Playing rough not proper way to train

Dear Cathy: My daughter and her husband have two rescue dogs under the age of 2. One is a pit mix and the other is a Rottweiler mix. Both dogs are sweet and well-behaved.

My husband and I feel that our son-in-law plays much too roughly with the dogs. He says it’s to condition them to being around children one day. Recently, he was playing with the pit mix by taking a piece of cloth and waving it around his head and mouth. The other dog got excited and bit the pit mix and he, in turn, bit my son-in-law.

Our daughter grew up with an adopted Jack Russell and many cats. We always treated them gently and with respect.

What are your views on this? — Linda B, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Dear Linda B: Your son-inlaw is well-intentioned, but dogs do not need to be “roughhoused” to learn how to behave around children. They don’t learn how to act around children from being around adults.

Dogs also won’t make the connection that because his “master” can pull on his ears that a child can do it too. Dogs need two things to be ready for children: training and exposure.

Both dogs should receive basic obedience training, like sit, stay, down, come, etc. Dogs should be trained in all sorts of environments, starting with training in the house and yard to eventually training at a park.

Dogs also should be trained to heel on a leash, to “step aside” when a person is passing by and to “leave it” when food drops on the floor. Training your dog for potential encounters ensures your dog is less likely to over-react.

Training should occur in the presence of children as well, so the dog learns to listen when children are around.

Train and expose your dog to be around children, train your children to be kind and respectful around all animals, and always supervise them.