She is in dog training. We have kids coming to the house alot. So I want her to behave when they come over. The trainer said a lot of dogs aren't good with small children and kids in general. How can I get her to be comfortable and good with kids? Do I have to lock her away every time a kids comes over?? I don't want someone to get hurt in the process.
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If there is ANY doubt in your mind, Wini should be crated when small children are in the house. Some dogs have more prey drive than others.Shepherds and other herding breeds usually have alot of it.Children act a lot like prey, squealing, running, erratic behavior.You should not be letting children pet her when she is cowering and running away. She is letting you know she is uncomfortable in the situation, and she needs to trust that you will keep her safe,and most importantly you need to keep children safe. She may be better with kids when she is very reliably trained, she may mellow with age, she may get better with constant positive exposure to children, or she may never be good around them. Until you know for sure, do not put her in a situation where she can bite. You may have to get a behaviorist in addition to your trainer as well.
Service Dog Training: Training Your Dog To Perform Human Tasks
- Just to be on the safe side, you should keep her away in a separate room when kids are over. Once the dog training is over, have her around the kids but keep her muzzled until you start to see improvements in the behavior. Please teach the kids how to interact with the dog.
It is wrong to not take precaution and irresponsible when you know for a fact that your dog is snapping at children. - A lot of dogs aren't comfortable around kids because they're loud and hyperactive and unpredictable.
Does she actually go after the kids or is it only when they go after her? With many dogs they'll be just fine if you teach the kids to leave them alone, then the dog doesn't feel so threatened. - i think you should practice a with a dog when it doent bark and and act bad give it a treat praise it i dont think u should lock her away theyre never learn like that once u have confindence in ur dog your dog shouldnt act bad
- fill a bottle of water and when she does that squirt her with water
and thentell her NO and when shes good give her a treat and tell
her good girl. thats the way i trained my puppy.. goodluck :) - What do you do when she acts out like this? You CAN'T punish her. See, she's a fear reactive dog. The kids make her anxious, so she tries to remove herself from them. Then if she's forced to stay near them or if she's punished for the way she's behaving, then she'll begin lashing at out them. She's trying to keep the scary monstrous kids away because not only are they loud and fast, but for some reason she doesn't understand, she keeps getting punished when they happen to be around. So, she's trying to get away from them, and if/when that doesn't work, she's trying to actively get *them* away from *her.* Instead of scolding or otherwise punishing her, if she's reacting, just calmly and silently remove her from the situation.
Yes, for now, always keep her away from the kids! There is *nothing* to gain by setting her up for disaster by keeping her out with the children. Set her up for success -- prevent an accident from possibly happening in the first place. If she really likes being out with you, though, you can use this to your advantage. If you silently and calmly lead her away and separate her from you every time she's reactive, she'll slowly learn that acting out will result in separation.
What exactly about the kids triggers her anxiety? Make sure they're being CALM in the home. You have to explain to them that they have to quiet, slow-moving and calm around your dog! And obviously, she doesn't want them touching her, so simple: DO NOT let them go up and pet her. Set the rules in your home! Kids must leave her alone and be calm if she's in the room.
In a *controlled* way, you can have her interact with kids. Begin with the calmest, obedient child you know. Have your dog on the leash (just in case), and just exist in the room together. Don't force the dog to go near the kid if she doesn't want to! Take baby steps. Tiny, little baby steps. Reward her with her absolute favorite food for being "brave" around the child, and don't rush it. Slowly work up to the child and dog being able to be close without incident. When the dog is 100% comfortable with the current step, advance to the next step. Switch the kid for another and start over. With tons of kids who are all calm and leave her alone, she'll be able to form the generalization that kids are okay. I'm sure she'll never love them, but you just need them to be able to coexist without anyone getting hurt.
Oh, and if this behavior just began out of the blue recently, bring her to vet. Have them run a tick titer and full six-panel thyroid test to rule out a medical cause.
Always reward her excellently for doing what you like. If she's willing to take so much as a step toward a child (even from a far distance), reward her. And don't skimp. This isn't the time to use kibble as treats, go for something like chicken, hot dog, cheese, whatever will work best.
Mind your calming signals!!
http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/calming…
http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.ph…
Try reading these books for more help.
http://www.amazon.com/Cautious-Canine-Pa…
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Kids-Dogs-W…
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dog-Understan… - Well we do not know if your dog snaps out of fear, excitement, bad breeding, had a problem with children in the past..
Here are suggestions that may help but a professional behavior person would be best so they can see the interaction that I am just guessing at.
First when children are going to approach by running bell or knocking dog needs to sit and stay position, when person enters you go to the dog say "KID" or whatever word and hand the dog a nice treat. Do this every time so the dog will associate children with great things instead of bad.Then let the dog rise of course.
SECONDLY. Never let a child approach her, pet her, hover over her when she is comfortable let her come to a young person sniff and leave so she doesn't feel threatened. Making sure she has a safe and secure place when she doesn't want bothered. A crate opened is great for her with a sheet over the top and a little on sides so she can hide if she wants to. If not she can approach a child sniff,,children needs to stand sideways not staring at the dog..YOu need to have control of the dog without being nervous feeding the dog bad energy.They sense nervousness. If the dog accepts a child by sniffing and walking or standing hand dog another treat and say child..get about the business. Do not put the dog in a situation where it can hurt a child, where a child can hurt it, where children will run or be loud and playful or wrestling around she is not able to at this time to cope like that.
As always tho a professional may well be the answer to your prayers if you want a well behaved dog who may learn to cope with children before it becomes more aggressive.
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