Something happened last night and it's been grating on me... badly.

At the beginning of Summer my sister told me she was getting a puppy. I said... ok, what kind of dog? She said a yorkie.

I said oh... do you know much about them? She said not really but the momma dog is so sweet.

I said does whoever bred this litter know you have two kids? One of which under the age of 10? She said Yes, why does that matter?

I gave her the what is a yorkie talk and that perhaps she should pick a larger dog or get an adult dog. I said, this dog is a bad match. You shouldn't get it. I even showed her a couple of the breed all about it videos that mentioned that yorkies aren't a great match for homes with kids. She said... oh it'll be fine. The breeder has kids and they do just fine with the dogs.

So yesterday I'm at my sister's place and she's had this puppy about a month now. I am amazed that this poor little thing hasn't been seriously injured yet. I'm watching my six year old niece dragging this puppy around with all the care of a rag doll and no adult supervision. Dog is already a house soiler with zero boundries. Apparently a crate is mean and makes the puppy unhappy.

The scene in my head that is making my brain scream is my niece taking the puppy out for potty (my sister was apparently too busy to do this herself) and throwing the puppy like a softball onto the lawn landing head first. I was horrified... and the six year old got a scolding when I felt like smacking my sister with a rolled up newspaper for being so stupid.

Every time I see my sister with this dog it's a lesson in restraint for me. The first time I met this puppy it was stepped on (again, kid got scolded), second time I hear about this dog is my sister putting it in a doggy purse so she can take her everywhere with her including pet unfriendly stores(I told her this was wrong to do), and last night after puppy pitching I wanted to just take this dog get in my car and leave.

I love my sister but how does one deal with family being so amazingly stupid with their pets and kids?

Tough one Melissa. Can you teach the kids marker training? It is sooo easy, maybe if you teach even the little ones how to handle/work with the pup appropriately - the abuse might take a turn. Even marker training done wrong can't be worse than what they are doing now.

If not, don't go there. I don't know what else to say.

Take the kids some tiny treats, their own little bag, and show them how to work with the poor little pup.

good luck.

Unfortunately, Melissa, It is your sister’s job to protect that pup, and teach her children the proper way to handle an animal, any animal! I raised three kids with small and large breed dogs, I spent as much time training the kids as I did the pup. Sadly, I see this happen all the time, it’s frustrating!

Some decide to smarten up when they get a very large vet bill!

Soon the dog will bite the kids. Then it will be "free to good home with adults only".

 Quote: betty landercasp

Soon the dog will bite the kids. Then it will be "free to good home with adults only".

Sad but likely. And it was such a cute little pup.

 Quote: betty landercasp

Soon the dog will bite the kids. Then it will be "free to good home with adults only".

Yeah... sadly those kids both have names and mean something to me. Open to any other suggestions...

 Quote: melissa thom

 Quote: betty landercasp

Soon the dog will bite the kids. Then it will be "free to good home with adults only".

Yeah... sadly those kids both have names and mean something to me. Open to any other suggestions...

Hey, you're the family dog expert. Train the kids to train the dog. You'll be modeling the skills for your sister. It'll be fun for all of you. Start with something fun like "shake hands" with a clicker. It'll be your 'foot in the door.' Or train 'touch' and show them all the shell game. Can't hurt a thing.

Eventually your sister will get tired of the dog soiling in the house, and decide she's ready to listen to advice.

That will be your opportunity to make bigger changes than just persuading her to crate train the dog.

If it were my sister I'd tell her off. I love her she loves me and if the criticism is fair what is she going to do never talk to me the rest of my life?

If she is scolding her children she knows their treatment of the dog is unacceptable so all you need to do is help her see that the pup and the kids are too young to be held accountable. It is up to her to make sure everyone is safe.

It doesn't have to be confrontational; something as simple as when you saw her frustration with the child who tossed the pup....make a comment with caring in your voice of "Overwhelming isn't it?" and based on her response go from there.

I don't know, Melissa, I guess I'm going to be the pessimist here, but I doubt your sister is going to change at all regarding this poor puppy. That would involve taking responsibility for how her behavior effects the puppy, which she clearly isn't about to do if she thinks it's acceptable for a very young child to take the puppy outside, for example. (The image of that little creature being thrown and landing on its head is haunting.)

I don't see how this couldn't grate on you.

Sadly, the opinions of relatives, even knowledgeable ones, are often discounted (thus her taking the breeder's opinion over yours, as far as the wisdom of the fit of this breed with their family).

How do you deal with this? IMO, somehow, you have to protect your heart and harden yourself to what is going on. Have you ever been able to influence your sister about something important? If yes, then maybe there is some hope here.

Otherwise, the puppy being rescued in the middle of the night and rehomed would seem an option, except that she'd probably just replace the litte thing.