My Maltese Is Snapping And Growling At My 2 Year Old

[persephone]

Letting the dog have a KID free time when she is on her bed is a great idea!

Our dogs are used to that, and visitors are told...when dogs are on their beds..NO TOUCHEEE!

Only thing is...make sure little fingers ,toys etc.cannot be poked into crate!!

[Sally]

Thanks for your help everyone. I've been trying to teach my 2 year old not to touch the dog while she's in her bed, but me telling him not to go near her, makes him want to touch her more. It's hard to reason with a child his age, but if I persist, I'll hopefully get there. One of the tricky aspects is that if I tell off my son, I can tell from my dog's body language, that she thinks I'm telling her off too, making her encounter with my son more stressful. I guess I'll have to physically remove my son to a different area, and then tell him off. One thing I have learned is that kids are a lot harder to train that dogs.

I'm hoping I won't have to resort to a crate. If my dog gets fed up, she sleeps in her second bed, at the other end of the house, or on the dining room table (weird but true). I'll see how we go.

[persephone]

Instead of telling him off..how about just telling him if he touches the dog while she is on her bed, he will probably get bitten...it will hurt, and he will cry.

[taffy]

Sally are you from Adelaide? if you are I think I know the obed class you are taking her to. If its the one at enfield high, I take my girl there on friday nights and love them she is already a lot more behaved after 2 weeks

edit for spelling, as far as I know there isnt a day called froday

Edited May 17, 2007 by taffy

[Poodle wrangler]

About crates: Kids can easily open them and stick fingers in. I wasn't joking about those ends of fingers being bitten off by a Maltese:( . The guy was in hospital because they had also become infected and he needed intravenous antibiotics!

[Mooper]

Good luck with this, Sally. It sounds like you're on the path to helping this dog know its place in your pack.

Keep us posted. There's no quick fix, but the rewards of a good canine companion are great

[Sally]

taffy yes I'm going to the obedience classes at Enfield high. My class is on Wednesday though, so I'm sorry I won't get to see you. It's so much fun seeing all of the dogs there, although, I was a bit worried one of the bigger dogs was going to eat mine. My pooch and I are practicing every day, and I'm so happy with her progress so far.

The trainer at the obedience classes said that if my dog growls or snaps at someone's hand, I need to put my hand around her snout and say "no" on a low growling voice. I've done it a couple of times, so I hope it's made an impact on her.

[haven]

The trainer at the obedience classes said that if my dog growls or snaps at someone's hand, I need to put my hand around her snout and say "no" on a low growling voice. I've done it a couple of times, so I hope it's made an impact on her.

There are a number of potential problems with doing this. The growl is a warning, punish the warning and you may no longer get one. That may sound great, but in essence it means the dog may stop growling and go straight to biting. By punishing the growling you are not dealing with the cause of the behaviour, just the symptoms. You need to deal with the underlying issues and increase your leadership. The dog either growls because it feels it has a right to discipline and control the situation or because it feels unsafe and it has no other option in order to stay safe. Either way, you are making a confrontational move which will only escalate the situation not solve the problem.

[Sally]

Well, I watched The Dog Whisperer (on Foxtell) last night, and I realised that my stress levels have been conveyed to the dog, and have been stressing her out, making the situation worse. I've been making a point of being more relaxed today, and have noticed that she is a lot happier and more relaxed. The other thing is that instead of avoiding the situation where she behaves badly, I should put her into that situation, so I can correct her, in a calm way, so she will respond in a calm, submissive way. I know this all sounds a bit airy fairy, but that Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer) really seems to know what he's on about, and you can see how his approach seems to really work. Today she has just opened her mouth to mouth one of our hands playfully today, and I have said no, and put my hand over her nose in a calm way, showing through my body language that I am calm, and in control. This approach works a lot better than me getting angry, and putting her on the defensive. Since I have stayed calm while she has been around the kids, she hasn't snapped at them at all.

The obedience training is working, and I am even making progress towards her being calm when people come to the door. Obedience training is definitely the best thing I could have done for my dog, and it's so rewarding to see her making progress every day.