Wrigley Hates Children!

[girlbuffalo1]

Yes that's right! He hates them! I must preface this by saying that I admit it is partially our fault as we didn't socialize him with many kids when younger but the problem is we have no family members or friends with children.

When he was smaller 3-5 months he would shy away from children submissively. I figured this was because the only children he really saw were the crazy ones in our subdivision who run around at age 5 with no one watching them (in the streets) and that he just didn't like their abrupt petting ect.

At age 5-6 months he started running away or squirming to get away if I were holding him and a child was close.

Now at age 7 months he barks at them and growls and has no been called a "mean dog" by two kids. If I try to hold him when near a child I barely can he is trying to get away so bad (and he is only 12 lbs!)

We tried having him sit and have the child slowly approach (however this is hard when the only kids trying to pet him are strangers and crazy ones). We have tried verbal correction and leash correction when barking at them. We have tried to reward him when he does good with them (which I think was maybe once)..

He never has had anything tramatic happen to him around kids no one has hit him. He really hates skateboards which some of the kids ride so maybe that traumatized him? I feel bad but like I said we know no children..we do not have a playground near us (that any kids actually use anyways) and children are not allowed at the dog park.

He absolutely loves adult strangers though! He will run up to adults at the dog park with his tail wagging so hard his little behind moves with it!

Any advice? Is he really doomed to hate them forever unless we are exposed to more of them?

I must also mention that I am not a kids person so maybe this is rubbing off on him?

 

[smoore]

Yeah, it's all socialization. Since bringing the child to the dog doesn't work too well, maybe you can bring the dog to the child? Find a brave kid, have them sit down to be as unthreataning as possible and hold the dog as you approach, doing the "it's ok, it's alright" cooing. Praise when he's calm and just instantly turn around so the dog can't see the kid anymore when he growls. Have the kid give the dog a few treats if you get that far.

GL.

 

[ihartgonzo]

Gonzo was the same way when we adopted him, when he was 6 months old. He was picked on by the breeders' bratty little boys . He still is slightly apprehensive with little boys (never with little girls), but he never growls or barks anymore.

Do not coddle him, have any kids approach him, or force him to approach kids. He needs to learn to trust them, which will require a calm, older kid at first. Allow Wrigley to approach the kid, with him/her not looking Wrigley in the eye or talking to him, and preferably tossing treats to him. The kid needs to be very non-threatening and pleasant, and once he is comfortable with this one kid, move on to others of different ages & genders. This method worked so, so well for Gonzo! Now, when we see strange kids on walks or at the pet store, he wiggles and gives them kisses

 

[tinksmama]

I answered on your dogster page too... same advice, don't force it, but get him into situations at a distance where he's comfortable, and start treating him in the presence of kids, slowly work closer till he's comfortable near them and warn them not to touch unless you say so...

 

[DragonYoga]

Interesting idea. Scruffy's a little weird about kids. Toddlers, he'll growl and bark at; he actually nipped a 4 year old boy. But recently a friend who has a year-old boy, Scruffy was an absolute dear - wagging his tail, curiously sniffing the baby, and letting the boy pet him. Maybe it's just the age level for him? I adopted him from the humane society, so I don't know what experience he had with small children before we met.

 

[Julie]

I'm just curious....For those that know their dogs will growl, bite, nip, or generally just not like kids being around.....

Why would you expose more kids to the dog? Even if you are standing right there a dog can bite a childs face in less than a second.
The responsible thing to do - not let your child aggressive dogs around children at all.

A neighbors dog (looks like a chow mix) bit her nephew in the face which required stitches, now he has a scar. They had to confine the dog for two weeks... then they were supposed to find a home without children, or pts.
Well it has been two months....they still have the dog. As I drove by last week I see the dog sitting on the steps beside the nephew. The dog is licking the nephews face. What the? Did they not learn the first time? A dog is an animal, I mean do they think the dog won't do this again?

If any of my dogs bit my children in an aggressive manner, they would be D - O - N - E Done!!

 

[girlbuffalo1]

firstly

Firstly Wrigley has NEVER bitten anyone kid or otherwise. Secondly (at least with him) he is wagging tail nervously growling, barking almost scared of the kids--not agressively growling and approaching them or tail down serious 'killer' look on his face or in his mannerisms. If he had bitten or tried to bite someone or acted in a tail down angry approaching children this way it would be different. At this point I would like to change his behaviour now while young and before it progresses any further.

This weekend we reintroduced him to our neice (just turning 7 and our nephew who is almost two). He did bark and growl a bit but mostly in a "what the heck is this thing" kindof way (like he does at a garbage can or vacuum cleaner)...he did not approach them or get too close for comfort.

We did work on getting our neice to give treats and commands which he did and then while he started to warm up to her a bit 5 minutes later he was back in his barky mode.

I think that this is something that can be worked on however not knowing anyone with kids is kindof a problem in this situation.

How about these questions: Why do NO parents ever watch thier children in our subdivision? Why are they allowed to run in the streets at age 4 and older. Yesterday I saw a kid under 2 run out in the street while I was walking Wrigley and no one was around. I motioned her back to the sidewalk and looked for someone......Why do kids think it's funny to run skateboards around Wrigley just to see him look terrified (this makes ME want to bite them probably more than him).....

