Home > Dog behaviour > Aggression > Towards children

Diet. Avoid canned and semi-moist foods as these usually contain preservatives and artificial colours which cause some dogs to become over-excited. An increase in the protein content of the diet of such dogs causes a decrease in the dog's aggression. Feed the dog a good quality food which will probably have 26% protein for adults and 28% for puppies. To bring the protein content to 30% or more add meat, chicken, fish or cooked eggs to the diet daily. It may take as long as a month for change in diet to calm the dog.

2) Training in the absence of children.

Long down-stay. Teach the dog to go to its mat, lie down and stay on the command "Go to your mat". Begin by giving the command, leading the dog to the mat and making it lie down. When down drop a few pieces of food between the dog's front feet. Give the command 'stay' and walk a few paces away. Gradually build up the time that you can leave the dog until you can leave it for up to an hour. Use the oven timer for intervals greater than a few minutes, scolding the dog and returning it to the mat if it leaves. At the end return to the mat and release the dog. Do not call it from a distance.

This command is used to remove the dog from boisterous activity by the children if it seems to upset him and to allow him to be a quiet observer of the play of toddlers.

Round Robin recall. Have the dog on a 30 or 40 foot length of nylon cord, the end of which is wound up in a small ball. The nylon cord is sold by the foot at Canadian Tire. With three or more adults take turns throwing the end to one of the others who bends down and calls the dog once. If the dog does not immediately come it is pulled to the person. Whether the dog came at the first call or was pulled it should be told to sit and then be praised and rewarded with food. Dogs soon come to regard this game as great fun and when they are playing it willingly with adults introduce first one and gradually more children into the circle. Young children can stand at the feet of adults and do the calling and praise while the adult handles the line and food.

Hide and seek. In the house, and on walks by stepping behind a tree, hide and call the dog, rewarding it with praise and food when it finds you. When the dog is enjoying the game include a child but give the child a large paper plate with the food treat on it held so the child's hand is furthest from the dog's mouth. At first hide together in such a way that you will be beside the dog as it is taking the treat so you have control if necessary. Let the child call the dog. It may not respond in the beginning but if you call shortly afterwards it will soon respond to the first, child's, call. The progression from this is to introduce a second child and let them take turns hiding and calling the dog while you supervise in a general way but no longer hiding with the children. Continue to use the paper plates until you can trust the dog with the children he knows and use it for a while with any new children.

Encounters with children in public. Many dogs, if they are fearful of children, feel cornered if they are on a leash and a child approaches them. Under these circumstances a fear bite may result which probably would not happen if the dog was free to run away. We should be very aware of this, and call to children running up to the dog to stop. This can be turned to advantage with older children by asking their co-operation in training the dog. Give the child a handful of treats and have the child stand a short distance away. You teach the child how to give the basic obedience commands; sit, down and stay preceded by the dog's name. You stand beside the dog and when the child commands sit, if the dog does not respond, you push the dog into position without looking at it or repeating the command. The child immediately praises and TOSSES the dog a treat. When it comes to the stay command, the child walks a wide circle round dog and owner, repeating the stay command if necessary. When back to the original position the child releases the dog, praises it and tosses a treat. Repeat until the dog is quickly and happily responding to the commands of the child. If this is done frequently and you have stopped children rushing up to pat the dog, the dog should come to look forward to the approach of children as they are the source of earned treats. Children should not give the dog unearned treats as he can mistakenly assume that they gave up "their" food because they were afraid of him and this encourages even more aggression.

3) Children too young to be taught dog games.

As an extension of the down-stay training accustom the dog to lie beside your chair when you are going to be there for some time. If you sit on the dog's leash you can forget about him yet correct him if he gets up to leave. When preschool children are present have the dog in a down-stay beside your chair but put up a barricade of kitchen chairs on their sides so the dog can watch and hear the children but they cannot touch or get too close to him. Frequently praise and give treats to the dog as a dog is often upset not just by the children but because, when they are present, they get all the attention and the dog gets none. When the dog, behind his barrier, is relaxed in the presence of children occasionally leave the chair after reinforcing the stay command. You may wish to tie the leash to the chair in the beginning. Further changes must depend on the dog's attitude and should not go beyond this unless the dog shows definite signs of wanting to approach a young child with a wagging tail. If so, encourage the dog to go forward and sniff while you keep one hand on the collar. Do not let a child touch the dog unless the approach / sniff encounter has been friendly on many occasions.

If you do not have toddlers of your own, walking with a friend with a child in a pushchair and your dog on a leash will allow the dog to get used to young children and he may come to associate the child with the pleasure of a walk if they come to your house to start the walk.

If the dog shows a tendency to rush up to young children, sit in a park where children are present with the dog on a leash. If he moves towards a young child give a jerk on the leash and the command “No, Leave it”.

4) Babies.

Infants are no threat to the dog as they can't move towards him but dogs are often shut out of the room when an infant is being handled and come to resent that. Instead, when a new baby comes into a household treat the dog as a partner in child care. Every time the child cries say to the dog "Come on. Let's see what baby wants". Have the dog present at bath, changing and feeding times and talk to the dog as you work. This results in a dog with a strong feeling of responsibility for the child who will often fetch you when the baby cries. With my own dog this approach removed all feelings of jealousy and resentment and my daughter later on could crawl all over the dog who just lay there with a wagging tail.