Will my 3 yr old always be afraid of my yorkie?
 

We have had Rucker for 3 months now, and he has become such a big part of our family. I have two girls, 5 and 3 1/2. From the beginning, we have taught our girls to be gentle around Rucker because they are bigger than he is, and how to play with him carefully, and how to always look out for him, keep all small toys away from him, etc. Our 5 year old absolutely LOVES him and is so good with him. Our 3 1/2 year old is scared to death of him. She is making small gains...last night she played fetch with him and even let him on her lap...but this morning it was like starting all over again. The strange thing is that she misses him when they are apart...like she constantly asks for him when he's at the groomer's...but she is scared to be around him. Do you think she will come around?

I understand that it is a no-no for yorkies to belong to a household with small children, but unfortunately I learned this too late. I admit I did not do my research first...but once he came home and I found Yorkie Talk, I immediately started showing them how to act around him. My 5 year old, like I stated earlier, is so gentle with him. I got really lucky in the fact that my children know how to handle him. :) Now if my youngest will just come around.....

I think it really has a lot to do with parenting,,,, oh no I said the P word!!

By teaching your children the right way to behave around animals, and supervising them when they are around your pups, you are facilitating correct behavior. I think the problem lies when you have people who do not believe in the supervision part. Children will be children and sometimes do not know their own strength. That is when issues arise.

However, it sounds like you are doing everything in your power to educate them on how to behave, which is very admirable, especially in these times. I am sure that your little one will come around, especially since her older sister is so in love with him. Plus having an older sister to help her learn the right way to behave with "HER" pup, lol, I am sure the little one will want to follow in her sisters footsteps.

i have a cousin who is now 5 but was 4 when i got Gatsby and her brother who was 1 and is now 2 (sorry no threes wow) and last year when i got gatsby they wear both afraid of him terrified of him run and scream when they seen him scared but this year at a birthday party they got to meet him again and they both loved him i even tied his leach around my 5 year old cousins wrist and let her walk him in the fenced in yard (im a little over protective(
maybe your baby needs to calm down (the dog) how old is he

The dog is 5 months old..and yes he is pretty active right now.

my money would be on just waiting it out when your pup hits a year and starts to mellow and your baby gets to be 4 and understands a little they will be fine

Just let her know it's ok to be scared, they do come around.