Mayonegg

A friend of ours had Bark Busters in (used a chain rattling method) - not sure how consistently they have applied the techniques etc. but so far they have not seen good results. It might be worthwhile getting someone in who helps analyse the root cause of any problematic barking (boredom, fear, excitement?)and to address it from there rather than just trying to eliminate all barking? I'm new to these forums so not sure what the guidelines are on suggesting particular trainers (couldn't see anything in the forum rules about it...). We have had some consultations with a great trainer as we got our first dog this year and wanted some training ourselves - I would highly recommend him. He will definitely take the time to try to analyse the cause of issues and come up with tailored solutions rather than a one size fits all approach, and gives lots of follow up help at no extra charge. I can PM you his details if you like :)

If you wait till the dog's bottom is on the ground.... he will never get to interact with kids. The reality is that he is going to be excited around kids because kids are excited and he is also still a kid..... until he has matured he will be highly influenced by the energy levels around him. The objective is to give him plenty of opportunity to relax in different environments - sometimes low energy but also places that are high energy. Taking him on lead to things like sporting games - hang around watching the game, make him wait, stay there until he is accepting that life is not all about him. He needs to understand that he must be patient. Practice this behaviour as often as you can, go to any new or different environment and he has to wait - ignore any fuss he wants to make and wait. Any visitors must ignore him until he has calmed down only then can he be greeted - quietly - which means if kids can't be quiet for a greeting then those kids don't have the right energy to meet a pup. As he gains experience he will take less and less time to settle down - once his body slows down his brain is able to take in more information. It is also important that he has the chance to get out and run and frolic with other dogs. His body needs to burn off excess energy, so find friends with good sensible dogs who can help him learn and develop..... Good luck Thanks for your advice alpha bet! We have been making sure to expose him to a variety of environments ever since he was fully vaccinated- he is a frequent visitor to cafes, farmers markets etc. and he normally behaves really well in crowded and exciting places. He also gets to play with other dogs every day at either the dog beach or dog park, and he goes doggy day care a few times a week. He has gone to puppy school and some further group obedience classes and has responded well in those environments. He gets walks every day and generally seems well exercised and socialised – he doesn’t get too aroused in crowded situations or around other dogs. So far it is a pretty specific problem being over-excited around kids, rather than over-excited in general...so it definitely rings true what you said about him being influenced by the energy levels of those around him, and he is probably just reacting to the kid’s energy. We don’t have very many children visiting (don’t know many people with young kids), so by and large his interactions with kids have been with unfamiliar children in parks, cafes, at the beach etc. So we haven’t been able to predict the kids dog-savviness, or train them how to interact with him. But I guess a few quick words like “our dog is still learning his manners – can you help him by not paying attention to him until he calms down a bit?” would work even with unfamiliar kids, so will try that now! And I am understanding your advice correctly that perhaps we should be lowering our expectations a bit as he is still a puppy? So maybe rather than waiting until he sits, just wait until he has all 4 paws on the ground and isn’t jumping? This is our first dog so I definitely appreciate the advice about what is realistic to expect! Thanks again for your help! :)

Thanks to both of you for your advice! We'll definitely have him on the lead with a quiet time out available from now on when kids are around...and no interaction with kids until his bottom is on the ground!

Our 7 month old Frenchie pup has grown up in a household without kids. He seems to love children and infants, and becomes VERY excited when meeting them (e.g. if they are sitting on the floor he will try to climb onto them/lick their faces). We would like to train him to be a bit calmer around kids, especially infants and toddlers as we are worried he could knock one over. He has responded well to obedience training at home, but once a kid is on the scene this seems to go out the window as he is just too excited. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions of where we can start?