Child terrified of puppy

Evening all

We rescued a Lurcher pup last Tuesday (he's 12 weeks)
My son brough him home after he was stopped by a man in a van asking did he want a pup ( I kid you not)
Anyway my 9 year old son is terrified of him. To the point of sobbing.
Has anyone got any tips on how to build my sons confidence?
Or should I be looking to re home him? (the dog )

I am completely torn and increasingly worried about how the whole situation is affecting my family.
He's a cracking pup - if not a bit lively

I appreciate any advice you have -
Thanks

First of all, well done to your son for taking the dog because who knows where the poor thing would have ended up.

You are in a very difficult situation here, because if your young son is truly terrified then giving the dog the attention and care that it needs is going to be rather hard because for the moment the two will have to be kept apart.

Is there a way that you could confine the pup with perhaps the aid of a stair gate or similar, so that your son can see it but not have actual physical contact? It is going to take a great deal of time and patience, with perhaps lots of walks with the two of them, and well supervised interaction.....it certainly will not be resolved overnight.

I do feel for you because you are trying to do the right thing for the dog, but obviously cannot risk traumatising your son.

I hope that someone comes along tonight or tomorrow with some helpful advice.

Thanks for replying. I am heart broken - surprising how quick iv got attached to the little fella. I have asked a good friend of mine who's brother has had lurchers for years if he's interested in looking after him. If he does then I'm going to let the poor little fella go he needs a home where he feels welcome by everyone and I don't want him feeling left out or isolated.
Thanks

I am so sorry it hasn't worked out. Maybe sometime in the future your son will get over his fear and you could welcome a dog into your family.

I think it could be useful to find out why/what he is scared of. When I was a child I was terrified of dogs all sizes and shapes and ages. It was only after someone actually asked me what scared me I realised with the help of a friend to start to get over the problem.

I was scared of vomit would you believe and had at some point seen a dog vomit - and made in my young mind a connection between dogs and vomit.

Even now I am not good at coping when they do it, luckily I can clear it up before I am sick too but that fear is still there.

Hi Sue and welcome
What is your little boy afraid of, is it something in particular the puppy is doing.

This is an article by one of our members , it is really aimed at young children but the points made are still relevant.
Dogs and young children

I guess the puppy is jumping up and mouthing? If so these are normal puppy behaviour issues which need addressing with calm positive training methods.
If you decide to keep the puppy your son could help with the training which should improve his confidence and decrease his fear as the puppy learns to respond

is he being very nippy?? Is that what bothers your son - or is it more generalised??
If it helps when we got Bella she was 6 months old and was actually quite calm (no mouthing etc...) but quite fast and a bit bouncy.
My then 4 yr old and 7 yr old were really scared of her. To the point that my 4 yr old would refuse to get off the sofa if Bella was in the room!! They both got used to her though - the 4 yr old slightly more quickly than the 7 yr old. Now 3 years later they both love her to bits. and they were both totally fine when we got our new puppy even though he is a bit more bonkers and bouncy and mouthy then Bella ever was!!

Hi everyone
Thank you so much for takin time to reply.
He's actually not too bad with the mouthing, we had a good long chat this morning - its barking he's afraid of - in particular the yappy bark and growl he does when he wants to play or when you stop playing before he is ready. He associates barking with biting and aggression.

So we have decided that Sid is such a fantastic dog we are all going to work together to help my son over come his fears. Dogs are a part of life and we are taking this opportunity to help Steven build his confidence.

For a puppy he is so good - I am completely besotted with him and glad we are all in agreement to keep hold of little guy.

I will read that article thanks - and thank you all for replying - I look forward to giving some positive updates on Mr Sid!

Lovely news, I hope your son can get over his fear.

I'm so pleased - I'm sure it will all work out.

My lurcher was 2 before I got her, so don't know what she was like as a puppy, but as an adult she didn't bark at all. If we'd ever had burglars I'm sure she'd have just lay on the settee and let them get on with it. So if yours turns out like her, with luck there won't be much barking at all.

Good name by the way - my dad was a Sid!