child hater

y2jae21 · 05-28-2007, 07:19 AM

help guys, my 8 month old male rottweiler is a child hater, i find it hard to socialize him to children because children freak out by his presence alone,it only triggers my boys instincts, maybe he saw children whining aggressive? a threat? and even though the child is just walking by across the street he still gives this mean, alert stance....

Jen D · 05-28-2007, 07:27 AM

Have you had from a young pup? You need to get him around some kids carefully to get him socialized with them. Do you have any friends with large dogs? When you come across a kid that isn't afraid of him have some treats in your pocket and let the kids give them to him. What else has he done besides the stance? Does he growl at them also and how is he around adults?

Renoman · 05-28-2007, 07:45 AM

I had a dog like that too. He hated small children. Problem was he didn't know what they were - no small kids in my house. He would go nuts when he saw kids because he wasn't used to the noise or quick movement. What I would do is try to find a playground either school or town where there's lots of kids playing.

First, I just parked nearby so he could watch the playground from a distance. Close enough for him to see, but far enough away that kids and/or parents are not going to get excited. Next time, we'd park in the same place but get out of the car and let him watch. After that, I'd take him out of the car at the same distance and work with him so his focus was on me not the kids. Each time, we'd get just a little bit closer to the playground and work. Desensitizing a dog to a particular problem is a very long, slow process. With patience, time and consistency you should see improvement.

A trainer might also be able to give you some better ideas.

y2jae21 · 05-28-2007, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jen D

Have you had from a young pup? You need to get him around some kids carefully to get him socialized with them. Do you have any friends with large dogs? When you come across a kid that isn't afraid of him have some treats in your pocket and let the kids give them to him. What else has he done besides the stance? Does he growl at them also and how is he around adults?

i had him when he was 3 months old, theres a handful of big dog fanatics in around my place.... my rottweiler and i were in my room when i was getting ready to watch pirates of the caribean with my friends yesterday when my 9 year old cousin enthusiasticaly entered my room, and then whined and cried and shouted at the sight of my rott, the dog stood his ground at my door, with the mean look and growling.... i told my cousin to shut up, let him sniff you and dont be afraid, he wouldnt listen, my rott kinda nipped his jeans, i had enough, i told him to go down... and tried to explain what happened to my family, only my mother and sister understood me (but hey, they all know how much i love my buddy,so they know hes only going to the pound over my dead body).. towards adults hes good, he lets them touch and cuddle him, play with him and give em treats, although his plays rough, hes generally good with adults. thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

A trainer might also be able to give you some better ideas.

my trainer said it was normal for big dogs to "hate" children.. that if the dog thinks he can boss around or dominate the child, he will... or maybe he saw the whining, crying, quick unpredictable movements a a threat or agressiveness, which maybe triggers his guarding instincts

Jen D · 05-28-2007, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

I had a dog like that too. He hated small children. Problem was he didn't know what they were - no small kids in my house. He would go nuts when he saw kids because he wasn't used to the noise or quick movement. What I would do is try to find a playground either school or town where there's lots of kids playing.

First, I just parked nearby so he could watch the playground from a distance. Close enough for him to see, but far enough away that kids and/or parents are not going to get excited. Next time, we'd park in the same place but get out of the car and let him watch. After that, I'd take him out of the car at the same distance and work with him so his focus was on me not the kids. Each time, we'd get just a little bit closer to the playground and work. Desensitizing a dog to a particular problem is a very long, slow process. With patience, time and consistency you should see improvement.

A trainer might also be able to give you some better ideas.

Great idea the dog needs to get use to kids and this is a great way to start.

RonE · 05-28-2007, 07:59 AM

Just be careful that you're not exposing the kids to danger and yourself to arrest for hanging around playgrounds.

Try to remember that parents are going to be at least as protective of their children as you are of your dog. If an issue arises (and a nip to the jeans could be an issue) the law is going to side with the child and parents.

Renoman · 05-28-2007, 08:04 AM

It can be frustrating. I recently lived in a neighborhood with alot of children. I had 3 GSD's at the time and every time I took them out, no matter where the kids were, they'd run screaming into the nearest house. It's like they'd never seen a dog before. I'd get so upset because the dogs hadn't done anything other than go out the back door to pee. They never ran loose and I was always outside with them. I started rethinking the situation and realized it actually worked for me. The dogs got to pee in peace and we could stay out as long as we wanted cuz the kids were holed up in someone's house.

