Dog aggression towards children could be very serious if not tackled as we fear for our child’s safety. It can be linked to aggression to other types of people, or can be seen in dogs who are otherwise very friendly.

It can be seen:

• in the home. The dog displays unwanted behavior towards the children within the family

• with visitors to the home. The dog shows unwanted behavior to children who visit.

• outside. The dog is unhappy when walking past children. Unwanted behavior varies but will include nervousness, attempts to get away aggression ranging from tension and growling to attempts to bite.

Possible causes:

• Nervousness.

• Lack of socialisation. Children behave differently from adults and it is important that dogs learn what to expect.

• Bad experiences. Children can be rough and hurtful, whether or not they mean it.

• It could be that the dog objects to something, such as being handled more roughly around the tail, but adults know to read the signs and avoid this, whereas children are less observant.

Prevention:

In the home

• Do not leave children and dogs alone together. Supervise all interactions.

• Ensure that the children play calm and controlled games with your dog, under supervision.

• Avoid rough and tumble and highly exciting chase games which can get out of control.

• If children are visiting, be even more vigilant.

• Notice any warning signs and take precautions. Do not wait for the dog to show severe aggression. Notice any tension. Always take notice of a growl, and do not assume that your dog will not take it any further.

• Teach the rules to the children. They must always allow your dog his own space and peace and quiet when he wants it. They must be gentle and not tease or hurt him.

• Separate children and dogs at certain times, such as when the dog is eating or wants to sleep, or when the children are playing their own games.

Outside

• Socialise. Ensure that your dog has good experiences with children of all ages.

What to do if problems have arisen:

• For safety’s sake, keep your dog away from children.

• Seek advice immediately. Do not take any chances.

This problem is especially seen in:

• Dogs who are not familiar with children.

• Dogs in homes where the children are allowed to tease the dog.

• Dogs who have been under-socialised.

• Gentle, timid dogs who find children frightening.

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Dog Behavior – How To Cope With Dog Aggression To Other People

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Solving a dog jumping problem is easily resolved and managed if you will invest some time into training your dog in basic social greeting skills. First let us understand why dogs behave this way. Often dogs jump up as a greeting.  They want to get into our faces for some good old “primate” affection. They are saying, “Hey, I am here.” What is our normal reaction when a dog jumps up?  We either cuddle them, give them verbal encouragement or, when their jumping is unwanted, we physically push them away.  Any of these reactions by us achieves your dog’s desired objective, our attention. We have reinforced our dog’s behavior with our verbal or physical attention.  Because we are rewarding jumping, the behavior becomes stronger.

Smaller dogs are often more guilty of this behavior since the consequences of a small dog jumping up at you are not as annoying or dangerous as a large dog.  This is why small dog jumping often goes uncorrected. In addition, we often encourage puppies to jump on us because it is cute and makes them easier to reach. We forget that they may soon grow into a 75-pound linebacker. Then, after Fido has knocked us to the floor leaving his dirty paw prints all over us, the cute behavior that we encouraged quickly becomes an annoying and unwelcome canine habit.

After all, we invite dogs to share our human world so we have an obligation to provide them with fair and consistent guidelines and boundaries to ensure our four legged friends have good doggie etiquette.  Training your dog in basic behaviors has numerous benefits.  The most prevalent advantage is that it gives us an effective way to communicate with our dog. 

What is the practical application of all of this?  The easiest way to modify an unwanted behavior is to teach the dog an alternate, or incompatible desirable behavior, such as, in the case of a jumpy social dog, ‘Sit’.

So let’s look at our formula.

1. Teach your dog a solid sit behavior so when you say sit, the dog sits
2. From this point onwards, no jumping should be reinforced by anyone in anyway.
3. Now if doggie jumps, you turn your back to them and completely ignore the behavior. That means no eye contact, no verbal communication and no touching.
4. Your dog will quickly realize that the jumping behavior does not get them the attention they want. They will usually go into a default ‘Sit’ position while they consider their options.

By consistently following this simple formula, you have removed the reward gained by jumping and are teaching your dog that if they exhibit an alternative desirable behavior (sitting), they get the attention they want. Remember, be consistent and, over time, the jumping will cease.

Niki Tudge is the owner and founder of The DogSmith, America’s Dog Training, Dog Walking and Pet Care Franchise. To learn more about joining the DogSmith visit http://www.888dogsmith.com/franchise.html

Niki achieved her Canine Behaviorist Diploma in England and Dog Obedience Training Diploma in the US. Niki is an Endorsed member of the National Association of Dog Obedience Trainers and a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and The Association of Animal Behavior Professionals. Niki is also certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. You can reach Niki via email at NTudge@888dogsmith.com or www.888DogSmith.com

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