Dog Community

Fear of children

Posted : 3/14/2010 9:30:57 PM

I have a Newfie. He is currently around 20 months old, has been neutered. From a training and socialization in different environments point of view, he is very good...except with children. We don't have children so we understand we need to socialize him with kids. Since he first got home around 12 weeks old, we took him to many different places, including meeting children. All was fine until when he was six months old and starting the fear stage, suddenly he barked at children and was nervous about them. So we spent few months in re-socializing him with kids, took him to Santa Claus parade etc. And he was getting all good with kids....till around 13 months old. Again, his fear of children re-surfaced. This time is much tougher because he is now more assertive (and braver) and much bigger. We got in touch with a very very good canine behaviourist. And we have been working together for few months now. Luckily he is still at the stage of warning barks and nothing else. We use clicker training and counter conditioning type of methods. Definitely there's sign of improvement. For example, we were in a salon and there's a kid just couple feet away. Before he would bark his head off, now he just did not care whether the kid cried or yelled. Few weeks ago, I even took him to a friend's place that have two small children. In general, he did quite well. But here and there, there's still set back. Such as today, we were in an office building reception area. There was a toddler with his dad walked in. The toddler started jumping up and down. Then my dog barked at the kid. (Embarrassed!) I know therapy such as this takes long time. My trainer told me she has been working with another client with similar issue and it took the owner one whole year to rehab the dog. What do you think? Anyone knows any success story?

calliecritturs

Posted : 3/14/2010 9:54:17 PM

It takes a LONG time -- When we got Billy at the age of 5 we truly thot he was going to be awesome with kids. We saw him with a little boy -- a handicapped child and Billy was incredible.

We didn't know til later he'd been abused in FOSTER CARE by a couple of little blonde girls -- his ears were sore then and apparently they'd make a dive for him, hands outstretched and squealing HE'S SOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE and would go right for his ears.

The first time we saw him wtih a GIRL O ..... M .... G. He turned in to CUJO.

We got him to train for pet therapy. It broke my heart (quite literally).

He fine with SOME children. It really does narrow down, with him, to this little blond girf thing.

We have been working on it SINCE (almost 6 years). You just keep working on it, you keep exposing him **VERY VERY VERY CAREFULLY** to kids in situations where you can control it. You intercede EVERY time -- you don't let kids just walk up to them and get in their face.

Billy is not bombproof with kids today ... but he is FAR better and every meeting isn't a nerve jangling event. But *I* have learned to be more assertive and say "no, you can't touch my dog".

That truly breaks my heart -- but I've had to learn to do what's best for Billy

Liesje

Posted : 3/14/2010 10:11:58 PM

My Kenya has had some bad experiences with really little kids so for now, I just do not allow them near her. If we are out walking and a toddler comes screaming over "DAAAAAHGEEEEEE!" I put myself between them, even grab the kid if I have to and say, "no touching the doggie!" To be honest it's not something I've really made an effort to work on. The dog has other issues so I'm not really keen on intentionally exposing her to things that stress her out. Little kids are just so unpredictable, it's not like worth with a "strange" adult where you can coach them while training the dog. You ask a kid not to touch the dog's face and instead they jump on the back or pull the tail. Ugh.

glenmar

Posted : 3/15/2010 5:31:42 AM

I'm afraid of little kids!! They scream, jerk around and make all sorts of wierd noises. And I raised two of my own so they aren't a totally foreign concept!! LOL!

Yes, it sounds like you are on the right track, but it will take time.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/15/2010 8:45:44 AM

Maybe not in your case, but in many cases, dogs develop a fear because people think the dog should like kids. Kids are scary to dogs that don't encounter enough of them in controlled circumstances, but the humans don't notice (ever notice how some parents are "deaf" to their kid screaming or running around a restaurant?). So, the dogs are left to fend for themselves to get the little buggers to go away, and the way they do it is to alarm bark, growl, snap, etc. Those are all "distance increasing signals" that we then tell the dog are "wrong" by saying "no" or "quiet" without helping by getting him out of the situation and working on socializing in a different manner. I would be willing to bet that the behaviorist is using some techniques that have you working at the *dog's* comfort level at first so that all the experiences that the dog has are good. Sort of like building up lots of deposits in the "I like kids" bank, in preparation for the one time there's a need to make a withdrawal (oops, scary kid caught us off guard).

NewfieMom

Posted : 3/15/2010 2:01:33 PM

So true. I took BonBon (my dog) to my friend's house. I told the kid not to pet BonBon because he is still learning about children. Next thing I know, the kid bearhug the dog from the back. And we were watching them like a hawk. The kid basically walked in a total different direction, out of the blue, turned around and climbed up on the dog. Ugh! for sure. Thank god we were so closed by to pull the dog away.

NewfieMom

Posted : 3/15/2010 2:06:49 PM

Hi Calliecritturs, Thanks for sharing your story with me. It's like feeling I am not fighting the battle alone. I was also thinking to get a Newfie so my dog can be a therapy dog. Oh well, even though he is good with everything, the fact he does not like children won't work. Kudo to you to continue helping Billy. He is so lucky to have you. My dog is getting better, but I don't think he will become a dog that just loves kids. But as long as he is learning not to react to children unprovoked, this is all I wish for.

tiffy

Posted : 3/15/2010 7:07:50 PM

I do not have kids and my close friends don't either. So Tootsie has had minimal contact with kids. She does not like screaming, jumping kids either. While on walks, I just tell kids that shes not used to kids and keep walking. Kids are not something that she must endure, so its not an issue with me.