Puppy growled at small child

Mahoganybay

Mahoganybay

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My lovely little Cockapoo Buddy growled at a small child today in our local garden centre.

We were eating lunch with Buddy lay on the floor on his lead when a small child of about 2 years old came over on her own. She came towards us in a jerky arms out way that toddlers do & Buddy barked at her. I moved him around the other side of my legs out of the way and asked the little girl to not to stroke him.

I could feel him growling against my foot. :( :(

This happened a few weeks ago in the park when we were sat minding our own business and a young boy of about the same age came bounding over. On that occasion Buddy only barked, no growling.

What would you guys do next, I don't want this to escalate, shall I call in an expert at this stage? Buddy is 9 months old.
 
It is his way of vocalising that he is uncomfortable - rather a warning growl and the child back off than the dog tolerate it for ages then suddenly snap. If he isn't used to small people it would be an idea to get him desensitised to them and asociating them with pleasure rather than fear.

ETA - a pup growling when they are unsure does not mean they will turn into a vicious dog, don't worry. He's letting you know he needs a bit of help.
 
Mahoganybay said:
My lovely little Cockapoo Buddy growled at a small child today in our local garden centre.

We were eating lunch with Buddy lay on the floor on his lead when a small child of about 2 years old came over on her own. She came towards us in a jerky arms out way that toddlers do & Buddy barked at her. I moved him around the other side of my legs out of the way and asked the little girl to not to stroke him.

I could feel him growling against my foot. :( :(

This happened a few weeks ago in the park when we were sat minding our own business and a young boy of about the same age came bounding over. On that occasion Buddy only barked, no growling.

What would you guys do next, I don't want this to escalate, shall I call in an expert at this stage? Buddy is 9 months old.
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He is only young and needs gentile handling, he must have felt threatened, he did nothing wrong and maybe more walks in public places would get him more used to strangers around.

*Quite honestly what was the parent thinking of let a 2 year old wander away without supervision, stupidity comes to mind, I never let my son wander away as you need eyes at the back of your head with children, this is how kids can get lost or be abducted, a 2 year old should never be out of sight or on a harness or in a pram* What happened to the old phrase parents used to tell their children " Never walk over or touch to a strange dog and always ask if it is OK or safe to touch the dog"


Has buddy been to puppy classes?? have you go a friend who has children and maybe their dog and you can sway dogs for a while so he gets used to children who are not family
 
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EQUIDAE said:
It is his way of vocalising that he is uncomfortable - rather a warning growl and the child back off than the dog tolerate it for ages then suddenly snap. If he isn't used to small people it would be an idea to get him desensitised to them and asociating them with pleasure rather than fear.

ETA - a pup growling when they are unsure does not mean they will turn into a vicious dog, don't worry. He's letting you know he needs a bit of help.
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Completely agree, I am almost glad he gave a warning, I am now alerted to the fact that he felt anxious, so will work on it.

He isn't used to small children, so will have a think on how I can get him a bit more socialised with them.

Thanks very much for your reply.
 
TYSSANDI said:
He is only young and needs gentile handling, he must have felt threatened, he did nothing wrong and maybe more walks in public places would get him more used to strangers around.

*Quite honestly what was the parent thinking of let a 2 year old wander away without supervision, stupidity this is how kids can get lost or be abducted, a 2 year old should never be out of sight or on a harness or in a pram* What happened to the old phrase parents used to tell their children " Never walk over to a strange dog and always ask if it is OK or safe to touch the dog"


Has buddy been to puppy classes?? have you go a friend who has children and maybe their dog and you can sway dogs for a while so he gets used to children who are not family
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I agree, that he felt threatened, he is used to walks in public places and is always such a friendly little dog, but he his un-used to small children. I unfortunately don't have any friends with small children, will have a think about how I can socialise him with them.

And yes, I have a grown daughter and I would never have allowed her to approach a strange dog, I had to ask the small child not to come near Buddy on a number of occasions, all the while her parent was enjoying her lunch. ��
 
Mahoganybay said:
My lovely little Cockapoo Buddy growled at a small child today in our local garden centre.

We were eating lunch with Buddy lay on the floor on his lead when a small child of about 2 years old came over on her own. She came towards us in a jerky arms out way that toddlers do & Buddy barked at her. I moved him around the other side of my legs out of the way and asked the little girl to not to stroke him.

I could feel him growling against my foot. :( :(

This happened a few weeks ago in the park when we were sat minding our own business and a young boy of about the same age came bounding over. On that occasion Buddy only barked, no growling.

What would you guys do next, I don't want this to escalate, shall I call in an expert at this stage? Buddy is 9 months old.
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it's really not his fault many dogs are wary of small children they are unpredictable so naturally dogs can get worried about them running towards them, I can't believe people allow their small children to run around and just approach strange dogs it's so irresponsible. If I am out in public I never let children touch my dog she is wary so just not worth the risk and I don't want to put her in situation she is worried about, I don't have children so she has not had much contact with them, unfortunately some dogs are just not keen on being around small children.
 
My youngest doesn't like small children. I think they are too squeaky and unpredictable. Therefore, I assume she isn't child proof and is treated as such. I too can't understand parents who let their children wander off unsupervised either.
 
I think you need to make changes here, this is a dog forum so everybody is on your dog's side but in the real world there are lots of children and if your dog bit a child it would only end one way. Either get him socialised with children to the point where he doesn't growl or bark at anyone, whatever their size or keep him away from public places such as garden centres. There will always be children at such places and they should be able to be safe there as well.
 
I agree with Bonny here, much as the child was in the wrong at 2 years old they can't be accountable. IMO by hiding him by your foot you confirmed that there was a threat and made it worse. I would have asked small child to give him a stroke or a tit bit while supervised (like you holding his head, gently). I am sure you could find a small child to feed him if you looked around, someone at dog training might have one you could borrow?
A toddler went to stroke my young lab while I was waiting outside a shop for my son and fell and headbutted the dog. Dog had never seen such a small child and felt she was under attack but just freaked out and avoided, that would be the reaction I would want to see.
ETA when she was younger she used to growl at things she didn't understand, it was important not to reward that so we used to briskly do something else, no comforting, no acknowledgement at all.
 
I'd go with Bonny - don't faint, Bonny ;) - and err on the side of caution. If it were me, I would not put him in that sort of position again and do any socialisation at a safe distance.

I personally would not take a risk with someone else's child or give a dog the benefit of the doubt, if the dog then expects food from a child and moseys up to a child who doesn't happen to have any food, you could be putting them both at risk. Purely my opinion though.

I would also seek professional advice and not rely on advice of people who have not seen the dog.
 
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bonny said:
I think you need to make changes here, this is a dog forum so everybody is on your dog's side but in the real world there are lots of children and if your dog bit a child it would only end one way. Either get him socialised with children to the point where he doesn't growl or bark at anyone, whatever their size or keep him away from public places such as garden centres. There will always be children at such places and they should be able to be safe there as well.
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No, I completely agree, as much as it was irresponsible of the parent to allow thier child to come over to my puppy, it is my responsibility to ensure that he doesn't react in this way in future.

He is so loving and happy friendly little dog I was very surprised to hear him growl today. This is something I will be addressing as part of his education, however I would never ask someone's child to be part of that education.


Many thanks for your reply.
 
I had a non child friendly dog before my present one and was advised that children could be asked to feed from a distance ie gently toss a treat to try to desensitise her.. Might need a slightly older child though to participate calmly..

Fiona
 
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