Child Aggression

Hello all~

Nicki is developing some child aggresion... he stays outdoors when I am at work (week days: 10 am to 3:30 pm). He loves the kids at the school, just LOVES them... on weekends kids are at the school playing - even when school is not in session, they just play around with the toys and stuff, and sometimes they come over to pet little Nicki, Nicki loves them, licking their hands, jumping all over. But something went wrong... something changed... when I was walking Tammie (my daughter) home from school, I saw Nicki from the hill, the fence is right where the the school starts, so it's like my house - then the school comes right after it. The kids are free to pet him through the fence. A child, I believe one of Tammie's school mates... went up to the fence and tried to pet Nicki, when he reached his hand through the fence, Nicki barked and snarled, ran up to the fence, adn then Nicki snapped and snarled at the poor child. I ran over to see if the child was all right. Other then being very frightened the child was fine. I was scared and astonished. I went over to the fence and scolded him. He always loved the kids before, he would run up to the fence and lick their fingers. Do you think the kids wer abusing him or something? I don't know what's wrong... but I am REALLY determined to find out! Nicki is 5 months old and is already showing aggression. I don't know if I want a dog like that, ya know? And I have a child myself, and with a child aggresive dog... well... that doesn't make a good match, ya know? Any tips? Maybe I should keep him in a kennel? Away from the school kids? Inside while school is in session? But what about Tammie? I have NO idea of what to do! :confused:

Has he had any behavioral training, like puppy kindergarten? Take him if not.

I am concerned at how much time he is left outside during the day. Especially considering how young he is. Has he had all his shots, especially rabies? I sometimes feel guilty for leaving my Nicki (only she's a girl :) ) outside for more than half an hour by herself. I check on her obsessively to make sure she's behaving and enjoying herself. Believe me, being outside be himself all day long ther are so many things that he could get into that could hurt him: eating berries, toxic shrubs, being bitten by a rabid animal.... then we have the realm of what humans might potentially do to him. :(

I am thinking that someone, most likely a child is or has hurt or tormented Nicki when you are not home, through the fence. Some children may do it on purpose, others may not realize that they are actually causing harm to him.

It is very common for that happen & very common to see the same results you are experiencing.

I would never leave a dog unattended outside with those circumstances for that very reason, and a lot of others, someone may feed him food that doesn't agree with him or poison or someone can steel him.

Can you keep him indoors during the day?

If you catch this early you have a better chance at resolving the issue. Never leave him alone with any children and slowly start to socialize him again with kids. Making EVERY experience with kids a good one. Allow them to give him treats, nice gentle petting etc... and keep your eye out for any body languae or the like, if he starts to feel uncomfortable remove him from the situation immedietally and get him to an area that he feels comfortable with. never force him into any kind of socialization.
Obedience classes would help tremendously too.

How old is he?
Is he neutered?

I see how old he is now.

Obedience classes would be very important at his age, he's going into his teenage stages where he may start to challenge you or others, this may be the case, but I am thinking more likely it is due from someone tormenting him or even a combination of both factors.

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Originally Posted by catnapper

Has he had any behavioral training, like puppy kindergarten? Take him if not.

I am concerned at how much time he is left outside during the day. Especially considering how young he is. Has he had all his shots, especially rabies? I sometimes feel guilty for leaving my Nicki (only she's a girl :) ) outside for more than half an hour by herself. I check on her obsessively to make sure she's behaving and enjoying herself. Believe me, being outside be himself all day long ther are so many things that he could get into that could hurt him: eating berries, toxic shrubs, being bitten by a rabid animal.... then we have the realm of what humans might potentially do to him. :(

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No, he hasn't had any Puppy Kindergarden, because I thought I could train him myself, but now I see he needs socialization like Puppy Kindergarden :rolleyes: I will take him, I'll consider Saturdays or Sundays, or maybe one of the weekdays after work.

I'm getting concerned about how much time he is left outside now, also. Yes, he had has all of his shots. When I get home he comes inside right away, but now that I come to think of it... maybe he's outside too long? And now that you guys name all these ways he could get hurt for being outside so long without any supervision... I am scared of leaving him outside.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lv4dogs

I am thinking that someone, most likely a child is or has hurt or tormented Nicki when you are not home, through the fence. Some children may do it on purpose, others may not realize that they are actually causing harm to him.

