Child biting dog

[Good_Karma]

Once again, a thread title is completely misleading lol. Not your fault OP, my aunt when she was a kid was bitten (not badly just a nip) and in retaliation she bit the dog's ear. So that was where my mind immediately went.

You are in a tough situation because the biting dog is not your dog. Also complicated by the fact that it is family, and you want to keep the peace. I wish you luck. Sorry, I wish I had advice for you. It sounds like you are doing what is needed to keep your kids safe and that is what is most important. I have a dog I do not trust around kids, so I take measures to ensure that he is never put in a situation with them.

[DaniRo]

Thank you for your input. I will NOT let the dog near my or anyone's children. My sister and parents know how I feel about the pup. She is a very affectionate dog to me and most others. She isn't bad but just untrustworthy around children. She is very energetic and seems happy.
Since my sister has taken her to training and has seen how well behaved other dogs are she seems to be very excited about taking her there. I told her maybe get her dog into agility training. I'm sure the dog will enjoy it.
Thank you all again!!


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[DaniRo]

@ Good Karma I just reread the thred topic I used lol It does sound misleading. Sorry about that :-)


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[angryrainbow]

Originally Posted by DaniRo

I didn't like this answer I feel any dog especially being young still can be trained to like or behave around children.

Lets ask the trainer to train you to be more sympathetic to a dog who probably isn't getting the mental and physical stimulation it needs.

I think its pretty obvious, dont want your kids bit ? Don't go over there.

There would be more problems if the trainer guaranteed he would LOOOVVVEEE children after.

[RowdyDogs]

Just some more thoughts now that I'm not just firing stuff off really quickly...if this is misdirected herding behavior, it's very likely that it's not something you're going to have to worry about for the lifetime of the dog, but only until your kids get old enough. It sounds like all the kids the dog has gone after are under 5? Young kids have high voices, lots of shrieking, laughing, fast movements, running...all things that make a herding dog want to herd! As they get older, the dog may not find them quite so enticing.

However I also missed that the dog has gone after two adult men. Another breed tendency is a strong sense of territory, and a tendency to not like "intruders." Again, this is a failure of training on your sister's part. ACDs need to be really carefully socialized from a young age to teach them that it is okay when people come over. Look at all the problems people have socializing GSDs as posted on this forum...and I can say with confidence that in my experience the average pet ACD is a lot worse than the average pet GSD in this category (and I'm not just talking about my charming Hector).

Part of the problem is that, at least in the US, there aren't really "pet" lines in heelers that I'm aware of. They're all working animals. Even the show lines generally maintain a great deal of working ability, and the difficult temperament that goes with it. Many people are not prepared for that.

The good news is that this all can probably be fixed if your sister gets serious about it. The dog may never be trustworthy around young kids, as many aren't, but if the kids are just visiting and your sister takes your concerns seriously by ensuring that the dog and children are kept separated, it isn't the end of the world. You say that you think that dealing with this for the lifetime of the dog sounds like too much work, but that's kind of up to your sister--I don't see how her decision to have to confine the dog during visits from children is any more work for you. FWIW, one of my dogs isn't trustworthy around kids and I routinely confine him when nieces/nephews/friends with kids visit, and it's really not a big deal at all. He's happier, everyone's safe, and life is good. We've even had kids stay for a week and I just made sure to give him plenty of exercise and attention separately, and life was good.

The biting adults is more serious to me, as it is unlikely (but not impossible) that it is herding behavior, based on what you've said. That may be aggression or fear reactivity and needs to be dealt with before it escalates.

Your sister needs to find a trainer who is experienced with these problems (if hers isn't) and get her butt in gear to fix them, in addition to giving the dog a job like I said (it can be anything from treibball to trick training to serious games of fetch to agility, as long as the dog gets plenty of mental and physical stimulation every day). It's only if your sister is unwilling to do that work that I'd recommend rehoming the dog right off the bat. And FWIW, I do agree with the poster above me that it would be more concerning if the trainer was saying that she could guarantee that the dog would be safe around kids, because some dogs just aren't. I mean, I've trained my bad-with-kids dog not to react immediately to kids if they, say, unexpectedly run up to us on a walk, but he's visibly uncomfortable in close quarters with them and it would be unfair to expect him to tolerate that. It's just like people, some adults hate kids too and you're not going to change that by forcing them to put up with them indefinitely.

Let me know if you have any questions I can help you with. Because I've done rescue with the breed, I could also probably advise on some trainers or breed-specific resources as long as you're in the US, just let me know. I'll check this thread or you can PM me too.

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by DaniRo

Thank you rowdydogs I appreciate your help with this topic. I have been trying to read up on this breed and it does say not good with small children. I asked my sister if she knew this before she bought her knowing there would be many kids around my parents house and she said she did. I just hope her going to training classes helps some with the situation. I want my parents to be with my children as much as possible. I am just very leery of this pup.


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Originally Posted by DaniRo

I don't want my relationship with my sister to be strained over this but her knowing this about the breed and not training her correctly from the get go makes me angry with her. The only reason she has taken her to training now is because I insisted it.
I want to like this dog because she loves me to death when I'm at my parents but I can't help but remember her biting my daughter. I feel my sister got to much if a working breed she can handle.


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Originally Posted by angryrainbow

Lets ask the trainer to train you to be more sympathetic to a dog who probably isn't getting the mental and physical stimulation it needs.

I think its pretty obvious, dont want your kids bit ? Don't go over there.

There would be more problems if the trainer guaranteed he would LOOOVVVEEE children after.

It looks like they did some research and they are not blaming the dog as much as they are the decisions of the sister. The sister was aware of the dogs needs, but until prodded, hadn't attempted any form of training.