dog with aggressive play style and toddlers

[Anonymous]

Our 4 year-old Wheaten Terrier is fine around our kids (ages 2.5 and 4 months) and generally leaves them alone by hanging out on his bed or watching aloofly from the sofa. However, when our nieces or other young kids (who aren't familiar with dogs) visit, our dog is out of control. He jumps on their backs and nips at them!! We've tried repeating the command the trainer taught us/him ("OFF") and rewarding good behavior with treats as well as keeping him on a short leash. We've tried distracting him with his fav treat (bully stick). But usually resort to putting him in his cage/house in our basement until our guests with kids leave. FWIW, with adult visitors, he's also very jumpy, but settles down in a matter of minutes. With young kids it's just a totally different dog. Any suggestions for other behavioral modifications to try? We'd love to include him in our family parties.

[Anonymous]

Our dog is 11 now, but at 4 was really rambunctious with guests around. And even at 11, he still gets riled up with young kids around. They are loud and move around a lot, and mine is always trying to herd the other children away from our kids. We put him outside for these visits, except when my sister visits with her kids. Then we put him outside for a while until he is used to the presence of the visitors and then let him back in. He's much more used to my sister and her kids.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the Wheaten Terriers herd - it's part of their DNA. And they are protective of their own children. Ours wouldn't allow anyone in the yard when the kids were out there, and wouldn't let the children leave either.

The only thing that worked to calm him down when he was younger was to have a toy that he could only play with (chew) when guests came over. He would get so excited for that stupid chew toy (with peanut butter in it) that he would hardly greet the guests before he ran into the kitchen and waited by the refrigerator (we kept it on top).

Try it. All dogs are different though. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Put him in the cage. We have a nippy dog (dachshund) and we feel no guilt whatsoever about crating him when we are hosting. My sister-in-law has a facial scar from a small terrier-type dog, so for us it is a no-brainer.