Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beca and Mishka on April 7, 2012 at 12:59pm

Anna Morelli and Snickmom - you really gave me food for thought here about interacting with children.  I also have been trying to desensitize my corgi to children (he barks at them and tries to move them like sheep, though he doesn't nip) and like Ludi, none of my local friends have children yet, so all our sessions have been at the mercy of strangers and playgrounds.

It's hard to manage a barking corgi, a scared child, and a worried parent all at once, but I think the biggest problem is my own mindset about the children and their parents.  It just feels so ... improper to interact with strangers and their children, like I am overstepping some important social boundary.  When we've worked in parks, Mishka and I are lucky if we're approached or looked at by one child in two hours, and these are busy playgrounds.  Tons of adults approach us - we're not scary-looking.  Mishka's flashy enough that we've even stopped traffic (college students have pulled over and gotten out of their cars to pet my dog).

Not having children yet myself and working full time, I hardly see children at all.  While I know most of my neighbors have children, they are NEVER outside and it seems like the few I run into are scared to death of dogs - they've never met me or my dog, but they cross the street to avoid us.

So maybe I have to be a little more outgoing, and practice what I'm going to say beforehand, so that crossing that social barrier is less stressful for me.  And maybe I have to start initiating interactions with children and parents who might not approach me first.  Because right now, the only children who approach us are the ones who come running and screaming and out of control.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on April 7, 2012 at 1:35pm

Thank you, Becca.  You can't effectively use the "My dog is shy" approach with a barking dog, but you can say " Her name is Mishka.  Wait until she's quiet to come and pet her.  (that will buy you time) She loves children and gets so excited when she sees them.  She's just a puppy. We are working on manners and being quiet.  Can one of you come up if she stays quiet?  Then someone else can try. Walk slow, that will help her not to bark."  Work separately on the "quiet" command, so she knows what it means.  If she can sit, that's great, but some young dogs are too excitable to sit.  Always have small children ( toddlers) pet the dog on the side of the body and  keep the head away from them.   You can keep your hand in the collar, or pass the leash under your foot and pull it tight enough that the dog cannot jump up.  Practice these techniques when you don't need them, so  they will be automatic in the moment of confusion.  Have fun with it!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 6, 2012 at 10:12am

Until Jack was about a year or so old, every time we met kids I would crouch down next to him and give him neck massages while cooing "gooood boyyyy" to him.  This did two things:  kept all four feet on the ground and his teeth (nippy puppies) off children, and allowed me to physically block any childish gestures that might be threatening.  As a result, he loves kids and when we walk away from interactions, he looks at me and grins.

Another thing I do is watch for any stress signs (tongue-flicking, an exaggerated look-away).   Kids running, laughing, jumping don't bother my dogs but you never know what actions might alarm them.  Since kids are unpredictable, I let my dogs tell me if they are starting to stress and either modify the situation or leave.  

Good luck!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ludi on April 6, 2012 at 11:04am

I will have to give this a try. Did you periodically let a calm child pet him? Or were all meetings strictly hands-off?

Ace doesn't give any calming signals until it's too late (e.g., the child is two steps away from his face) so for now I think I'm going to go by your idea of just starting off with the squat and massages.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 6, 2012 at 3:49pm

Jack was never afraid of kids (he was a very outgoing, bold and confident puppy) so we did that while meeting children, and the kids would pet him and fuss over him.  The idea was that first he would realize he needed to treat kids differently than adults, and secondly to protect both the kids and him from any bad experiences.  I still get down at dog-level with little kids (toddlers and infants).   We don't have kids so I made sure we met lots of them when we were out.  What I did when I was socializing is any time someone would look at the puppy and smile, I'd say "Would you like to meet the puppy?  We are socializing him."   It made people feel they were involved and helpful, and got lots of good responses.   

My guess is the breeder didn't socialize Ace much with kids.  Our breeder doesn't have many little kids around any more, so she said when she has a litter she makes sure she handles them they way a kid would at times, with abrupt movements, grabbing a handful of loose skin, etc so they realize that even people who move in funny ways are friendly.  

But some dogs are naturally more reserved than others, and those dogs don't like the way kids just run up into their personal space.   

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rachael & Waffle on April 6, 2012 at 1:23pm

Kids can be rotten.  I was trying to help a stray cat when one charged the cat from behind me and scared it off. :|  Good luck!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ludi on April 6, 2012 at 1:32pm

Ooooo I hate that. Where do kids get the idea that it's okay to try and scare the living daylights out of animals? I remember being a little girl and fearing the day I would ever get on a dog or cat's bad side. I always treated them with respect and love, even if they weren't mine. >_>

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Snickmom on April 7, 2012 at 2:22pm

We have stopped when we hear a parent say "look at the doggie" and said 'would you like to pet the doggie". We have also sat at a bench right next to the playground equipment. Just sat, let dogs and kids see there is nothing exciting going on. One time we passed a group with various ages of children. The oldest took our petting offer, the younger one was being urged to pet the dog, but was afraid of the sharp end (smart kid) when we turned Snickers around the toddler touched her back and then was soooo excited that he had touched the doggie, it was adorable!  You do have to be careful about approaching children, since you are a stranger and don't know if the child is afraid of dogs. We just stop and give them the option of approaching us. A treat might distract a barking dog and then they can be praised for being quiet. I like to give strangers- adults and kids, a treat to give Snickers to help her be more social, but have to warn them to use thier palm, because she removes fingers :)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ludi on April 7, 2012 at 2:57pm

Since my first post about this issue of Ace's, I've used the "bait him, kids!" technique to varying degrees of success. On some days, even with the kids behind a wire fence, Ace has so much tension knotting him up that he doesn't even sniff in their general direction, much less take a treat. I'm not sure what is the cause of his "off days" - he just sometimes has them.

I have also employed the "Would you like to pet him?" approach but usually the kids will either stare, or furiously shake their heads no and dart away. Worst case scenario is when the kid gets spooked after being addressed by an adult, then starts shrieking and running for Mommy. I think I've just been pretty unlucky with "chance encounters". Ace has recovered enough from his neuter surgery to go to the outskirts of the playground on Monday. I really hope that my being more positive and confident will affect Ace's outlook on kids. He really is the perfect size and temperament to be pet! I know that if he has just a few good encounters with kids, he'll come to love them.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page