It sounds like the cousin needs to be given lessons in behaving around a dog, especially a young dog. The screaming and whining is not necessary and the dog was reacting to the situation.

Jen D · 05-28-2007, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2jae21

i had him when he was 3 months old, theres a handful of big dog fanatics in around my place.... my rottweiler and i were in my room when i was getting ready to watch pirates of the caribean with my friends yesterday when my 9 year old cousin enthusiasticaly entered my room, and then whined and cried and shouted at the sight of my rott, the dog stood his ground at my door, with the mean look and growling.... i told my cousin to shut up, let him sniff you and dont be afraid, he wouldnt listen, my rott kinda nipped his jeans, i had enough, i told him to go down... and tried to explain what happened to my family, only my mother and sister understood me (but hey, they all know how much i love my buddy,so they know hes only going to the pound over my dead body).. towards adults hes good, he lets them touch and cuddle him, play with him and give em treats, although his plays rough, hes generally good with adults. thanks

my trainer said it was normal for big dogs to "hate" children.. that if the dog thinks he can boss around or dominate the child, he will... or maybe he saw the whining, crying, quick unpredictable movements a a threat or agressiveness, which maybe triggers his guarding instincts

I have to say your trainer is right about most he told you but I have to disagree with it being normal for big dogs to hate Children. I have two large rescues that are mine and had lots through my house. One of the first things I would do when I got a new one in I would call my friend down the road to use her kids to see how the dog was around them. They wern't to go near the dog till I felt the dog wasn't having any fear from them. I now have a Grandson and had to watch my larger dog very close because he just didn't know what the noise was the was coming from the crib, the other couldn't care less. The large one and my Grandson are best of friend now but I still till this day do not ever leave them alone together. All dog have a fear from the unknown and this is why numerous children get bit by dogs each year including babys. They move faster then use, sound different, and yell alot. With the dog you have being large doesn't help with kids being afraid.

y2jae21 · 05-28-2007, 08:18 AM

maybe he meant "dominant" dogs

Jen D · 05-28-2007, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2jae21

maybe he meant "dominant" dogs

He could of thats for sure but you just have to be careful and it has to be done for your dog to get use to kids. With my dogs I always get them around kids that arn't afraid and know how to approach dogs the right way. Bigger dogs do more damage, are at face level with kids and little dogs most often do less damage so their bites are less often reported. I got bit by a little dog not to long ago and didn't need any treatment but if it had been a large one I would have been at the hospital for treatment and that dog would of been reported.

Dorygirl · 05-28-2007, 01:20 PM

I'm always amazed when the children are blamed for a dog's aggressiveness.
If a dog can't behave around kids, it should be in a crate when they are nearby.

RonE, you are right. I don't know too many parents who would appreciate a large, child-aggressive dog coming to the park to be desensitized. I understand the need for training, but just don't use my kids to do it!

PsiElement · 05-28-2007, 01:51 PM

A lot of kids have been bitten by dogs.. and I think a lot of kids need to grow into adults before they're able to emotionally move past it and differentiate between one experience and a general experience.

The kid who runs screaming from your big dog you may think is ridiculous, but if it's like, an eight year old who had stitches from a rott bite, they just aren't going to care that your dog isn't the dog that bit him or her.. they were bit by a big dog period, and they are afraid of them now. Not ALL kids have been bit but the truth is, you don't know the whole story.

Also, while going to where kids are playing may be okay if you keep your dog in the car, I can't say I'd be happy if I had kids that were being openly exposed to a child-aggressive dog for the purpose of training the dog, especially without my consent to it.

I think a better idea is to start with child family members and carefully instruct and oversee them. Or go to a dog park and see if any kids there that aren't afraid of your dog (keep him on his leash) will feed him a treat or two.

Another thing is that no matter how ridiculous you think a kid is being, if your dog reacts poorly to the child it must be trained that it's not okay to snarl or growl at a yelling or jumping child and that while it may not like it, the appropriate response is not to threaten the kid. It's sort of a two way problem.. the kid scares the dog, and the dog's reaction scares the kid even more.. etc etc.

Amaya-Mazie-Marley · 05-28-2007, 04:10 PM

I think maybe your dog is reacting off of the childrens fear. Dogs are very good at reading humans, they read us better than we read them. So if that kid was scared and started to scream, your dog sensed that and it probably made him uneasy. I go agree though that training needs to be started now, because Rotties are huge dogs, and will come in contact with kids alot, you don't want any lawsuits.

