Problems with kids??

I was walking Gonzo earlier today, and we saw a lady that we know drive by. She just got a Border Collie puppy, named Kayla, and she always says hi to me and Gonzo. Well, the first time we met them they were walking a neighbors BC with their little boy Matthew, I think he's 4-5 years old. Gonzo seemed skittish with the little boy and woofed a few times when he first saw him, but I gave the kid a cookie and Gonzo took it from him and seemed ok with him. Today when I saw them, the lady got out of the car and came up, and Gonzo was fine with her... then, the little boy jumped out and Gonzo immediately woofed at him softly, then growled softly and backed away. The little boy was about 10 ft away, and wasn't running up or anything. I was really frustrated with Gonzo, I cannot figure him out sometimes, and it was totally embarassing :rolleyes:...

The thing is, Gonzo is great with kids when we are not in our neighborhood. We take him to farmers markets and stores and Petsmart and he will wag his tail and try to pull me toward kids when he sees them, and he will give them kisses and be a very good boy. BUT, when we are in our neighborhood, he often growls or flat-out barks at kids that are near us or approaching him. When we got Gonzo he was petrified of all kids, in general. We believe his breeders either had kids that were mean to him, or he was undersocialized with children. He would growl at all kids, in the store or anywhere. Now he is much better and hasn't growled at any kids for a long time, until now. He has also barked at a few men in our nieghborhood out of nowhere, but he backs away and has his tail tucked when he barks, so I think he is acting afraid of them. It's always little boys or men he barks at, never teenage boys or females at all.... we have been to a behaviorist about kids in the past, and I thought we had worked it out. I don't want him to be viewed as "child-agressive", because I know he isnt.. he lets my baby brother roll all over him, and my 1 year-old neice. Anyone have any input on this, or have been through it? This *only* happens when we are in our neighborhood...

I have the same problem with casey when she is on her bed she growls at some small children and of course they run to the bedroom to see her so I have to be really careful. The funny thing is casey is really good with my daughter, but my daughters friends sister who is 9 with downs syndrome she snarled and snapped at...I was very concerned after that and the mom is careful not to let her run to the back of the house looking for casey now.

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Originally posted by caseysmom
I have the same problem with casey when she is on her bed she growls at some small children and of course they run to the bedroom to see her so I have to be really careful. The funny thing is casey is really good with my daughter, but my daughters friends sister who is 9 with downs syndrome she snarled and snapped at...I was very concerned after that and the mom is careful not to let her run to the back of the house looking for casey now.

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:( yeah, its scary... I know Gonzo is only afraid of little boys, not agressive, and I'm pretty sure he had been tormented by them as a puppy... he also had a bad experience with two neighbor boys going into our backyard when he was young, so that could still be affecting him. I know animals can be scared by people with down syndrome, I volunteer at a riding stable for handicapped kids and they can probably be really strange to animals.

anyway, I'll probably just call his trainer about this.. just wondering if anyone here had experience with it. I forgot to mention, we have done all of the typical desensitizing with him, having kids around us give treats to him, he still cannot trust some little boys that he doesn't know.

Mercedes isn't too fond of children either. I think they scare her cuz there running and always moving. Whenever a child comes over she stands over me and then as soon as she lays down the kid will laugh or yell or something and she runs over to me :( She has never growled at a child thank god, but she still makes me nervous so she usually has to leave the room when we have company.

Well, I obviously wasn't very successful with Rosco, but one tip sticks out in my mind that makes sense. Whenever Rosco would do that, I'd pet him and coo "He's a nice kid Rosco..." -Basically trying to reassure and comfort him. The behaviorist or trainer (don't remember which) told me that is totally wrong. I was rewarding his bad behavior. She told me to snap his collar and give a mean stern NO when he shows signs of aggression.

Monty and Kiki will bark or growl at certain people when we walk in our neighborhood. It's more towards older men and women. I'm sure it stems from abuse they suffered prior to coming here to live. Kiki even reacts to older people on the TV. When they display this behavior on our walks I yank on their leash and say NO...BAD, Stop and they do. Yes it is embarrasing and I will never know what exactly made them do this. It's getting better with work, They are super with my young grandaughters, kids on the street, people that visit our home. All I can say is try what I do, yank and say no, bad, and teach the down and stay. That's very good for any dog to know. Good luck.