Aggressive behavior towards small children
 

Hi everyone, I need some advice. My yorkie is 2 yrs old and sweet as pie with me and our family, but when we are out in public if any children and sometimes adults come up to him he acts very aggressive. I have never had a dog act this way and I am lost on how to react. I warn people that I prefer they not pet him because I worry he may bite. He is very attached to me and if he is lying on my lap and my husband comes to pick him up he growls and acts very aggressive yet my husband says he never bites down on him, but that does not make me feel better. My daughter was attacked and seriously injured by her friends dog a few years ago and I cannot stand the thought that my own dog could hurt someone. Is it possible to stop this behavior? I know that some dogs are very leary of children so is this just the way he will always be?

Thanks for any advice...

Lauren

Hi :)

I would suggest clicker training/positive reinforcement for a situation such as this. You can Google "clicker training" of watch YouTube vids of kikopup and zakgeorge21 to see a few training videos.

Basically, not all dogs like children. However, aggressiveness should be strictly enforced as a no-no, like you said. Jackson loves the kids that he knows and sees often and will jump all over them, all them to put their face up to his, put hands in mouth and food bowl (we don't purposely allow this, btw, but it's good he doesn't care). He also loves young babies. However, I wouldn't say he "likes" kids. He gets pretty nervous around children he doesn't know (especially the hyper ones).

I started taking him to my little cousins little league baseball games (with children ranging from all ages wandering around) and many kids want to come pet the dog, of course. I'm totally fine with it and always carry a pocketful of treats. If kids want to pet, I nicely ask if they wanna give him a treat. So now Jackson associates kids with treats and the first thing he does when meeting a new kid is usually go up and sniff their hand to see if they have any, LOL. He's never shown his teeth, or growled, or anything, he just gets nervous.

Start slow... take him to a park or a playground but stay semi far away but where he can still them. Give him a treat whenever he looks at the kids to let him know... kids=treats. You can slowly start to get closer. Just keep doing this, it takes time. YT username 'Quicksilver' has been conditioning her dog to like skateboards so you may wanna ask her for tips on conditioning.

If he growls or tries to bite anyone while he's on your lap, take him OFF of your lap immediately. Do not pet, stroke, or 'reward' him in any way for this behavior. I notice so many people (including my father) when their dog is growling while on their lap and clearly stressed, they will pet her and try to 'relax' her when in reality, they are reinforcing the behavior. Maybe even keep him on a leash and the minute he growls or bites it's a firm 'ah-ah' and take him out of the room, then bring him back when he's good again. This method is shown quite a bit on 'It's Me or the Dog' on Animal Planet. I don't always think this method is the most useful but in your case, I do think it would come in handy.

Also, obedience training never hurts! Basic commands (sit, stay, down, come) and even fun tricks can boost a dogs confidence and can make them more well behaved dogs. Jackson loves doing tricks and this is a great way for him to feel more comfortable around kids. He loves to show off his tricks and the kids loves to watch. I've even let children do the commands to him and he will listen to them (so long as they have a treat in their hand!) so it really lets him see children as a leader and a fun thing!

Good luck, hope this helps a bit :)

Yep..this is basically what I was thinking!

My girl doesn't care much for small children either. She doesn't get to be around many small ones. Older children and up, she's fine, the little ones...not so much. If she sees them at a distance, she barks, when they approach, I can tell she gets tense and makes a small growl. I have them hold the back of their hand to her before they are aloud to pet. She seems ok then, but I never let them lean into to her or face to face. I think the smaller ones may just fear children more too.

Thanks Brit, wonderful tips. I will certainly try using these with Zhoie, she is so not into small ones.

Your Jackson is truely amazing!;)

I think Brits advice is great!!! My dog does not like little children either, I do think its because of thier quick movements and the way they approach her. Sometimes she barks when strangers approach but her tail is also wagging. If she growls when your husband comes near her, Put her immediatly on the gound and ignore her.