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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on July 15, 2008 at 11:23pm

Like you I would like to have my own kids some day :) What I've done with my dogs so far is whenever a stranger approaches, I tell them to lay down on the ground, step on the leash and then proceed to let the stranger or kid to pet my dog. This teaches my dog to be submissive around kids, so now they know that when little humans around, they need to lay down and wait to be petted.

A month ago, my friend brought his 9 months old son to visit and I was supervising the playtime, it was a learning experience for all of us, the baby tried to take a bite out of Vienna's fur and was quite fascinated by Mocha's ears :)

This is what I've learnt so far: control you dogs first, because when you step on their leash, they cannot jump or lunge. guide the kid's hand to pet the dog, avoid the mouth, eyes, ears and nub.

When a kid asked if its okay for them to pet your dog, always tell them to wait until you're ready, then give them the ok to come close.

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Permalink Reply by Little Bear on July 16, 2008 at 6:48pm

that's really quite brilliant. i had never thought of that. the bear is a jumper unfortunately and everyone loves that but i already cringe at the day he knocks down some sweet little baby cause my dork butt wants some sugar.

great idea, this actually solves a lot of my problems.

lol, you remind me of the ceasar millan for corgis. sweet, thanks sam!

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Permalink Reply by Sam & Shelby on July 15, 2008 at 11:24pm

Has Oakley ever bitten anyone or tried to? My puppy growls and nips but that's a completely different case. I guess in the dog world, what the girl did was interpurreted as another dog biting her ear. I think she should be fine as long as the people around Oakley are gentle. Little kids are reckless and might not know better. You might want to tell people to be careful when handling Oakley. I don't think that was grounds of aggression, but maybe just a warning. I'm not saying Oakley bad, I would never say that (because I don't know Oakley), I just think that what happened might have been misinturpurretation (did I spell that right?).

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Permalink Reply by Mochi The Corgi on July 16, 2008 at 12:03am

I think you should address it while it hasn't escalated to something much worse. If she growls at you over her bed or food ect. that resource guarding. Which can be dangerous. What you need to do is to get Oakley used to knowing that you will be around her food or bed. At puppy class they told us to start handfeeding your dog a little bit at a time, which eventually leads to you putting her hand in the bowl with treats or food and letting her eat it if she doesn't growl at you. But its something you have to practice everyday... Luckily Mochi isn't into guarding her food... she actually doesn't like to eat!! ha ha
About the kid you should have treats around kids. Every-time she lets the kid pet her give Oakley a treat. She should soon associate Kid=good (treats) and not bite or growl. But she might have just been surprised that someone grabbed her ear!
Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia & Timmy on July 16, 2008 at 12:17am

One of the things you can do is introduce treats when children are around. Have children offer her treats while she is sitting or on a down. You can walk and hang around playgrounds and when children approach, offer Oakley a treat. Do this every time. Always have treats in your pockets when you go for a walk, make it a rule. Pretty soon, if you do this consistantly, she'll look at you for a treat whenever children approach. She'll soon come to associate kids with treats. Also, remember that what you feel transmits down the leash to your dog. So if that is apprehension, she'll feel it as well.

The biggest challenge is getting dogs used to the swinging and flapping arms, high pitched squeals, and fast movement of toddlers. When Timmy was small , we invited ourselves to children's birthday parties, he even brought a gift. Then we hung around for about 30 minutes and left. We also hung out outside the local Safeway store and had everyone and anyone that wanted to pet him, do so. In his first couple of months he was introduced to hundreds of people and went to three birthday parties! LOL

Also, do a little educating of the children. Advise them, they should never look directly into a strange dog's eyes. Pet under the chin or on the shoulder, approach from the side if they can and ALWAYS ask first, or have parents ask, before petting a strange dog.

I've used these techniques with both my GSD's and Timmy. I swear that he gets more invitations to parties than I do!! Matter of fact when we march in the parade every year, quite a few of the kids now know his name.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on July 16, 2008 at 8:18am

I would be more concerned on her behavior around her food and bed. This is definitely a dog that is resource guarding which could lead to major issues if children were in the picture. Not sure if you have done any training but I would suggest it. I would also urge you to do a little reading about the NILF program. Oakley needs to "earn" her special things and relinquish them to you at your request. Her growl is her way of challenging you which should not happen. Remember this is how dogs communicate. Our response is the predictor of how they continue. She has learned if she growls you go away. You have just reinforced this behavior. My experience is that corgis generally do great with kids IF they have spent time around them and if the children are respectful. All too often we have corgis come into rescue when children come along. When they start crawling generally they will find their way to the dogs and explore with their hands ie, grabbing ears, legs and such. Some dogs are much more tolerant then others. Supervision is the key. As they begin to toddle and make noises many corgis do get excited. Again supervision is the ticket. I would also work with handling tolerances, holding her ears, feet and legs and praise her when she is accepting. Preparation before a baby comes will give you a much more successful outcome.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on July 17, 2008 at 9:11am

luckly none of my dogs have ever shown aggressin to anyone. Megan hates little kids but never shows aggression, if a kid wants to pet her megan will just sit there and stare at me like (get them off) but wen she gets tired of them she will walk away.

For strangers tho i will alway tell them to let them smell your hand and you can pet her on her back, until she gets more comfrtoble with them and they understand not to pull on her ears or poke out her eyes, then everyone feels a little better.

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Permalink Reply by alynne on July 18, 2008 at 12:31am

whenever i see childern on walks or my friends childern make her lay down before they can approach. she is very submissive towards childern now..my friends kid can pull her ears, stick her fingers in her eyes, try to pick her up and everything and she just trys to lick her to death. (i try to get my friends kid to be gentle but sometimes she gets rough)

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