Jen D · 05-28-2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dorygirl

I'm always amazed when the children are blamed for a dog's aggressiveness.
If a dog can't behave around kids, it should be in a crate when they are nearby.

RonE, you are right. I don't know too many parents who would appreciate a large, child-aggressive dog coming to the park to be desensitized. I understand the need for training, but just don't use my kids to do it!

RonE was right but so wasn't Renoman! Renoman did not say take your dog into the playground! See what the reaction is from a distance, any dog can be aggressive towards children and babys. This is because they are not use to the sounds or their fast speed. Small dogs who have never been aggressive towards kids, babys or adult have bit because they may have been hurt by one. Maybe this dog has not been around kids and when the kid screamed it startled the dog. The person that was posting this was asking for advise, the dog is young and I know I brought my kids up not to scream around strange dogs due to this. People that want to own dogs should always be aware no matter what the breed. The parent of this kid could of said my child is afraid of dogs, when I have been told this I put mine in a crate!

y2jae21 · 05-28-2007, 11:31 PM

thank you so much for your comments and suggestions guys...
although i wouldnt want to just lock up my dog when there are kids around, i want to socialize him, just like everybody else tells me to... socialize with strange people, strange dogs, and kids

Chloef_2799 · 05-29-2007, 02:33 PM

When I lived at home we lived across the firled from a grade school (I went there along with my other siblings) and we alwasy had kids trying to cut through our yard because the far side of our garage was fenced in with a deck and pool and the near side had a sidewalk leading into the field and also to the road. Alot of kids would come by and see our dogs and they were good and then you would get the handfull of stupid ones who really needed to get bitten by a dog to learn that you shouldn't piss them off. I know that sounds bad but we had two young boys who once walked through our yard and were throwing rocks and sticks at Bess and Maggie and unfortunately or fortunately (whatever you want to think) my dad caught them at it and walked them both home with Bess and Maggie on leashes and made them explain to their parents what they had done and showd their parents that bess and Maggie were good dogs and wouldn't bite them but the what those boys did to them could have caused them to defend themselves which would have ended in disaster for them. He also told the boys that if the dogs had bitten them they would be put down because bitting dogs are welcome in our home so the boys would be condemming our dogs to die if they kept up and that meant that his children would have to be deprived of their best friends. I felt bad for them but hey, they had to learn some way.
I have had kids kick the fence and throw food into the back yard for my dogs as well and man oh man they are so lucky my boyfriend wasn't home because he would have chased them down and brought them home as well. We have a huge group of kids who come by and are alwasy nice to Chloe and Sadie and want to pet them and say hi and are very well behaved kids and then there is another group that just terrorize everything in sight be it dogs, cats, squirrels etc.

Ginny01OT · 05-29-2007, 08:43 PM

Smells like a lawsuit, big court case if you are not careful so please be careful and seek professional help for the dog before doing something can endanger you and your dogs well-being as well as any innocent bystanders/children.

Jen D · 05-29-2007, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chloef_2799

When I lived at home we lived across the firled from a grade school (I went there along with my other siblings) and we alwasy had kids trying to cut through our yard because the far side of our garage was fenced in with a deck and pool and the near side had a sidewalk leading into the field and also to the road. Alot of kids would come by and see our dogs and they were good and then you would get the handfull of stupid ones who really needed to get bitten by a dog to learn that you shouldn't piss them off. I know that sounds bad but we had two young boys who once walked through our yard and were throwing rocks and sticks at Bess and Maggie and unfortunately or fortunately (whatever you want to think) my dad caught them at it and walked them both home with Bess and Maggie on leashes and made them explain to their parents what they had done and showd their parents that bess and Maggie were good dogs and wouldn't bite them but the what those boys did to them could have caused them to defend themselves which would have ended in disaster for them. He also told the boys that if the dogs had bitten them they would be put down because bitting dogs are welcome in our home so the boys would be condemming our dogs to die if they kept up and that meant that his children would have to be deprived of their best friends. I felt bad for them but hey, they had to learn some way.
I have had kids kick the fence and throw food into the back yard for my dogs as well and man oh man they are so lucky my boyfriend wasn't home because he would have chased them down and brought them home as well. We have a huge group of kids who come by and are alwasy nice to Chloe and Sadie and want to pet them and say hi and are very well behaved kids and then there is another group that just terrorize everything in sight be it dogs, cats, squirrels etc.

Do you know the kids parents that are being mean to your dog? That was a great way your father handled it.