Child Aggression

[i_love_nicki]

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

[anna_66]

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!

[lv4dogs]

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

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_love_nicki]

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

[bckrazy]

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.

[Lescoop77]

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.