Guest Anonymous Posted July 28, 2003 Posted July 28, 2003 my 8 year border collie corgi mix was a well behaved dog until the day our house was broken into(may 1st). It was by 2 children wanting xbox games and dvd to sell for cash. I normally do not leave my dogs at home when i go to work but this day I did. After they were confronted by her they were not very nice to her. Tthey through things at her,kicked her and probably other things that we did not hear about. she now is very reactive to any child she sees. I have take her to see behavioral consultants and my vet and they have tried many things but nothing is working. If you have any ideas please respond. we want to have are loving dog back please help. Quote
ellieangel Posted July 28, 2003 Posted July 28, 2003 What about letting her meet lots of nice gentle kids whilst on a lead and muzzled :wink: Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted July 28, 2003 Posted July 28, 2003 thanks for the suggestion we tried that about 10 times to find small nice children but we were unsucceful at find nice children that there parents would allow them to pet a muzzled dog. Quote
Daisysmom Posted July 28, 2003 Posted July 28, 2003 Wow, that's a hard one. Do you have any family members that would be able to help? Or how about contacting your local shelter, maybe they would be able to offer some suggestions. My first thoughts were to just introduce children to the dog from a distance, while the dog is on a lead. They little by little have the child interact with the dog. Good luck! Quote
imported_Cassie Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 You will definately require a good animal behaviorist for this one...was your dog aloof towards children before this incident???? has your dog been socialized with children... Here is some suggested reading: "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConell "Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas I have seen dogs become offensive towards other dogs after being attacked...tending to be better around some dogs which are laid back than others which are high strung or dominant, I imagine the same would apply to children...children act differently than adults and dogs pick up on this..alot has to do with how you are reacting to certain situations also...if you are fearful of how your dog will react then the dog will pick up your fear...it has taken me 2 years to work on my Rottweiler with dog aggression (offensive)...I did the muzzle exercise as ellieangel suggested...I never let her go right up to other dogs I just kept walking her in really heavily populated dog areas to desensitize her...it will not happen over night...you have to give it time...I just act normally while I am walking my dog, I make sure I do not tense up and I don't tighten up the leash....once your dog becomes a little more desensitized then you can start making her sit and saying hello to some children..with her muzzle on. I wish you the best of luck and pick up the above books I mentioned they will help you. Quote
imported_Cassie Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 I meant to mention to have treats readily available when it comes time you are comfortable enought to introduce children to your dog..give the child some treats to give to your dog when being introduced. Quote
DogPaddle Posted August 2, 2003 Posted August 2, 2003 My first thoughts were to just introduce children to the dog from a distance, while the dog is on a lead. They little by little have the child interact with the dog. When Kavik was very high strung around other dogs and barking and fussing this is sort of what our trainer suggested. Start at a distance your dog is comfortable with and slowly lessen the distance, in the beginning this should eliminate the need for a muzzle which makes some dogs nervouse - it may eventually become necasary of course. Poor girl . . . some children are so :evil: Hope she feels more confident soon. Quote
Peng1zrule Posted August 5, 2003 Posted August 5, 2003 muzzling makes aggression worse, since the dog feels trapped--you have taken his "weapon" out of commission, he is defenseless. When my littlest, Gypsy, was attacked by two larger dogs, she became very dog aggressive to strange dogs. It took me years (and lots of methods) to figure out a way to get it to lessen, if not stop, altogether. She yanked at the lead to bark, growl, snarl, or whatnot. So I stopped the lead-yanking--I verbally corrected her for pulling the lead taut. I didn't take her out in public, but instead walked her around my property, until the lead pulling was almost nil. Then I began walking her when there would only be the dogs contained in thier yards to deal with. After two or three passes--ta da! she no longer lunged and screamed with rage as we passed strange dogs. She still doesn't. To this day, dogs can bark at her, and she will give them a cool look and keep walking. You might try walking your pup around the perimeter of a park where children are playing, and correcting her for becoming aggressive, tense, or nervous--do not use physical correction! Do not praise calmness or indifference except with a calm manner or a calm pat on the head or scratch behind the ears, whatever your dog likes. Re-introducing her to children should go slowly, if at all. An explanation of what your dog has been through to visitors (as you put the dog in another room, away from children) should be enough to make most people keep thier kids away. If you decide to re-socialize your dog with kids, you might try children farthest away from the attacker's age group, and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y working your way up or down to the attacker's age, where the children at that age should be extremely calm, polite, and generous with snacks. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted August 18, 2003 Posted August 18, 2003 thanks for the suggestion recieved so far. Before the incident she loved children. we live next door to a large daycare where she loved to play with the children. We are trying distance work with treats but if children are insight she will go on guard even at the range of multiple blocks away. We have had to put her on to some drugs which have worked in reducing her nervousness in the house. All this has done has made her stop running from window to window looking for anyone that does not belong. My vet does not want to keep her on this for very long because it not able to relaxe her enough so I can start taking her outside for fun play time in safe areas in our area. Please keep sending suggestions madison still needs your help. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted August 28, 2003 Posted August 28, 2003 :P My Madison actually let a child pet her today. I took her for a walk near a school I live by and while we were watching kids go into school she allowed a kid she use to love to play with at the daycare next door to where I live pet her. The meds have helped some but they are not a long term solution. Hopefully things will keep moving foward and she will start enjoying the company of children again. :D Quote
Daisysmom Posted August 29, 2003 Posted August 29, 2003 That's great news!!!!!! Keep doing what you're doing :lol: Sounds like it's working!!! Quote
ellieangel Posted August 29, 2003 Posted August 29, 2003 Well done Madison........a step in the right direction :wink: Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted September 22, 2003 Posted September 22, 2003 I have to agree that using a muzzle for this is not the right way to go. With aggression of any sort, you need to start with strong basic obedience and work from there. I am going to assume that she is well trained already. I would suggest doing purely positive methods with her...when she becomes nervous or shows aggression, make her sit..or give a command you can praise her for. Everyone has given great advice. Starting from a distance, and then working up to maybe quieter, older children would probably be best. Let the dog go to them, in her own time. Who really knows for sure what those bastards (sorry but they are!) did to her..so she will clearly need time to heal. She needs to build up her confedence again. Is there a dog obedience class that has younger or relatively young kids that attent near you? If so that might be an idea, brush up on some training and have some socalization for her with kids. And the kids will more likely to be "dog smart" and willing to help. Maybe take her to dog parks with kids? Have kids give her tons of treats and so on, once she is doing a bit better. Once she is more sure of herself, and kids. You are lucky to live next to a daycare, because that gives you a great way to work her through this..at a safe distance. I hope she works past this, poor girl. I don't blame her for acting like this, but I know why it is giving you pause. About the muzzling, I would personally only reserve it for "have to do it" sort of times, or if she clearly cannot work this out. If you do continue with the muzzle, she may relate being muzzled (something dogs do not like, because of all the reasons Peng1 said) with being around kids...which will in time, if not right away make it worse. I found with my dog, who is a bit iffy with other dogs, was told by our now ex-trainer that he should be muzzled. However, I went with giving him commands he knew and could be praised for, and he is now a dream with other dogs. Even the little monsters nextdoor, who before he thought were roving snacks.. :evilbat: Good luck! Quote
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