2 year old and pup

I posted this question on the introduction page but did not know it would not be answered there. My husband and I are going to get a pup at the end of April and we have a 2 year old. Any suggestions on how to manage the toddler and the pup would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry, sometimes questions are missed in the introduction section
What kind of puppy are you getting? How old will they be? How is your child with dogs at the moment?
I'd introduce the child to the rules (like not to disturb the pup while eating/sleeping) as well as have rules for the pup decided before they arrive

Firstly, you need to be able to ensure that you NEVER leave your toddler alone with the dog at any point in time - not even to go to the bathroom.
The reason being, of course simple accidents happen but should the toddler hurt the dog, even without intending to, the dog may bite and cause serious injury.
If you make sure that you ALWAYS supervise their contact, you shouldn't run into problems where accidents occur.

I would suggest using a crate and crate training your pup. Make sure that both your toddler and the puppy know that when pup is in the crate, that's HIS space and HIS quiet time. Your toddler should never bother the pup when he's in the crate.

Put the pups bedding in the crate and allow him to have chews and toys there to make it an enjoyable place for him to be. it also means he can use the crate if you need to go out anywhere and can't take him with you.

I beleive this is absolutely essential as both the pup and your toddler will need time away from each other.

Then, when you are supervising the contact, you will need to make sure you train your pup bite inhibition, how to play and use obedience training. This means you'll have a happy pup in the home and the dog is less likely to cause any harm (again inadvertently) by mouthing too much.

At the same time, you will need to teach your toddler how to respect the dog and how to behave around it. A pup (or dog of any age) can easily become excited and overly so, particularly where playful children are concerned.

If you involve your child also in everything you do with the dog (of course with the obvious exceptions of cleaning up after the dog) then they should grow up together with a healthy respect for each other.

My Son was 3 1/2 when we had the first of the dogs we have now. I involved him in absolutely every aspect of living with the dogs, including training and feeding. He learned not to pull their tails, their fur, not to see if their ears come off, or if their eyes pop out etc (and all the other stuff kids do without thinking). Now I can take the dogs to the park with my Son and any one of them will run and play with him. I know he is perfectly safe with them playing (although they're never out of sight in such circumstances) and I know they'll follow him anywhere and everywhere & will look after him.

My Son and my dogs are the best of friends. They love each other to pieces and respect each other. I'd go so far as to say there are times (not often though) when it seems that he has more control over them at home than I do.

Your toddler is very lucky. For a child to grow up with a dog is possibly one of the best relationships that exist. It will seem like hard work to begin with but once you've established a routine, it will be no problem for you.

Good luck and I hope everything works out well for you.

The size of the mix you are getting may lead to accidents ,
Eyes open all the time as others have said ..
A toddler and a St Bernard mix will be plenty fun for you...lol

We are getting a golden retriever/st. bernard mix. The puppy will be 8 weeks old. My child loves dogs and animals so it shouldn't be too hard to teach her to respect them. Thanks for the advice everyone!! It's sure to be a learning experience.