The eBark: Rockingham Dog Club Issue 3 April 2016 | Page 24

should not be left unsupervised
with them and should have a
safe place from which he can
retreat from the children.

As children grow, the attitude
of the dog may change.
Behaviour that the dog tolerated from a baby may no longer
be tolerated once the baby
starts to crawl or walk.

It is important for children to
learn to treat the dog with kindness and to learn to respect the
dog's wishes when it comes to
dog/child interactions.

An older dog may be less tolerant than he was when he was
younger.

Children can learn to read
the dog's body language and
know when the dog does and
does not want to interact

If you have ever heard yourself
say..."My dog is good with the
[baby, child, kids], she lets
them climb all over her, lie on
her and pull her fur. She has
never even growled. She would
never bite a child", then you
are allowing situations to occur
that could easily lead to a bite
situation.

Growling at the Kids
Never punish your dog for
growling at your child. This
may seem counter-intuitive and
may even go against the advice
of your dog trainer or dog trainers you have seen on TV.

Dogs do not like being treated
this way by children. They may
tolerate it, but they don't enjoy
it.

If your dog growls at your
child he is sending a clear
warning that he is very uncomfortable with the actions
or proximity of the child.

No dog can or should be expected to tolerate repeated
rough or inconsiderate handling
by
children.

Be grateful that your dog chose
to warn with a growl rather
than going straight to a bite.

It is possible to condition dogs
to the types of things that children may do, but even a dog
that is conditioned to children

If you punish the growling, you
may inhibit the warning growl

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