Dog Community

Help with barking at kids!

Posted : 5/19/2006 11:12:27 AM

Lucy has one big problem - kids! I don't have kids, or know many people who do...therefore, she wasn't well socialized with kids as a pup. Now it's a

roblem, since kids will often approach us on walks and ask to pet her (I love that they ask). She immediately gets tense when she sees a child and backs up. If they keep coming in our direction, she will bark. I think she is doing this b/c she is scared, but to the kids/parents she does sound pretty fierce. I never comfort her, and instead tell her to be quiet, after I politely tell the child/parent that she is working on getting used to kids and it isn't a good idea for them to pet her. She is fine passing adults or other dogs.

Sometimes she listens to me, mostly not, and continues to bark. Problem is, this may be self-reinforcing, since she was able to "scare the kids away with her barking".

Does she not trust me enough to listen to me? How can I help her to be less reactive to kids? I don't know any kids to practice with, and I certainly won't "practice" on someone else's kids!

I would appreciate advice...it's to the point where I dread seeing kids coming our way. Sorry for the long post...

mutts

Posted : 6/11/2006 1:01:47 PM

I'm no expert, but backing up and barking sounds like a fear issue to me, too.

The booklet "The Cautious Canine" by Patricia McConnell really helped me with my dog#%92s fear of kids. It explains how to work through fear problems step by step. It's available at some pet stores and online bookstores.

My girl came from a shelter, and I don#%92t know whether she wasn#%92t socialized to kids or had a bad experience, but whenever she saw a child under 7 or so she#%92d tuck her tail under and try to bolt in the other direction.

Since I don#%92t have kids, when I started out working with her we did it near an elementary school#%92s fenced playground, where I could control the distance between her and the children. The fence also made it possible for me to relax enough to work with her confidently.

It took a lot of time and patience, but she#%92s now able to walk calmly past kids. She#%92ll even take treats from quiet and well-behaved children in the pet store now, though she#%92s still frightened of the ones that scream and stomp around – we turn and walk away from those. But she#%92s even able to do that calmly now.

I still make it a point not to allow very young children to interact directly with her, though – kids that age simply don#%92t have the self-control to reliably interact with a dog in a nonthreatening manner.

Also, unfortunately, not all parents educate their children about dogs, and some parents even allow their toddlers to run ahead in public places out their sight. Whenever you#%92re out in public you#%92ll always need to stay alert and to act to protect your dog from aggressive children if necessary – even up to physically blocking the child#%92s access to your dog, to avoid an incident that may reinforce the dog's fear, and of course for safety's sake.

Hope this helps – best wishes to you & Lucy.

Xerxes

Posted : 6/11/2006 8:49:35 PM

I think it's a gradual process, but you can try this: whenever kids are around ( a short distance away) and she's not reacting give her a favorite treat and lots of praise. Then move on, that lesson is done. Keep doing the "no reaction around kids=treats and love) while slowly reducing the distance between her and the kids. Eventually, unless there are other issues involved, she should be able to tolerate kids in the immediate vicinity.

After that you need to decide how you want the interaction to proceed, or if you want to proceed with it at all. I personally won't let any children near my dog without a parent right there. No question about that. My guy will tolerate some kids but not all of them. But boy would he like to chase 'em and give 'em "what-fer" sometimes.

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/12/2006 7:17:15 AM

Borrow a well behaved child and arm him/her with some treats that are large and easy to see. Keep the child 3-4 feet away from the dog, but say "hi - it's a kid" or something like that, in a cheery voice. At that moment, the child should toss the treats on the ground in front of the dog. Dog learns that kids are ok - they are treat dispensers! But, dog also learns that the reward always comes on the ground, so they don't start leaping up at kids - instead, they start looking down...