It is very common for that happen & very common to see the same results you are experiencing.

I would never leave a dog unattended outside with those circumstances for that very reason, and a lot of others, someone may feed him food that doesn't agree with him or poison or someone can steel him.

Can you keep him indoors during the day?

If you catch this early you have a better chance at resolving the issue. Never leave him alone with any children and slowly start to socialize him again with kids. Making EVERY experience with kids a good one. Allow them to give him treats, nice gentle petting etc... and keep your eye out for any body languae or the like, if he starts to feel uncomfortable remove him from the situation immedietally and get him to an area that he feels comfortable with. never force him into any kind of socialization.
Obedience classes would help tremendously too.

How old is he?
Is he neutered?
Yesterday 09:39 PM

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I take Tammie to school when I am on my way to work... I think I'm going to either but him in his indoor crate, or his kennel outside.

Well, he was a rescue so I don't know his exact age, but I am estimating he is 9 months.

Yes he is neautered, I don't think there's any point on keeping a mixed breed intact :rolleyes:

I stayed home today, so I could watch the kids and Nicki.

We had the same problem when we lived in town with our RB Angus.
The kids would come through the alley where our back yard was. At first he didn't care a bit but after a while he would start barking at them like you say Nicki is. I watched and would see them poke sticks at him and stuff like that through the fence. We moved out of town shortly after that (the dogs being our main moving factor) so that was our solution.
I'd probably keep him indoors at the time the kids are coming home from school.

This doesn't mean that Nicki will be aggressive to all children. Angus loved children even after his ordeal but I'm sure if it would have continued he wouldn't have liked them very much.

Hope you can get this all worked out. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by i_love_nicki

I stayed home today, so I could watch the kids and Nicki.

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The kids may know you are home & may not bug him. And/or they may have stopped bugging him or they may not do it all the time, or it may just be one kid that is doing it and maybe he/she is home from school today. I just wanted to say that in case that is the reason you are staying home today. Just because you don't catch them doing it today doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And it can happen in the blink of an eye too.

Good luck!

I watched. Nothing happened. I don't know what is wrong? I was sitting by the window all day!

The thing is, even though nothing happened today, it could be just one or two incidences that caused some fear with strange children. My friend a few years ago had a very sweeet Husky who was great with kids, but when a neighbors 12 year-olds harassed him on a daily basis through a chainlink fence and when they came into his yard, he bit one in the leg - nothing serious at all, just barely drew blood - but animal control took him away!

I'm guessing that this aggression will not be directed at all toward kids he knows, especially your daughter. But you need to see a behaviorist ASAP to get really customized advice, to nip this in the bud right away. Dogs who are in their backyards often also become much, much more protective of them. Gonzo used to be outside most of the day and come inside at night and in the afternoon, and he was MUCH more aggressive with passerby's, displaying the behavior that you said Nicki does. Of course, it was all totally show. Now, he has a dog door and spends most of the day inside (because he really does prefer it) and he almost NEVER barks or cares about people/animals passing the fence. If a dog spends most of their time in the yard, alone, they see the yard as their space and will feel the urge to guard it from strangers. I'd say do your best to keep him indoors where he's safe - in a crate with a stuffed Kong or chewy and with potty breaks.

Also, is Nicki neutered? This can be a big factor in protectiveness. Many dogs will act very snarky behind a fence, and be fine normally.

The same EXACT thing happened with Pandy. Before we moved to where we are now she loved kids, let them pet her etc etc. Then we moved here and for some reason she started barking,snipping, hair raised on her back at the kids next door. I couldn't figure it out - then one day I saw one of them poking her w/ a stick through the fence and I knew that was what had happened. I immediatly took her and had her evaluated by a dog behaviorist and he told me that once they get teased etc by the kids that's what sticks in their mind and the odds of that changing are slim! So now we have to keep her away from kids - she actually bit one last year in the face - only a minor nip - but she was trying to bite him hard. Sad. I hate it - but I would keep him indoors and when kids are around make sure you tell them NOT to tease the dog - my neighbor kids still do it and I constantly tell them not to.