Mamas & Papas -
Our dog is awesome. Without any training on our part, she has never sat on the furniture, never entered a bedroom, is housebroken, doesn't take food, touch a toy, or eat her own dinner without seeking permission. She doesn't enter or leave a room without looking for permission either, also, she can walk down the street without running off or into traffic. (She's a lab mix, who we adopted at approx 9 months old from the shelter).
Our DS, 21 months, is still a little rough around the edges.
So I remarked about this to DH and said, "so how old do you think DS will have to be before he's as well discipled as the dog, 3?" He said, dont' forget, he's a boy, try more like 20.
Thought I'd share. Have you ever compared your child to a beloved pet?
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.
Yes, we've proved really lucky with this dog. To boast some more, she doesn't beathe heavy, doesn't shed much, hasn't chewed the furniture. The only bad behaviors, if you can call them that, are that she has scratched up the carpet, and hollowed out a bit of dirt under a shady tree which she has claimed as her outdoor bed (we gave up trying to restore the grass there because she just insisted. I think its been a blessed combination of a sensitive dog who is eager to please and very respectful of boundaries, and a household which is inclined to treat a dog like a dog, and not like a human. She is spoiled with long walks, outings to the beach, long games of fetch, and early morning off leash sessions at the dog run.
DS is awesome in his own ways. He delights us daily.
Well... you have a GIRL dog and a BOY human, so maybe never?
Just kidding (sort of). I bet you'll never train your son to be as perfect as your dog, but that's probably good. By age 6 or 7 he'll have more impulse control.
And yes, I have absolutely compared my kids to our cats. Still depends on the day who wins. =)
Ha ha. Depends on the dog?
I would expect your child to do most of those things in a few years, but not be trusted with it all for a long time (my DD will soon be 4 and we absolutely hold her hand when she's not on the sidewalk, but she does know not to run off the end of the sidewalk). Older kids will serve themselves and make you go, "Wait, there was leftovers in here...." They can learn at 3 to knock first, but they might knock AS they open the door. Sharing? Um...yeah. Give that a couple of years. Most kids are "housebroken" between 2-4 yrs old
There's a reason our human childhood is so long!
HA! Children and dogs are two different animals. And from my experience you lucked out with an easy dog!
Boys are boys. They dont' chew on the furniture, or your shoes. Most climb, run, jump, spill, track mud, eat anything that's not nailed down, etc. But, they can be big, mushy loves too. My tall gangly son just turned 13 and is nearly 6 feet tall. I can hardly keep food in the house and he grows out of clothes and sneakers way too fast. He knocks stuff over without realizing it, he and his friend track lots of mud and dirt in to the house, he hates making his bed and I still have to remind him to take a shower and brush his teeth. BUT - he also cleans the kitchen floor after he and his friends make a huge mess of it (we have a shark hard floor cleaner - lifesaver!), empties the dishwasher, feeds and cats, mows the yard and vacuums the dining room. Contrary to popular belief, boys can be trained! I get wonderful hugs and affection from my tall cute boy (a little awkward still) and he is sweet to little kids and old people. He plays way too many video games, but is also a good athelete.
So match that up with your dog and I think you'll agree that although dogs have their benefits, a son is far better. ;o) Enjoy your boy - they grow up way too fast!
wel since you have super dog, i'd say never! no dog i know does that without training...i want her=)
Chuckle…this type of chat comes up sometimes in our house. The other day without thinking I snapped my fingers at both our dog and our son with a guttural negative throat sound. Ordinarily I reserve that type of discipline for the dog but it just goes to show you how without thinking I reduced them both to the same level. :P I can't even remember who was doing what to whom because it was a minor episode. Our dog responded instantly and our son...well, he just looked at me as if to say "what...it wasn't my idea..." Uh huh. Since our son invariably wakes our dog up for torture, I sincerely doubt she starts anything. My husband commented the discipline was remarkably affective at getting both their attentions but sadly only our dog corrected her behavior. My husband patted me on my shoulder and said I would have to work harder on our toddler as he wasn’t quite there yet.
I have compared my son(age 10) and the cat before because neither one listens all the time. My son has to be told everything several times but panics if we say to hurry. The cat is pretty well trained to go out when I shake my keys or say "out", and get out of the way if I say "shoo" or snap my fingers. If the cat ignores me or talks back when I tell it to go out, I can call my husband into the room and then it obeys. Same trick usually works when my son won't start brushing his teeth.
It is usually easier to get the cat excited about going for a walk than my son. They are both slow, want to go off the path to look at stuff, and complain that they're too tired to make it home.
Maybe training kids is more complicated because you want them to do exactly what you say right now, but also have the information and logic to make good decisions for themselves in the future.
How old is the dog? If she is at least 2, then your son will need to be at least around age 14. LOL
Did the dog have a previous owner who trainer her? That is really unusual that she has had ZERO training and is house trained. But congratulations on getting her. Sounds like a nice family addition.
Your son... hmmm... I think your husband is probably on the right track with his estimate.
I would say never, LOL.
Dogs are so much easier to train than children. I love my daughter more than words, but our puppy (Boston Terrier, 5 months) listens much better than she does and she is 5.
I don't know, but both of my children were in bed at a decent hour and slept late this morning while the cat decided to BARF all over the bathroom, waking us both up at 4:00 am. Today, I'd trade the cat for two more kids in a heartbeat!
That is too funny. I've never compared our pets to our son, but I have compared our pets to my hubby and MIL. (lol) Our son have never really been any problem. I guess we're just blessed. I've always found it rather easy to keep our son occupied, and I believe keeping a child occupied is the best way to keep them out of trouble. Taught him the basics of drawing and he just ran with it. He used to be so obsessed with drawing that he'd sit there for hours drawing his toys. Now he's a lot older and creates videos and does his own photography. I used to keep him busy in stores by having him sing songs, which are a lot more pleasant than screaming or getting antsy. He even potty trained very quickly. Hubby and MIL...different story. Yep, the animals are definately better at social skills...They don't tell you how bad you look, how much they hate your new/old hair do, ask you to throw out things with sentimental value....Ok, so both the pets, MIL, and hubby leave stuff laying around the house, but our dog and cat do not make as big of a mess to clean up. :)
Well - you are not asking for moral reasoning, participation in civil society and the ability to support himself once grown from your dog. And my son never vomits under the bed or on the carpets.
