Dog Behaviour Around Kids

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

hello there,

I am hoping to garner some advice from you folks with regards to the behavior of my 6 month old puppy, Bob.

First, some info about Bob - he is a 6 month old labrador/ban gaew cross (or so we have been told by our thai friend who gave him to us - I have never seen the dog nor bitch). He was the last in the litter of 7 and we got him at about 2 months old (so we are unsure as to exactly how old he is).

Initially, he was very shy, hiding a lot in the house. Over the months, he has developed a jovial personality and likes playing in the garden and exhibits very normal and healthy puppy behavior... when he has met other dogs, he has been very playful and never aggressive (sometimes he gets on the nerves of other dogs as he is so playful!) With our friends, who have known him since a pup, he is absolutely fine - no barking or anything untoward.

However, now he is getting a little older/bolder, when he meets new people or people who come to the house, he starts to bark and his heckles go up all along his back. He quickly settles down if he knows the people and, if he doesn't know them, he settles down with a quick command from me or wife. Most people simply ignore him (thai style) and once he has had a sniff, he relaxes and his perfectly fine with everyone. He remains distant, but stops the heckles and barking and becomes a pretty inquisitive dog.

The problem is with kids - 4 to 8 year olds. His initial barking/heckles obviously worries the little ones, and despite my words of assurance to them that he is just playful and inquisitive. Of course, most kids are very active (and love puppies), so their behaviour doesn't put the pup at ease. I ask the kids to be 'jai yen' and let him sniff them etc...

However, one time, in our house, my niece (4) came over with her mum and dad... I petted him and reassured him that these people were no threat and put out a non nervous energy... the adults were fine, however, when the niece's back was turned, my dog nipped the back of her hand! She was shocked and started to cry, whilst I punished the pup and sent him outside. I was unsure if this is due to playfulness, inquisitiveness, aggression or what.

Since then, he has met the niece again, again with barks and heckles. This time, I stroked him even more and held him whilst she came near and he sniffed... no problems after that. They ignored each other.

Yesterday, he met a new boy (a neighbour's son), 8. Again, the pup continued barking and raised heckles and acting in a (seemingly to me) aggressive manner towards the child. Remembering the nip he gave my niece and not wanting a repeat, I grabbed the pup, stroked him and reassured him that this kid was "no threat" but the kid obviously remained frightened which seemed to reinforce my pup's aggressive behaviour towards him. The pup eventually got bored and wandered off, but the kid remained in the tight clutches of his mum.

I am very keen to hear from you what action I can take with my pup in order to try and curtail any potential harmful action. Is it just a question of him being overly playful? Wishing to assert dominance amongst kids? (It is clear that myself and the wife are the alpha male/female). He is a lovely little dog who will, in the future, act as a guard dog on a new plot of land (so I am not totally unhappy with him barking at people and don't wish to 'dumb him down' in that respect).

Sorry for the waffling, but trying to give as much info as possible. If you have any ideas, I would appreciate it.

Many thanks

james

[Chaam local]

Children come to your house and you have to reassure the dog? There is something seriously wrong there. I don't know much about dogs, but I know enough not to trust any "words of assurance" from their owners...

[Pomthai]

You need to instill that all your guests especially children are higher in the pecking order than your dog.

A verbal reprimand and then you can remove him from the scene will quickly educate your dog what is or isn't acceptable. Literally if he miss behaves tell him no, and physically pick him up and put him somewhere else for a time an ignore him. Or have a leash tied somewhere and clip him on the moment he plays up. Release him once he's settled down. Repeat and repeat it will sink in. Make it also clear to your dog that the kids especially are your friends if you are protective towards the kids the dog will pick up on this.

Additional obviously under good supervision have the kids play with balls sticks etc with your dog, tell the kids what to say, have them talk to the dog, sit, stay, wait etc. Don't allow the dog to run / play until he's complied with the kids commands. He'll get it in the end.

My dogs have the same respect for me as they do my 5yr old daughter. They bark at every stranger and terrify the post man - all this is until I tell them that its ok. I'm happy with this status quo.

Good luck.

