Getting ready to move---dogs & kids advice needed

[sanford8916]

How old are your neighbors kids? If they are older then maybe they can help. I would let your neighbor know that she hasn't had experince around kids and you would like her help to slowly get her use to them. The children should never hug your dog, that's asking for trouble, they squeeze to hard and the dog will feel trapped. Older kids 8 and up can help with food, treats and maybe going on walks with you. 8 and up can be taught to move slow and be very gentle. But I do think it is important to talk to the neighbor, she will want to keep her kids safe and teach the kids to never aproach your dog without your permission. Good luck!

[Hero715]

Thanks everyone! I haven't met anyone in the new neighborhood yet, but it seems like there are kids of all ages.

I certainly plan to be very careful and not let Hero off leash or anything...which I don't usually do anyways because she likes to bolt!

I think I will just stick to your advice of keeping her away from the kids unless it is a calm environment and they can approach her quietly, etc. It just scares me because you just NEVER know how a dog is going to react, especially an older dog with a temperment like hers.

Thanks again!

[Thandi]

For most of Thandi's life (she was a Rhodie) I kept her away from young children. She bit my youngest twice (his fault, really, for surprising her while she was sleeping) and for the rest of their lives, they tolerated each other. If other young kids came near her, she'd try and get away from them, and if she couldn't, she would nip. So, from those experiences for everyone's sake, she spent the last 8 years of her life very happy with us, but not being subjected to young children. It wasn't that she attacked them, but a nip from a Rhodie is serious enough to want to avoid.

Just safer all round and way less stressful. I wish it could have been different, but it wasn't. Even a bahaviorist couldn't fix it.

[Hero715]

Did you have Thandi before you had kids? I worry sometimes about how Hero might be if I ever have kids. Of course, that won't be happening for at least a few years (considering I don't even have a boyfriend right now!), but I wonder sometimes about having a new baby and an older, less-tolerant dog.

I know it would be a situation of NEVER leaving the baby alone with the dog, etc., but I just wonder what other peoples' experiences are....I guess this is really a topic for a new thread....

[Thandi]

We had the kids before Thandi. They were born when we had 2 golden retrievers, so were used to being able to do literally anything to those dogs. Thandi was another story, she simply wasn't kid or other dog friendly and it was just something we lived with and adjusted to.

The kids adjusted to her behavior, although the youngest always had more of a problem. We did work with the behaviorist but that didn't do much to change anything. My youngest, who just turned 19, finally got to enjoy dogs again about 2 years ago when we adopted Mika and then Chloe, both are total cuddlers and have no issues with teenagers or even the cats, who also cuddle them!