I am talking about when he's at least a year old and trained.

I guess I am just comparing him to my daughter's dog who has learned to not like my younger daughters. I dont want that to happen with the new dog that's why I'm thinking its important that they have time with him. Not train him. I wont have them take him out to potty and stuff until he's trained our unless I am there to walk them through what is supposed to happen.

Does that sound okay?
and I will look at those links thankyou!

 Quote: lovella lagdaan

My 15yr daughter has a dog that her real mom bought her. She is the one that bathes him, feeds him takes him out etc. He doesn't really listen to her though which I would never allow for the new puppy. I personlly think she did not listen to all the things that I said about consistantcy and firmness. If he doesn't listen to her she asks me to tell him to stop or what not.

okay with that being said. My daughter was kind of stingy with her puppy and never let her younger sisters play or touch him so now her dog doesn't like my younger daughters. He doesn't like for them to pet him or hold him.

I guess I originally thought that since he considers my oldest daughter his pack leader he was loyal to her. But maybe by her not letting him be with anyone but her she taught him to like no one but her?

I dont want the new puppy to follow my kids around by any means but I want him to love them, want them to pet him and carry him and cuddle him. I thougth if I spent too much time setting up the rules, training him and stuff then he'd be only like that to me not my younger kids. I let them hold him, play with him and cuddle him as much as possible which he allows so hopefully he will learn to love them not like the other dog.
I am sure to watch my younger daughters when they are with him since he's just a puppy.

OK, now I'm going to sound like I'm picking on you. My apologies if I do but you say you're daughter is now 15 and your dog considers her his pack leader? I'm curious how old the dog is. I too have teenagers, extraordinary teenagers, who I would put head to head w/any of the cream of the crop teenagers in this country yet I do not think that at 10, 12, 14 years old, they had what it takes to be an effective and efficient pack leader.

I am not qualified to guess about the dog but I do feel overqualified to guess about the teenager . My guess is that the dog doesn't see her as a pack leader. For one thing you state the dog doesn't listen to her and your daughter goes to you for help there. Also, just a guess but keeping the dog from the attention/affection of the other pack members (her sisters) seems wrong. It's not a working dog, is it?

Who knows, maybe he really doesn't like your other kids but I'd venture a guess and say you are 100% correct, your dog "learned" this behavior.

I'd scour every inch of this website, every article, post, book, Q & A and podcast on here. Then and only then would I consider getting a second dog.

OK, you can start hating me now .

Much luck in whatever you choose.

Edited to say, did you get this puppy already? If so, I'd still scour every inch of the website, but I'd do it immediately .

The two dogs seem to get along just fine and we dont let them play much or unsupervised.

Yeah I think the older dog learned it and I dont think my daughter is the pack leader. I think I really misunderstood what a pack leader was but now that i have read more I do. She is his "favorite" person dont know how else to put it but he cries if she leaves etc. But maybe I'm the pack leader since he listens to me and I will make more of an effort to reinfoce that now that I"m reading up more and learning for the new puppy.

and no i dont think you are picking on me. I appreicate you just taking the time to answer my post!

What is a working dog?

Lovella, you shoud read Ed's article on 'Being your dogs Pack Leader" get his 8 weeks to 8 months video & his Basic Obedience Video & read & watch them numerous times....they will educate you & guide you in the raising of your dog & teach you how to help your daughter (with the dog) be able to train her dog. Dog train is not rocket science but does require some knowledge & skill both of which Ed's atricles & videos will give you. You are looking to raise a pet & not a working dog,( Schuthund, PPD, SAR, Ring sport etc.), so his basic info will help you gain control of the situation in your home. If you are not able to follow these successfully, then find someone in your area to go to, so that they can help you train the dogs . Both you & your dogs will be much happier when everyone knows their place in the pack.