please help! Dog snapped at visiting child

[Cynthia Whitfield]

A woman came here today with her child to talk about doing some housework for us. We are overwhelmed right now for a variety of reasons. She brought her daughter along with hearer. She was about seven years old. She loves animals and wants to be a vet. She let Simba come up to her, smell her, and then really seemed to enjoy her petting and scratching behind the ear. Then he ran around a few times and I feel like such an idiot because I told her he wanted to play chase with her, That is what her usually means. He came back out and she ran around slowly and then stopped for him to pet her. I was thinkingabout how good she was with pets just before he snapped at her, coming within less than an inch from her fingers. We were all watching (my husband was there too), and we were completely surprised. I know I should have taken him straight to time out, and I don't remember what I said.

I am very disturbed by this behavior. A couple of times before this he snapped at my disabled son, but that was when we was trying to get something from him he shouldn't have, or got under the table with him. What should I do. Please help! Maybe he is too aggressive for us. He is a year and a half old.

Cynthia

[Stella]

You might want to post this in the Training group for more responses. I don't think he is "aggressive", but there need to be boundaries in place for him and children. Teach him to exchange objects - trade up for something better - so that he doesn't always anticipate something being taken away. I started this way with my two and can now take anything off them without a problem. Children need to learn to respect his space and not crowd him. Rather than allowing chase type games, I would only allow very structured interactions. Maybe no playing in the house, he has to be calm and on his matt when children are around? Outdoor games, supervised by an adult, where you are in control of the situation such playing fetch (as long as gives the ball back) might be better. He needs to learn that children are associated with good things, so reward him for calm quiet behaviour when they are around. I found it helpful to learn about dog body language, there are always signs something is about to happen, but sometimes they are really subtle. That way you'll be able to pick up earlier that something is about to happen. You might also want to speak to a good reward based trainer for advice. Hope this helps!!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I agree with Stella.  And "Chase" is never a good game for a dog, in my un-expert opinion. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really believe that this "chase game" created way too much excitement which for most dogs leads to behavioral issues.  When they get excited like that they revert to acting like "crazy puppies". I do not think this signals that your dog is aggressive.  You will need to manage his environment to prevent situations of excitement.  Please keep your son from going under the table with the dog, especially if he is guarding or trying to take a resource.  That sounds like a recipe for disaster for most dogs.  These don't sound like major issues.  I have a Doodle who is now five and can't handle any excitement...it brings out the worst in him.  If the grandkids are here and being calm, then he can be free to interact with them.  If they are playing games that involve moving around or running he is gated in another room.  I would never allow any child to take something away from my Murphy, and that includes my own disabled son.  My Murphy has been trained that I am the leader and he must always do what I say...so I'm the one who would take a resource from him.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I know this is worrisome, but I feel it can be managed if you take the lead. You have now had two troubling incidents, so you know this is a problem. First of all, the idea that all Doodles love all children and animals is wrong. ALL dogs need to be monitored around children.  You already know telling the child to chase your dog was not a good idea. You can fix this. The first thing I would do is find a great trainer in your area who can work with you on recognizing the signs your dog is giving you and what you can do to prevent this in the future. Personally, until that happens, I would separate your dog and remove him from the situation when you have anyone new over, especially small children. It would be far better to set him up for success by crating him than to let him run amok and bite someone. Please get help now for this dog and don't give up on him. He is young and truly this was not his fault. It is up to us, as the dog owners, to protect our dogs in new situations and to take the lead so that the dog knows we are in charge. I know this is easier said than done! Also, go back and find discussions written by Jane, Guinness, and Murphy in the Training group. She had similar issues with her Murphy and her advice will help you in dealing with your dog. Good luck!

I just looked above and see Jane responded.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I don't think SImba is aggressive, at least not based on this, but you didn't mention how much training he's had or if you can take things away from him, etc. But I wouldn't give up on him because of this but if you're not sure how to work through it, or you feel uneasy, you should work with a trainer. There have to be boundaries where children and dogs are concerned because they don't always understand one another and he's very young.  I agree with the advice others have given you.

[Cynthia Whitfield]

Thank you everybody for your comments and advice. This all happened two days before we e off to Disneyland and I checked and didn't see the replies. We just got backs home today. At Disneyland, they were having troubles with the wi-fi and I still didn't see your answers! All this time Simba was at a small kennel, and we pick him up tomorrow morning, I will take everybody's advice. It was very alarming to me to think we might have to give him up because of aggression, but from what I read here, that should not be the case.

I appreciate all of you so much. I spend lots of time reading other posts here, but haven't posted much myself. We pick up Simba tomorrow. I think the most challenging thing will be his dealing with my very intellectually disabled and very loving son, who , doesn't understand when Simba needs his space. I have repeatedly told him not to take things from Simba he should not have himself, but come and tell me. He doesn't seem to remember this very well, but when he does I really praise him! I have to admit I imagined my son Jalen would have fewer problems with Simba, and even thought I could train him as a service dog. I know now that what may happen is that Simba becomes a good companion dog for Jalen with lots of support and attention from the rest of the family.
And if I have figured this out, here is a recent picture of Simba.