One would think that I would have freaked out when my new puppy Finnegan growled at my soon to be kindergartner. Well I didn't, and I say good for Finney, who prior to the "event" was very nearly asleep, and the only reason he growled was because he was inadvertently hurt by my precious darling daughter dishing out too much love in all the wrong places.

So what DID I do? I called my kid "off" that's what. I didn't make a big deal about it, and let Finn go back to sleep. I did make a promise to myself that starting first thing in the morning I will get started on what is sometimes called "pawsitive touch". That is where you hand
feed the dog extra special goodies while gently touching them all over and gradually working up to the force and unpredictability of a toddler. It is homework that all my group classes receive on the very first night of class and something that I have been remiss in starting in my own home.
Shame on me.
Please note! If you have reason to believe that your dog is aggressive-call a positive reinforcement trainer right away and do not try this at home!

I will also include my soon to be kindergartner in fun and yummy activities with the puppy to help him to make great associations with her.
She will help with plenty of kid proofing, and I will of course as always, supervise supervise, supervise!

Living with kids is tough on a dog, even dogs with sweet and wonderful temperaments like my new Collie Finn. What we need to do with all our dogs is to help them to make wonderful associations with kids, and for most dogs that revolves around lots of yummy food, playtime, and all around good times. Here is the cardinal rule of kid proofing.
Dogs who are good with kids LIKE KIDS!!!

Quick story.
Last week I had a phone call about a 3 year old protection breed who was threatening the 5 year old in the home, and the owners were very concerned. Now I do not give aggression advice over the phone, but I will play doggie detective and I ascertained that they had trained the dog using out dated dominance methods (just like the one you see on "that show on Tv").

To read more about why you should NOT "alpha roll" a dog, that is never ever pin them to the ground and make them submit, like I saw tonight on "that TV show" click here for an excellent article.

Now, I am not going to name the breed, because in this case the breed of dog really doesn't matter. What does come into play here is that these owners have a big and powerful protection breed and they have been led to believe that they need to dominate and force him into compliance and "show him who is the boss". This is just not so and what you may do instead is create dangerous dogs who seem to bite from virtually out of now where and for no reason.
What does matter is that for the last 3 years these owners thought they were doing right by their family, when in fact they have inadvertently created a dog who has made very bad associations with the child and maybe even fears it. At the very least, there is no love there.

Think of it from the dogs perspective.
Kid enters room. Let's assume the dog was getting a belly rub. Kid goes towards dog and stumbles and falls on dog. Dog growls, and next thing you know the dog is pinned to the floor by well meaning parents. This is TERRIFIFING for a dog and it is not something that dogs do to each other unless they mean to kill. All this dominance bull is based on flawed studies of wolf packs. Would you go to the zoo to watch chimps to learn how to discipline child?
Next time kid comes in to the room, dog is weary and on edge. Owners notice this and give it another dose of '"whose the boss". From that moment on things may never have been the same for the dog, who has no reason to like, or trust or want to be around this child. To the dog, this child brings scary times along with dose of sharp pain.
But why the sudden change in the dog's behavior? There could of course be a medical cause, and I advised the owners, as I always do, to visit the Vet and let the Vet know about the increasing aggressive displays and rule out any possible medical condition. But it is more than likely that they are now seeing the mature dog. It is not uncommon for dogs to go through many changes on their way from youngster to maturity, and to get increasing more aggressive over time, especially if not treated properly.
As an aside the owners have an electric fence and the dog is outside by himself or with the kids with no adult supervision. This is a serious red flag and one that I alerted them to, and they told me they will not change this. Dogs exhibiting aggression have no place outside by themselves,on an electric fence. Period. I don't much like them anyway, but in this situation no electic fence, no way, and this is a no brainer!
No surprise that they didn't want to hear this either.

What is the prognosis for this dog?
The prognosis for this dog and the five year old boy is not very good I am afraid because they decided against positive training and instead found a trainer who will keep on using harsh forceful methods (as seen on TV). They want no part of positive reinforcement. A lesson we learn in pet rescue early is that you can't save them all and at this point, I doubt I would go to the house even if I was begged, because I know in my heart and soul, that this family will revert to what they have done in the past, and I don't want my name on that type of situation.
Trainers are only as good as the people carrying out what we teach them.

As for my sweet puppy, let's just call this a case of practicing what I teach. I WANT a dog who loves kids and who will let kids know that they have hurt him or that he is uncomfortable. Finney reacted normally and he certainly was not punished for doing so.
Let us not forget that all dogs have the potential to bite and it is our job to teach them how to peacefully coexist with us.

To read an old blog about growls directed towards other dogs click here.

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