My corgi hates children! Help!
Hey Everyone,
I have a one year old Cardigan who is perfect in every single way, except one MAJOR concern: he hates small children and babies. As soon as he is in close proximity, and especially if the child runs or makes a noise of any kind, our Russell will bark aggressively and even lunge forward! I cannot say if he would actually harm the child because we have never given him the opportunity to get close enough, and of course parents get quite alarmed and want us to get as far away as possible. This is of course a significant concern for us, because many of our friends and family have children, and we want to be able to bring Russell to parks, etc. where children will be.
Russell is in no way aggressive towards adults or other animals; in fact, he is very social and friendly towards anyone who is over 5 years old... It is the smaller, more unpredictable children that seem to make him anxious. He will even bark at small babies. Oddly enough, if he is interacting with another dog, and happens to come across a child, Russell seems okay. It's as though he follows the lead of the other, more well-behaved dog; or perhaps he is just distracted by playing that he can't be bothered by the child.
Any advice would be much appreciated. We want to be able to bring Russell with us everywhere we go, and trust that he will be well-behaved.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison Prasavath on
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I haven't had to personally deal with anything like this, but are your friends willing to help you out by bringing over their kids and you rewarding Russell for his good behavior when he doesn't bark or lunge at the kids? Noodles is more hesitant with younger kids and if they make too much noise or sudden movements, he will remove himself from the room they are in. As for babies, he loves to give them kisses and when they make any noise, he tilts his head and just stares at them. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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The only way to really fix it, as far as I know, would be to expose him to lots of children (gradually, of course) while providing lots of praise and rewarding for good behavior. You can start off with a friend or family member who can bring their child over for a visit.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I would invite people with kids over and have the children toss treats as they walk by at a good distance. Not too much the first couple times and then very gradually allow the child closer. Take your time. I find with our doberman that if I have her sit and do not allow the child to hug her she gets over her fear. (my grandson at age 2 bit her while hugging her so she is a little leary of children too)
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I was just working on this today with Luke actually. He's very unsure of young kids and barks really loudly at them, which of course usually freaks out the kid and parents because he sounds very mean when really he's just afraid.
I loaded up my treat pouch with super yummy treats and took him to the open house at my vet's office, and then Petco afterward. When we got there we just stood in the main area and observed people, and he got lots of treats for sitting quietly. If I saw a kid that looked interested in him I would ask if they would like to give him a treat, and showed them how to kneel down and offer the treat with an open hand. I started with older kids and worked my way down. I kept the interactions short and only let one older kid actually pet him. So he got a yummy treat from child, a "good boy!" and then we moved on to keep the interaction totally pleasant for him.
The only way to really "fix" the issue IMO is to expose him to more children.
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Permalink Reply by Jean on
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Hi
We're experiencing the same issue with our Sheamus. I was wondering if you have had much progress with Russell in addressing this issue? Overall I believe more exposure will help as per Jane's advice but any further advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Jillian McEwan on
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Hi Jean,
Slowly, but surely Russell is getting more comfortable with children. He rarely will bark at them now. I have found that increased exposure has been the solution for the most part. We also found it helpful to introduce Russell to a child when there is a dog present, since he will be distracted by the dog, and seemed to mimic good behavior.
Good luck!
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It's good to hear Russell is getting there. Will certainly keep persevering. And yes, good point John hehe.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Also watch the children very closely. If anybody sticks a finder in his eye, that won't help.
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Permalink Reply by Caitlin Randolph on
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hahaha right! I babysit 4 monsters and they were dog sitting a friends really mellow poodle. The 8 year old girl kept getting snapped at. Frankly, I'd snap at her to if she was roughly picking me up, chasing and pouncing on me, tugging on me etc. In fact, I really wish I could have bit them by now...
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