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Cheers Pomthai, I will do as you have advised. To Chaam local, I guess I meant "reassure" the dog as in to let him know that the people are "friendly" and that he is not to continue barking... if that makes sense?

regards

James

[bina]

a word of warning : h e has some bangkew in him. that means that his 'guarding' nature will be very pronounced, and 6-8 months is the puberty time of dogs, and when males especially will test boundries with the rest of the 'pack'. obviously timid passive humans such as little children will bear the brunt. because he has some bangkew in him i would check on the web and here in thaivisa for others who own that breed for suggstions as we've discussed in the past. bangkews are not golden retrievers nor boxers nor shitzus. they are basic primitive (in the dog breed sense) prototype dogs. therefore they are a bit more difficult to work with and most people have noticed they have problems iwth strangers although within the family there are no problems.

u must start to work with obedience and not 'waffle' at all with him, it must be made very clear what is permitted and what not permitted and also, he must learn, NOW , certain basic commands (its never to late and never too early to educate a dog to them): sit, settle, down, off, NO,stop, etc. ground rules must be layed and eeryone but everyone including neighbhors and visitors must adhere now to avoid problems later.

u will not dumb him down. he must learn now the difference between working /doing his guarding job of warning about intruders vs house behavior . it is natural that he will bark and bite intruders. it is up to u to help him differenatiate when and where and how and ON COMMAND, when to start, when to stop.

although he is a mix, the bangkew personality traits will be dominant (seems to happen in all the 'primitive breeds' -- the natural behavior breaks though the genetics of the 'house dog' personalities even of the lab/goldens. there were several good threads about this, try search and so will i...

pm nienke, (she's a pro, and a sponsor for thaivisa, its her job, dog behavior) before u start posting for a new home for the dog or child bitten.

pomthai: good advice but bangkews need a very very firm hand. ive nto owned one but owned our own similar breed here; same instincts same rules.

Children come to your house and you have to reassure the dog? There is something seriously wrong there. I don't know much about dogs, but I know enough not to trust any "words of assurance" from their owners...

the OP i aware of the problem and wants to rectify ....

one more thing: u may have to use a crate, tying up area, or bed area for teachng the word 'place/bed' for use when too many kids, too much noise commotion and u need to give him a time out/secure area. it should be somewhere that only he goes and no one bothers him there. train him to go to his 'bed/crate/den' everyday for short periods of time so then wehn needed, u can preemt and send him there util u leash him, then have him meet the kids, while u control his actions, on lead.

missed one important detail u gave: he's shy. often shy dogs are fear bites, attacking before getting attacked... really get ahold of a good pro trainer that works with dog behavior/modeling, ive suggested one person, if not in your area, she can advise....

this is only until u can start to really work with him, starting today...

good luck

bina

israel

[Nienke]

First of all, Bina already mentioned it, there's is Ban Keaw in your dog. Ban Keaw are known for their behavioral trait of being wary of stranger.

2. : your dog showed fear towards strangers when he just arrived as a puppy. With the people he knows now this fear has changed into trust (and most probably huge faithfulness as Ban Keaw dogs are know for that as well). But the fear remained to any other stranger.

3. : under NO circumstances should the fear (as that is the underlying feeling of this dog) be reprimanded. High chance that the dog will be reassured that it is the stranger who brings the unpleasant experience, resulting in an increase of distrust towards strangers and very possible an increase in fear-aggression.

4. : do NOT pick up the dog as it will place him in a higher position than the kids; it takes away the possibility of the dog to choose to flee and then can choose to fight in stead; and towards the dog you act strange each time there are kids/strangers in his neighborhood making his suspicion towards them even bigger.

5. : the dog is growing up (meaning he physically and mentally is getting stronger and more confident in defending himself as a result) and is learning that by showing aggression he can control his environment; a behavior you definitely do not want to develop.

I suggest you find yourself a dog behaviorist who works with positive reinforcement techniques and knows a lot about dog behavior development and -problem behavior modification. Avoid those who keep on emphasizing the leader-of-the-pack vs dominant stuff based on punishment such as physically and/or verbally forcing him to do things he doesn't want or fears to do, for the reason I've given above.

You're welcome to contact me, or you choose to find someone else on the net.