Acclimate dog to children
- Thread starter tjaburke8
- Start date
What exactly do you mean by aggressive? In that situation I'd probably just do management and keep him separated from the kids with gates and doors. Perhaps desensitize him to a basket muzzle (though I'd still put him away in any situation you know he'll be uncomfortable in, it's not fair for him to have to endure it). With how young they are it will be hard to get them to control their behavior very well all the time, so accidents will happen.
You can certainly work on helping him feel better in chaotic situations. Practice being loud and rowdy at home. Run, scream, jump around, make it as authentic as you can. And all the while toss treats at your dog or have him eating a stuffed kong/other food treat while you do it. Make sure you're not being rowdy enough to trigger him to become aggressive, your rowdiness should be just under the level that would upset him so he can remain calm and in control of himself. When he is desensitized to that, you can get more rowdy. The issues with this are many though...he knows and trusts you, you're an adult, and even though you try you may not be a good enough "actor" to really seem like a genuine hyper kid in your behavior. So even if you do work to desensitize him, it would all just be to help him be a little more comfortable with the situation, it would not be enough to truly make him safe around the kids.
Since it's going to be a temporary situation, I'd just keep them apart. Toddlers and dogs are not a great mix to begin with, a dog who you know is uncomfortable with children being allowed around toddlers/young kids sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
You can certainly work on helping him feel better in chaotic situations. Practice being loud and rowdy at home. Run, scream, jump around, make it as authentic as you can. And all the while toss treats at your dog or have him eating a stuffed kong/other food treat while you do it. Make sure you're not being rowdy enough to trigger him to become aggressive, your rowdiness should be just under the level that would upset him so he can remain calm and in control of himself. When he is desensitized to that, you can get more rowdy. The issues with this are many though...he knows and trusts you, you're an adult, and even though you try you may not be a good enough "actor" to really seem like a genuine hyper kid in your behavior. So even if you do work to desensitize him, it would all just be to help him be a little more comfortable with the situation, it would not be enough to truly make him safe around the kids.
Since it's going to be a temporary situation, I'd just keep them apart. Toddlers and dogs are not a great mix to begin with, a dog who you know is uncomfortable with children being allowed around toddlers/young kids sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
you don't put an uncomfortable dog that gets aggressive around children, around children. Especially 4 and 2. everything must be supervised and i would not let a dog that has the propensity to act aggressively to children that small around them at all. especially a big powerful dog.
if by aggressive you mean excited, then it's a bit different in that he can be sensitized and you can manage the children around him and remove him when they're being too much. but when you say uncomfortable around kids and aggressive in the same post, i'm not envisioning anything good.
if by aggressive you mean excited, then it's a bit different in that he can be sensitized and you can manage the children around him and remove him when they're being too much. but when you say uncomfortable around kids and aggressive in the same post, i'm not envisioning anything good.
e what I'm experiencing with my puppy as well as my 5 year old . What they have is fear aggression, what the previous poster say's is true, with my 5 year old he will bite if he doesn't have an escape route. So we just don't put him in that situation. My pup on the other hand were trying to socialize her slowly. So good luck.