Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[victoriabunny]

My rescue lurcher Charlie (nearly 9 years old) used to be fine with children. But a few months ago, a child in the park ran up to him screaming and burst a balloon in his face before I could stop him (lovely child). Since then, he has grown increasingly nervous around children. If he sees them in the street he starts barking and lunging towards them which obviously makes him look really vicious. He would always ignore them if off the lead though, until today when I took him to the park and let him off (well away from the playground area). He was sniffing around harmlessly enough then saw three kids sitting on a bench - not shouting or running around, just sitting chatting - and sprinted off, barking at them. He wouldn't come back to me (normally he has pretty good recall for a lurcher) and started jumping up at them, still barking. The kids were obviously scared by this and one got off the bench and started running, obviously the worst thing to do as Charlie then saw him as an object to chase and hared off after him, jumping up and barking in his face in a real frenzy. He didn't bite him, thank God, but the poor boy was understandably terrified. I managed to grab him and apologised profusely to the boy, who was obviously upset but not hurt. Had his parents been there they'd have killed me, and I couldn't blame them. This has really shaken me up - I knew he had a problem with children playing/shouting, but these children were just sitting down and not doing anything to scare him at all and he deliberately ran at them. I don't know if he would have bitten or not - he didn't, so I hope not, but it's obviously not a risk I can take so I won't be letting him off the lead anywhere where there could be children again (which is obviously going to limit his opportunities to run freely). What's really scaring me though is that I'm nearly four months pregnant with our first baby - I'm now having nightmare visions of Charlie trying to savage it as soon as we bring it home. He is such a loving dog with the family, and I don't want to have to rehome him - but I can't take a risk with my child (or anyone else's) either. What can I do? Is there any way I can get him to like children again? I know all the usual advice about walking him near children and praising him when he is calm etc, but at the moment he starts barking as soon as he sees children and there seems to be no calming him down until he is away from them. I am going to start doing all the recommended things to get a dog used to a baby too, playing the noise of crying, carrying a doll round etc, but I'm worried that despite that he still won't be predisposed to like the baby as a lot of dogs are and will still see it as something to be scared of (and therefore attack). I've even wondered if it's worth getting him used to a muzzle and muzzling him when we first bring baby home until I know how he will react (obviously not leaving him muzzled all the time, just when he's initially meeting the baby - then he can sniff it without me worrying he's going to try biting).

 

What do you think? Is there hope in this situation? I am going out of my mind with worry after what happened today. It's not just what will happen when I have my own baby - I want to be able to walk him in public again without worrying he's a risk to children and crossing the street when we see them in case he lunges in their faces. I have thought about taking him to training, but unless there are children there he will be an angel - he loves adults.

 

Sorry for the length of the post - but as you can probably tell I am very worried. All advice welcome!

[Chucky Mama]

Oh dear it sounds a very stressful situation for both of you. There are various things that you can do that will help. You obviously know about getting a sound desensitisation CD - the one that you need is called Sounds Soothing which has baby and children on it. I would get think of getting him a DAP pheremone collar to wear at the moment during training (mimics the scent given off by a female dog when she feeds her pups and helps to calm without sedating). Do you have a friend with a child that you can get to visit you in your home where your dog is most calm and secure? If so ask them to visit and do some basic training with your dog when he is used to them. One thing that lots of owner do which is a mistake is to 'praise' a dog who barks and gets stressy. By this I mean that you say 'it's ok, good boy' I know you are trying to calm him but you are actually praising his neurotic behaviour, You are better off distracting him and staying calm. One really good thing to try is to look at yourself and how you respond if you see a child as you will be tensing, tightening your grip on the lead and your voice will be tense. This is all telling your dog that there is something to be worried about. At the moment I think you need to take little steps with him to regain your confidence.

Regarding your baby, I would never trust a dog who is used to children with a new baby until they really have proved themselves beyond all doubt and even then I would not take any chances. You have lots of hard work ahead but it is doable.

[victoriabunny]

Thanks for your reply. My cousin has two young children and has brought them over in the past, and Charlie was fine with them - very tolerant actually. But that was before his trauma in the park, and since then I haven't invited them over just in case he's nasty. I know I should, but what can I do to minimise the risk of anything untoward? I do know not to "praise" him as you say when he reacts badly - I do really try to say nothing and try to distract him, but I admit sometimes I end up raising my voice as there is no stopping him once he starts. Distracting him with food would work as he's very food-motivated but I haven't done this as I don't want him to think he's being rewarded for barking. I'll have to think if there's anything else I can distract him with - perhaps a toy would work as he does like retrieving balls.

 

I didn't think of a dap collar - my mum used a dap plug-in with her dog, but I didn't realise they did collars as well. I'll see if I can try one as that might help calm him down when he's out.

 

I will obviously never leave him alone with the baby for a second when it arrives - I wouldn't do that with a dog I was completely confident with, let alone Charlie - but how do I introduce them initially in a way that will definitely be safe? Do I get a muzzle or is there another way?

[Chucky Mama]

Toy distractions would be great as are food treats. See if you can get the children to visit again. The park + children at the moment will be too much for him so go for the safe sanctuary of home + children. If you use a DAP collar, keep it on all the time when you use it & using one when the baby comes is a good idea +/- a DAP diffuser where he is likely to meet the baby.

If he is food and toy motivated get the children that visit to play with the toy and give him treats (as long as he is gentle taking food). Make sure that any game of tug of war is either avoided or the child wins. Perhaps you could get them to visit before he is due to be fed and get them to feed him. If all goes well, see if you can get them to walk him in the garden on the lead and to do some basic training. When he is settled with them see if you can get him to meet those children out of the house. Again get them to play with his toys and give him treats. You may well find that he will accept your baby. It is like some dogs that live with a cat but chase other people's cats out of the house.

[Chucky Mama]

Just had a thought If Charlie is insured, check your cover, it may cover getting a behaviourist in. If so you surely would be justified in getting one especially with a new baby on the way. You would have to get referred by your vet.

[Seagazer]

I was going to suggest a behaviourist, they can tell you if you are doing the right thing in the way you are trying to 're-train' him. There is a society so go for one from there and not just out of the paper. I haven't got my dog magazine to hand so don't know the precise name.

 

It is so hard as some dogs just get spooked and then carry the behaviour on. I've had it with Cookie where she's been barked at by other dogs and then every time she sees that dog she gets the barking in first. Its purely because she's scared. I have managed to walk around with one of the dogs that has done this and that was by distracting her with her ball.

 

Good luck and i hope you manage to get it sorted before your baby arrives although I think you might be surprised and that it will be different with your baby.