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Aggression Toward a Child

Dear WOOF:

We adopted our dog from the Golden Rescue in July. About a month after that he started to show aggression towards my friend's 3-year old girl. This is the only person he has ever shown any aggression
towards. She has been hostile to the dog; backing him in a corner, pulling his ear, etc. He did not bite her but he did grab her face with his teeth. Is there some training that is available to change his behavior towards this little girl? By the way, I also have a 3-year old, a 6-year old and an 8-year old who have not had any problems with the dog.



Hello:

There are 2 aspects in your situation that need to be addressed:

First, your dogs behavior toward this little girl is not a sign that he needs more training. He is reacting to what he considers to be a threat in a very normal canine way. The way that this little girl has mistreated him is the problem, and is what needs to be addressed first and foremost.

The following link :

http://www2.the-kennel-club.org.uk/safe_and_sound.html

goes directly to an interactive game that helps us all understand the do's and don'ts when it comes to interaction between kids and dogs. All of the adults involved in the situation should play, and then the
kids. Sit down and discuss ways in which you can all help the dog, which should include the parents of this young girl.

Forgive me for being so bold as I know that you did not intend for this to happen, but by allowing your dog to be mistreated like this, you have put him in harms way. He does not process his environment like a human being does. An adult human being would not look at a 3-year-old as a threat to their physical well-being, right? But your dog, on the other hand, had no choice but to see this little girl as a direct threat to his well-being from which he must defend himself. With no one protecting him from mistreatment, his best defense is a good offense - which came in the form of an inhibited bite to her face.

It is important to realize, that he very well could have really hurt this little girl, but instead he gave the most urgent of warnings to communicate once and for all that he wanted her to stop what she was doing and get away from him. That's the good news here, so from this point on, you and your entire family must vow to protect your dog, and never allow mistreatment from this little girl, or any one for that matter, to happen again. Changing his behavior starts with changing the way he is treated.

Although you say that your dog has no trouble with your children, he may develop worrisome behavior around them too, which brings us to the next aspect of the situation; dealing with the way your dog feels
about this little girl, and possibly about 3-year-old children in general.

I can not outline a program in an email to you, as there are many variables involved that require me to get a detailed behavioral history and ask in depth questions of you directly.

It is very important that we deal with this issue now. He is new to your environment and to the experiences he has had as of late, so modifying his reaction to children is very workable, as long as we do the right things now.

Please contact me directly at 248-616-6500, or feel free to email me back. I am looking forward to helping you and your dog, so please contact me soon.

Thanks for writing.

Take care,
Lisa (Laney) Patrona,  Dip. DTBC, CPDT, CBC

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