My daughter passed from a drug overdose and left a 5 and 3 year old. She was a single mom. My husband and I are now their caregivers. When my grandchildren act out I hug them. It calms them right down. I think hugging them and Reassuring them that everything will be OK is what they need.

So sorry to hear you all are going through so much. When the attachment between mother and child is disrupted, it is very traumatic for a child. Seeing as she is very young, she will not have the internal resources to deal with this on her own and will have many strong emotions she doesn’t know how to deal with. If there is any way to get to into a child counselor for play therapy, this would be of great benefit to her. Hopefully, the counselor can also provide specific feedback on how her family can help to support her during challenging behaviors. Of course you don’t want to stop seeing your sweet granddaughter, so finding a place to put the dog for awhile when she comes over sounds like it would be in everyone’s best interest. She is lucky to have a supportive caregiver like you who is looking out for her best interest.