Are you teaching your child/children to respect your dog? WHAT? What do you mean?! Shouldn't my dog respect my child?!
Actually the answer is no. I know. Shocker. Some may not agree with this mindset but... let me share my experience.
Jagger LOVES people. Absolutely loves them. So when we had Jaxon I had no real worries. When Jaxon became mobile I started to see a difference in Jagger. If Jaxon moved towards him sometimes, he would show teeth or growl. Now, as a parent your first instinct is to immediately blame and reprimand the dog because after all growling and showing teeth automatically means that your dog must be aggressive right? WRONG. So wrong. This is where teaching your children to respect your dog comes into play. Let me break it down.
Growling is a form of communication. It's actually GOOD if the dog vocalizes with a growl as opposed to reacting with a bite. Jagger is saying " Hey I am NOT comfortable with this. Please back away". So what are you suppose to do? As a dog owner, you need to protect your dog and get them OUT of a situation they are not comfortable with. I'm sure you are wondering " Well if he's uncomfortable can't he just move?" Sure he can...but maybe he doesn't want to because he decided to lay there first before my toddler decided to invade his space? I mean, do you want to get up from your seat when you just sat down? No. So you need to TELL you're dog to move to a different spot. You literally have to save your dog from it's discomfort. In turn, teach your toddler that if your dog is trying to rest...please let him be. After all when WE are trying to rest the last thing we want is our toddler rolling all over us.
Another thing to consider is your dog does not know the intentions of your toddler. Is this tiny human going to hit me? Squeeze me? Step on my tail? Hug me? They literally have no idea...so again its our job as dog owners to take control of the situation and remove them.
Now, I know this all sounds like a lot to take in. I'm sure you're wondering...well does this mean EVERY time my baby goes near my dog I have to tell them to move? No. Here's the thing. Dog owners who's children get bitten by their dog's think that it just happened out of the blue. I can assure you...IT DOES NOT. Dogs express themselves in so many ways that you may not even realize and I can guarantee your dog may have been displaying signs of discomfort for a long time before they had, had enough and actually chose to correct them with a bite.
Things to look out for: Is your dog panting or breathing heavy for no apparent reason? Do you see your dog licking it's lips as your child passes by? Does your dog tuck it's ears back when your child comes near or if your child is petting them? These are all signs of an anxious dog...and all of these will be displayed usually before growling comes into play. A bite comes AFTER all of these things have been displayed. And again....a bite is a dog's way of CORRECTING. So the goal is to NEVER let it get to the point where your dog feels the need to CORRECT your child. This is why is it your job to teach your child to respect your dog (and also exercising them to expel that anxious energy) !!!
If your dog is displaying any of these behaviors please seek professional help before rehoming! Of course our children come first and sometimes unfortunately rehoming might be necessary but sometime the answers are so very simple! And you know what? If you truly can't afford training, or truly believe your dog may thrive away from children...then there is no shame in finding an amazing new home for your dog.
I know more than anyone how admitting your dog had growled at your child is probably the most embarrassing thing to tell someone. I know the fear of being judged for wanting to keep a dog who has growled at my child. I can promise you...YOU ARE NOT ALONE and please don't be ashamed or embarrassed. There are soooooooo many people going through the same exact thing. As parent's we have to learn how to deal with raising a small child...and so does your dog!! Don't be afraid to ask for help!!
I hope sharing this will help some families who have been going through the same thing. Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts.
Alexi xo
No comments:
Post a Comment