Aggression Toward a Child
Dear WOOF:
We adopted our dog from the Golden Rescue in July. About
a month after that he started to show aggression towards my friend's
3-year old girl. This is the only person he has ever shown any
aggression towards. She has been hostile to the dog; backing him in a
corner, pulling his ear, etc. He did not bite her but he did grab her
face with his teeth. Is there some training that is available to
change
his behavior towards this little girl? By the way, I also have a
3-year old, a 6-year old and an 8-year old who have not had any problems
with the dog.
Hello,
There are 2 aspects in your situation
that need to be addressed right away:
First, your dogs behavior toward
this little girl is not a sign that he needs more "training" per se. He is
reacting to what he considers to be a threat in a very normal canine way. The
way that this little girl had mistreated him is the problem, and is what really
needs to be addressed first and foremost. The following link:
http://www2.the-kennel-club.org.uk/safe_and_sound.html
goes
directly to an interactive game that helps both kids and adults alike,
understand the do's and don'ts when it comes to interacting with a dog.
All of the adults involved in the situation (including the girls
parents)should play, and then the kids, with parents present for questions and
discussion. Children of that age are short on empathy, so helping them to
understand that the dog acted that way because he was hurt and very frightened
by her behavior toward him may help. Teaching kids how to properly interact
with a dog, and supervising them as parents can prevent problems like this,
and is critical to a successful home life, which includes the family dog
I know that you did not intend for this to happen, but by allowing your dog
to be treated this way, he's now at risk to do more damage if a next time is
allowed to happen, not to mention the risk to this little girl, and possibly to
other young children. He does not process his environment, including kids, like
we as human being do. Being cornered, and pinched on his ears, left him with no
choice but to see this little girls approach as a direct threat to his
well-being from which he must defend himself.
With no one advocating for, and intervening on his behalf, he has
already begun to learn that his best defense is a good offense - which finally
came in the form of an inhibited bite. It is important to realize, that he very
well could have really hurt this little girl, but instead he gave the most
urgent of warnings to communicate once and for all that he frightened by her,
and wanted her to get away, and stay away from him!
So for starters, and from this point on, you and your entire family must
vow to be your dog's advocate, and intervene on his behalf to protect him from
being advanced upon by her, or any other child.
Although you say that your dog has no trouble with your children,
through his experiences with this particular little girl, he is at risk for
developing worrisome associations and behavior around them, and other small
children too.
He is still new to your environment and to the experiences he has had as of
late, so modifying his reaction to this little girl (and possibly to some degree
to other small children as well) is workable, but you must get started now.
Keep in mind though that the first step toward mending the situation
involves 100% supervision when she (and any other small kids are around) and
rules for them regarding interactions with the dog (be sure to play the
interactive game found at the link above!). From there, applying positive
reinforcement modification techniques will help him learn to feel better about
her being around him, rather than frightened.
It is very important that you seek the guidance of qualified behavioral
specialist who employs scientifically sound, positive reinforcement based
behavioral modification techniques, so that everyone stays safe,and
successful during the process.
Here is the link to a website and book on the subject of living with kids
and dogs, that I think you will also find helpful.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss the situation further. I'm happy
to help!
Thanks for writing.
Take Care,
Lisa Patrona, Dip.
CBST, CPDT-KA, ACDBC, AABP-CDT
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