 

[Ashlea]

I have to state that if the parents are around it is sometimes worse. Lilly was abused by children and adults.

We were shopping on Saturday and I had her with me. About 5 different familys approached her and all the parents telling their kids to go and say hello to the doggy! I told them all that she would bite if cornered by a child. And for some reason they know my dog better than I do! All of them said, no she won't or it's ok, she is small or something along those lines! It makes me so furious! Lilly is perfectly fine if a child approaches quietly and lets her sniff but parents really need to teach kids to not rush strange dogs!

What I did with Lilly is hold her on my lap and told my 2 year old nephew (who is GREAT with dogs) to gently touch her and let her sniff. When she got too tense I would let her off and hang onto my nephews hand so he couldn't follow her. I would let her destress and call her back, give her a treat and start again. She now tolerates kids if I am close and she is not rushed.

 

[Julie]

How about these questions: Why do NO parents ever watch thier children in our subdivision? Why are they allowed to run in the streets at age 4 and older. Yesterday I saw a kid under 2 run out in the street while I was walking Wrigley and no one was around. I motioned her back to the sidewalk and looked for someone......Why do kids think it's funny to run skateboards around Wrigley just to see him look terrified (this makes ME want to bite them probably more than him).....

I don't know the answers to your questions. My children are NEVER outside without me or another adult. I can only make sure I take responsibility for my own children and I teach them to be respectful.

There are many stupid parents that have no interest in the welfare of their children. Then they wonder why they grow up to be hard core criminals and have no respect for other people.
Just as there are many stupid dog owners that neglect or abuse their dogs.

If I would see a two year old in the road...i'd call the cops, then I would keep calling until someone remedies the situation. They would get tired of hearing from me.

My kids never approach strange dogs....even if given permission by dog owner. Do you know why? Because those are my rules and they listen to me. I do not trust a stranger to realize their cute cuddly ball of fluff might bite my child in the face. Last april my kids went with hubby and I to a dog seminar to recertify WV patrol/drug k9s. Rocket did great. And with being there almost a week, Rocket is the only dog my boys approached. They were 3 and 6 at the time. Even young kids can have respect for animals but the parents have a responsibility to teach them how.
Some of these dogs are very aggressive and should never be approached even by adults.
Trust me....my children would never approach your dogs if we ever met on the street.

About the skateboard thing.....be assertive.
Warn them to stay away from you.
Follow them home....tell their parents.
If they keep it up...... Carry a pocket full of field corn.
Now that would be a trip.
Just joking.

 

[Ashlea]

Julie, it is great to hear that you have taught your sons to be gentlemen. There is hope in the world! LOL

It really upsets me when parents do not teach their kids to be respectful of a dogs space. They are animals and therefore unpredictable!

 

[DragonYoga]

I
About the skateboard thing.....be assertive.
Warn them to stay away from you.
Follow them home....tell their parents.
If they keep it up...... Carry a pocket full of field corn.
Now that would be a trip.
Just joking.

I guess I'm way too much of a town girl, but what would happen with the field corn?

 

[girlbuffalo1]

ha!

It would make them lose control of the skate boards! I'm glad to hear that you are a responsible parent Julie--unfortunately most of the people in our subdivision are not.

Quite honestly I do not want anything to do with the crazies in our subdivision. I do not want to 'talk to the kids parents' or be concerned with their safety to the point of calling the cops--it's not my job.

I guess in the end I pretty much have to let Wrigley hate kids. I do not know any and neither does my husband....

It's sad as I would love for him to be friendly to our neice (who lives 5 hrs away)--but she's the only kid we know!

 

[RD]

Ripley had issues with kids, too . . . He was fearful and unsure of them, and his reaction to that was to explode with a display of aggression. His aggression was not because he hated them, but because he wanted them to move away from him. Of course, he was reinforced for the aggression because every time he did that, the kid would run away. He learned that if he ever wanted someone to leave him alone, all he had to do was bark and snarl at them.

The thing that worked best with him was slow desensitization. I would bring him to a park or a place where there are a lot of kids, and keep him at a distance from them. I always had a friend with me when I did this, it was crucial to have someone "running interference" if a kid decided to make a sudden rush for Ripley. We found kids that we knew and had them walk towards Ripley. He could growl and snarl and look as vicious as he wanted to, the kid would simply stand still and ignore him. The moment he stopped the aggression, we had the kid walk away. Later, the kid would approach again, this time getting closer. Ripley growled, barked, etc. and was ignored, but the moment he stopped, the kid left. After enough repetitions of this, Ripley realized that barking and growling did nothing, but shutting up made the kid walk away. He switched tactics very quickly just a couple yaps and he'd stop, and the kid would leave.
We eventually built up the amount of time that he needed to be quiet and calm, in order to get the stranger/kid to walk away. Now we're up to about 5 minutes of totally in-your-face contact before the kid leaves. Ripley knows that if he stands and tolerates it, they will eventually go away. He doesn't need treats as reinforcement for his good behavior, because what he really wanted was to get the stranger or kid to go away. We no longer have to stage greetings, either! He will stand for brief petting from anyone, and has even tolerated a sneaky ear pull from a rotten little six-year-old.

This may not work for your pup, but it worked wonders with Ripley and I think it'd definitely be worth a shot!