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My dog is terrorizing my kids
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Anonymous
| So - my beloved family dog, a beautiful cavalier king charles spaniel - has become a complete nightmare. He's terrorizing our kids, a toddler and a baby. Biggest issues are barking -- he barks all the time, which scares (or wakes up the baby) and constantly licks everything that belongs to the kids (toys, laundry, playmats, etc). He lunges into the air to eat food right out of my son's hand while he's having a meal at the kitchen table (if we put him in a crate or a different room, he barks again) and if I turn my back for 2 seconds while the baby is playing on her mat, he'll run over and lick her head!! Yuck. We can't have any friends over because of his behavior - if we put him in a different room he barks again. Often I'll put him in the car if we're hosting a playdate, but if the weather is cold it's not an option. I find myself constantly monitoring his behavior - which makes me completely on edge. I know it's my fault for not better training him, but I just don't know what to do at this point. Any suggestions? Ackkk!! |
Anonymous
| I don't know what he was like before kids - but all my experiences with King Charles Cavaliers has been that they are VERY high strung dogs. They want constant attention and are probably jealous or annoyed. That has just been my experience with the breed. |
Anonymous
| Change dogs. |
maynie
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| Have you thought of a behaviorist? Something like this place - www.schoolofdogs.com There are plenty in the area. |
Anonymous
I'm telling you - these dogs are best for ONE person only. Even then, they will have separation anxiety and never, ever relax. They have to be the most obnoxious, albeit - very cute - breed! Coming from a former Cavalier King Charles caretaker and friend to an owner of many, many years of several of these dogs. |
Anonymous
| Your dog has to go. You may love the dog, but your dog can seriously harm your children. |
Anonymous
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you can't have friends over but you'll subject an infant and a toddler to this animal?
I really don't get people who choose animals over humans... |
maynie
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I agree. That's not a breed I would consider if I had kids, but that doesn't matter since OP probably had the dog before the kids. But that doesn't mean the dog can't be trained to behave around the children. At least the op could give it a try before making any other decisions. The dog is probably driving her insane, but she didn't say there were any aggressive or protective behaviors. She said the dog barks incessantly and licks everything. I'm not going to minimize how those behaviors are probably irritating the heck out of here, but I don't think the first answer is to just get rid of the dog. JMO |
Anonymous
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Is this behaviour new? How did he behave when you brought each one of your kids home from the hospital?
Maybe you should sign up to be on the Dog Whisperer? Have you changed routine with your dog? How many walks does he get (pent up energy, barking for attention, establishing pack order by licking/marking). How do the kids behave around him? Do they annoy him or tease him which just get him more excited? We have a beagle so we deal with not barking, but howling. And as for food - beagles are huge food hounds so I can definitely sympathesize. |
Anonymous
| OP here - and excuse me 22:12 - your response is exactly why everyone thinks this forum is snarky. What a horrid thing to say! We have NOT chosen "this animal" over our friends -- it's out of respect for our friends' children that we put our dog in the car when they come over for a playdate (or we go somewhere else). He's part of our family, and we just need to find a solution for his behavior, which is annoying and terrorizing, but not harmful. For example, he's never bitten the kids or physically harmed them in any way. It's relatively new, so probably just jealousy over the baby. Thanks for those of you who were SUPPORTIVE and offered help, like researching dog behaviorists. I'll definitely take your suggestions and see if we can resolve the situation. Some of you DC moms are wretched!!!! I have posted similar threads on the moms blog that I belonged to in Chicago and had only gotten positive and affirming feedback. Yikes. |
Anonymous
| Ignore the a-hole poster. There's one in every thread. I would also suggest a behaviorist. I don't have anything else to add, other than to try to give you words of encouragement and commend you for your commitment to him as a member of your family that is having behavioral problems. |
Anonymous
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When we lived near Annapolis, we found a dog behaviorist that took our dog for a week of what we called "boot camp" She came back a totally different dog! It involved a zapper collar with a remote control. It was hard to watch because it did not involve positive reinforcement, but helped get dangerous behaviors out of her system. You do need to be good about being strict at home. Our dog lapsed into her old ways as soon as we had kids and didn't use the zapper anymore.
I don't remember the woman's name, but you may be able to google her. She did not live in Annapolis, but was somewhere in Southern Maryland. She came to our house for pick-up and drop-off, so I really have no clue. Not the most helpful information here, but I know there are some serious trainers out there that you could use. Good luck. I am sure if you're willing to invest some time and money, you will be able to come to a solution that works for everyone. |
Anonymous
| You know, it's the people who say stuff like "change dogs" who I worry about. Like it's a piece of furniture or something. So sad. And as an aside, I volunteer with Lab Rescue and these people are the ones who buy a puppy from a breeder (because ironically they "don't want to deal with someone else's mistakes"), don't train it, are shocked that it didn't train itself, and then call a rescue league (best case) to come get it because they're leaving on holiday and cannot possibly deal with it any more. The dog is then shuffled around and scared and usually stuck in a kennel for a while before having to get used to a new home. So PLEASE - the posters who think OP should change dogs or get rid of the dogs, PLEASE NEVER OBTAIN ANY SORT OF LIVING BEING. Rescue leagues would really appreciate it. So OP, I applaud you for looking for solutions (and they are out there!) instead of just casting off your furry companion when it's no longer convenient. South Paws in VA had a behavioralist that we consulted with, but it's possible any good trainer would be able to help you. These are "normal" doggy problems. Hang in there. |
Meconbear
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|
Try Dr. Meyer at Veternary Behavorial Clinic. She has worked wonders with our nervous dog:
http://www.veterinarybehaviorclinic.com/ Only problem is that she's expensive and far away (Gaithersburg). Good luck! |
Anonymous
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Cavalier's can be great with kids. I think you just need to work with a behaviorist to see what is going on. Ask your vet for a referral. Most spaniels I know (cavaliers, cocker spaniels etc.) are food nuts, so the fact that your dog in interested in your toddler's food is no surprise to me. It sounds like your cavalier thinks that your children are part of its "pack" and that he/she is in charge of the pack. You need to work with someone to re-assert yourself and your spouse as the head of the pack. Until then you may want to use babygates to keep the dog contained away from the kids when you cannot keep and eye on them. |