Dog and children

[SCOTTIE]

Hi, Knew to this forum. We have a 2 year old male Chessie/ChocLab. We attended puppy classes and he was great at socialising but he really has no exposure to little kids and I notice that he will bark at some kids (not all) and I just don't trust him in the company of children. He is a great dog but this really bothers us as we have 3 grandchildren (who stay far away) but when they came to visit a couple of months ago we put him in a kennel as we just didn't know how he would have reacted and we didn't want anything to happen to either the kids or the dog. Has anyone had an experience like this?

[eyeluvdogs]

Hi there,

if your dog is not used to children he might find them a bit scary. Childrens voices are different and they move quickly and unexpectedly for a dog.
So far he has learned that children mean he has to stay in his kennel and be bored all day. I can absolutely understand that you don't' want your grandchildren to get hurt and it's good to be cautious.
However if he has a chance to get used to children he might be just fine with them. You will of course always need to keep an eye on him and never let him out of site in the presence of children. Also the children will need to learn a few rules. For example you can have a little corner somewhere that is his corner and if he is in there the children are not allowed to disturb him.

Are they any children in the neighbor hood that you could "borrow".
You will need to get him used to children by making every encounter with children a positive one.
Have a few treats handy when you take him for a walk and if you see children that are confident enough to give him a treat give that a go.
Of course you will ahve to keep him on a leash to start with and make sure he is calm. The first step could be for the children to throw the treats close to the dog , rather than feeding him directly. If there are some children that are dog experienced get them to play with your dog.
With time your dog will learn that children are no threat, but in fact they a positive thing.
Good luck with it and let me know how you get on.

[Lorraine D]

A couple of months ago I had our 3 and 1 year old granddaughters here visiting and they lounged around on a blanket on the floor with our chocolate lab puppy, then about 10 months old. Now, our lab is 1 year and hasn't been around the 2 little girls for awhile. They were afraid of her and she got too wild with them. When the girls come next week for the day, I would like some hints on how to handle it so they get used to each other again.