Our 9 month old doodle is snapping

[Anonymous]

My dog will tolerate behavior from babies and toddlers, but completely expects an 8 year old to be able to treat him respectfully. You need to teach the 8 year old. You need to protect the dog who can be injured and who can't speak. Growling/snapping is the only way the dog can communicate and I'm sure this dog has already tried everything else (you said dog walks away).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We love our sweet mini Goldendoodle, and she's pretty low key. We have two girls, 8 and 10. The 8 year old has ADHD and does not have good boundaries with the dog. Sometimes when the dog walks away, DD follows and doesn't take hint, throws a blanket on her to "tuck her in" etc. she loves the dog, but the feeling is clearly not mutual. I have recently seen the dog growl and or bear her teeth at our daughter. What should we do? I can't imagine that she would ever bite, but I am afraid of this continuing. She has never growled at me or my husband.

Our dogs never growled at the kids so I guess we were lucky. One relative had numerous dogs and one growled at them just to indicate leave me alone. That dog never socialized with the kids but the others were fine. Another but old dog owned by a relative was finicky and did growl. As a child some relatives and friends had dogs which tolerated a pat and others we just didn't go near.

So if I had a family with children I really would be unhappy if my dog was a growler or didn't like children. Call a trainer. I have a DC with a disability and the DC and our dogs had wonderful relationships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

Some dogs will tolerate this kind of behavior from kids, but it is truly inappropriate. It's a dog not a doll. Even if she has ADHD, she and you cannot use this as an excuse.

Your DD needs to take a training class, even one as basic at PetSmart. Your kids are also old enough to walk and feed the dog, so hopefully they take part in her day to day care which will go a long way to strengthening the bond.

The OP described putting a blanket on the dog. Today it is raining. Any child should be able to put a blanket/towel on the dog and try to dry it for example. Ours always wanted to be with the kids.

Today I have 5 damp towel/blankies drying. I've met some doodles and they were different than goldens or labs in general.

[Anonymous]

Agree growling is good. Dog is communicating. Not hurting the child.

[Anonymous]

ADHD shouldn't be an excuse for your child's inappropriate behavior--and if you reinforce that it IS an excuse, she's just going to continue trampling over boundaries and doing what she wants (dog related or otherwise). That being said, the dog is a family member and I am one of those people that don't agree with giving it away because it snaps at your kid. The problem here is your kid. You need to be patient and firm with her and she must respect the dog's boundaries or face consequences. There is no other war. This is NOT the dog's fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dog trainer here.

Dog needs child free space that your daughter does not go anywhere near. Daughter needs to be taught asap that she can only interact with the dog when it approaches her--she should never approach the dog.

Growling is good. Make sure to never punish/yell at the dog for letting you know it's uncomfortable. Dogs who are scared to growl are the ones who end up biting because they don't know how else to say "back off"

Oh no! I've been reprimanding our old puppy for growling. ughh - I'm so frustrated. I read some advice not to allow puppies to growl.

[Anonymous]

A growling dog is actually a good communicator for children. Most adults can't even identify signs of discomfort and stress in a dog (yawning, whale eye, stiffening, ears back, turning head away, etc.), which is why you hear so often that this or that dog "bit without warning". Chances are, the dog very much gave warning, just most people ignore the signs and I general, only respond to cues like growling and snapping. If you look at a lot of the "adorable" pics people have posted of their kids doing stupid things to dogs on the Internet, you see a lot of very clearly stressed but tolerant dogs, and it's often a wonder to me that these children aren't getting bittenile the parents Are gushing about how cute it is that Larla is riding Fido.

Please don't hold your dog to a higher standard than your child. Your dog is actually exhibiting normal and natural behaviour for even a person being uncomfortable and stressed. Your child needs to learn respect and boundaries. Dogs are not here solely for human pleasure and consumption at our whims- they are their own beings with likes and dislikes.

Look into safe dog behaviour classes with your kids. There Are also some excellent on line resources. Little actions can be very meaningful for dogs. It could be as simple as how your daughter approaches the dog, her energy, or if she does other things that make dog uncomfortable (reaching over the head, hugging aggressively, staring into dog's eyes, etc.). These things can be changed, which will result in a happier relationship between them.

[Anonymous]

Kids need "training" too. Train the dog, train the kid.

[Anonymous]

We are looking for a house trained doodle. I would be happy to meet your dog if you re thinking of giving him up. I'd be happy to email offline.