# Scared of little toddlers!



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Even though I'm not an expert I've had 2 Goldens. The second one is 5 and a certified therapy dog who I don't think ever reacted aggressively to anyone of any age. Even so, I don't let her greet very young children without putting her in a sit and putting a hand on her collar. I also tell the child to wait until she's sitting and then show them how to pet her. If the child is too young to understand that, in my opinion they're too young to be making physical contact with the dog. With very young children there's always the risk that the child will do something to frighten or hurt the dog and the child may be hurt as a result.

I'm guessing your pup was frightened or hurt by the previous episode. Remember their hearing is more acute than ours. I wouldn't be concerned but I wouldn't let a toddler near him without close supervision of both the pup and the toddler.


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## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

Awww man! That must be so heartbreaking. I would give treats and praise lavishly when a toddler gets near.


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

It sounds like he was traumatized by the first interaction you mentioned, with the toddler hugging him and yelling. My rule of thumb is I don't ever count on other people to control their kids...when those kids are interacting with my dog, it's up to me to make sure they're interacting in an appropriate way (not reaching over the puppy's head, using calm voices, not grabbing or hugging the puppy, etc.). It sounds to me like Logan was trying to tell these small peculiar human beings in the nicest way possible that he doesn't want them to invade his personal (canine??) space.


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## AngieAvenue (Mar 17, 2013)

Thanks for the advice. I'm certain he was traumatized by that... or something that happened that day that I'm not aware of. He's so inviting to strangers and kids... but toddlers, he tenses up right away and growls. 

I'm trying really hard not to change my behavior when I see toddlers now, too. I don't want to project my nervousness on to him and make it worse. I'm trying to remain confident and tell kids to approach slowly. The problem is, the toddlers he's nervous about are not verbal yet so I have to hope they have a parent that helps me out and doesn't allow their toddler to wobble over.

Yesterday we were at the pet store and he was sitting and a mom and her kid were petting him... He was perfect. Then a couple walked in the store with a baby (no more than 1) up in their arms and he stood up, got tense and growled at the baby. I walked away with him so he was out of eye sight of the baby and he calmed down right away. 

I want to fix this now  I don't think he'd hurt anyone, he seems to be posturing and just wants them to stay away, but I don't want to take the chance.

I really wanted to do the St. John Ambulance training with him, but now I'm nervous that we can't if he's got this fear/dislike


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

I recently went to a behavior adjustment training seminar (BAT) and this might be worth looking into.
Here is a video where they demonstrate BAT training for fear of kids.





ETA: I don't think this was made clear in the video. The most important part of this training is to keep the dog at a level below where he reacts. So, bring the dog up to the point where he notices the child but isn't displaying any aggression yet. The main reason I thought of this for your case is you mentioned he relaxed as soon as the baby was out of sight.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

here's a better video, although of dog aggression rather than child, but the same ideas apply


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

Jige had this issue too. He is fine with everyone but when we taking his TDI test he had just finished and passed I was waiting in the lobby of the Nursing home and this girl came running out of the one room screaming PUPPPPPPY. It scared Jige and me too as I wasnt expecting it. He got jumped up and growled. I said no be nice. I went and sat down with him and had the little girl of about 2 sit on the couch we talked and then when she had and Jige had both calmed down I let her pet him. But I had to do this with each little person we saw. I made special trips to the parks to find babies. Jige now doesnt have any issues but it took alot of work and alot of explaining to mothers why I wanted to sit beside them with my dog and work on this problem we had.


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## AngieAvenue (Mar 17, 2013)

I will definitely try that. I'm willing to put in the work, I hope this can make him less nervous!


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