I have been trying really hard to be patient with Jack, as I understand that he has been the baby in the family for 2 years. He was pushed out of this honorable position 2 1/2 weeks ago when we brought Tucker (our yellow lab puppy) home. At first Jack was super excited about having this new addition around. He played with him and wanted to feed him and was excited to take him outside with us when it was "potty time" for the dog. However, his enthusiasm has slowed down a bit as he's realizing we are in fact, keeping the dog.
Jack is now seeing that even though we might be in the middle of reading a book, if Tucker acts like he has to go to the bathroom, we jump up and rush him outside to go. When we get up in the morning our priority is to take the dog out as to keep the "accidents" in the house at bay. Our efforts have been successful thus far... in our eyes anyway. Jack does not get so excited about the pottying habits of the puppy. He has in fact taken to saying "BAD DOG!" when Tucker does something (anything, really) that he doesn't like (a phrase that neither Jeff, nor I, have said even once since bringing Tucker home). I can understand Jack's frustration as we have brought home new babies to less than thrilled toddlers waiting at home before. He hasn't been physically aggressive with the dog, just slightly verbally abusive with the "BAD DOG!" yells at any given moment. As I said before, I have been trying really hard to be patient with Jack as he navigates his way through the newness of our family dynamic shift, but I figured out that something has to give this morning when Jack asked for milk and I didn't get to the fridge fast enough and he looked right at me and yelled, "BAD DOG, MOMMY!"
Jack is now seeing that even though we might be in the middle of reading a book, if Tucker acts like he has to go to the bathroom, we jump up and rush him outside to go. When we get up in the morning our priority is to take the dog out as to keep the "accidents" in the house at bay. Our efforts have been successful thus far... in our eyes anyway. Jack does not get so excited about the pottying habits of the puppy. He has in fact taken to saying "BAD DOG!" when Tucker does something (anything, really) that he doesn't like (a phrase that neither Jeff, nor I, have said even once since bringing Tucker home). I can understand Jack's frustration as we have brought home new babies to less than thrilled toddlers waiting at home before. He hasn't been physically aggressive with the dog, just slightly verbally abusive with the "BAD DOG!" yells at any given moment. As I said before, I have been trying really hard to be patient with Jack as he navigates his way through the newness of our family dynamic shift, but I figured out that something has to give this morning when Jack asked for milk and I didn't get to the fridge fast enough and he looked right at me and yelled, "BAD DOG, MOMMY!"
LOL Well, I suppose it could be worse. Being usurped is never fun ;). He'll adjust, as I am sure you already know given you have 2 other kids that went through similar feelings at least once. Still, maybe you should have moved a little faster ;)
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