Introducing a Rescue to a Toddler

OhSewCrafty

Today, we adopted a sweet 4 year old hound mix named Gracie. She's very mild mannered and friendly with people. She has been in a foster home with a middle aged couple and no kids (just the couple's young grandchildren that visit often) for three years now. (They also foster a lot of puppies, so when people came to see Gracie, they also saw the puppies and well, you get it.)

She's been very good with Charlie, our 2 year old, the times we've visited her and the few hours when we first got her home. Tonight when Charlie and DH were playing (rough housing, really) she started barking and growling at them. Her hair wasn't up and her tail was still wagging, but she proceeded to bark and growl at Charlie for the rest of the night.

Anyone have experience with introducing a loud toddler to an adult dog? I know she just needs to get used to his noise and he needs to quit the screaming (for more than just the dog), but should we be concerned?

nturner4822

We recently rescued a 6 month old pit bull/lab puppy. We don't have any kids yet but I've definitely thought about how he will react to a baby/young child. I don't know if this is the best suggestion, but MY plan is to introduce them from a distance...maybe use a baby gate to separate the dog while dad and toddler are playing so she can get used to the noise. It doesn't sound like she's being aggressive, but in case it gets worse, the gate will keep her at a safe distance.

closapio

I wouldn't be concerned, yet, but you are right to be careful with her. She is still learning the rules of your house, and your son still needs to learn his rules where she is concerned (for instance, our son is not allowed to hit the dogs, push them out of the way, etc. and is very rarely alone in a room with the dogs - there are just too many variables). Honestly, the dogs never "play" with him unless one of us is right there with them. One of his favorite things to do is to throw a tennis ball and have his dogs retrieve it to us. His dad and I control the game by always taking the ball from the dogs and "helping" him to throw it.

OhSewCrafty

Based on this morning, I'm thinking she might be scared of him. She seems to be very submissive with DH and I, but is just freaked out by Charlie. Hopefully she'll get used to him. Thanks for the responses, ladies.

GrayGhost13

Hey girl, I just responded to you on our BMB, but I'm going to XP it here too, in case the info is of use to anyone else who may be reading.

I think the most important thing to remember right now is that there is always an adjustment period when a dog comes to a new home, so be patient and give her extra time and space to get to know you and get comfortable in your home. During these first couple weeks, limiting stressful situations as much as possible while maximizing positive encounters as much as you can will really set her up for success in the future.

With an energetic child in the house, I think it's really important to establish quiet places in the house she can go to rest without being bothered. You could do that by giving her naps in her crate when she looks tired/stressed, using a baby gate to give her some space of her own in your living area and/or setting up a bed or travel crate in your living area that C knows is off-limits. We use a combo of all of the above in our house so our dogs can be with us all day but still have some quiet time.

Small children can be a little stressful at times even for the gentlest, most easy-going dogs, so don't force interaction. We always encourage DS to let the animals come to him, rather than chasing them or getting in their faces. I think it's also important to get to know your dog's body-language. Growls and barks are obvious warnings that your dog is uncomfortable, but usually they are preceeded by other stress signals (sometimes known as calming signals) like lip-licking, yawning or wide-eyes. (It looks silly, but I LOVE this poster with dog body language drawings.) If she's looking stressed, give her some quiet time.

On the other hand, gently praise calm, gentle behavior when she's around C. Depending on what she likes, a "good girl," a gentle ear scratch, or a small treat are all good ways of teaching her that kids are awesome to be around.

C is old enough to understand some basic rules, but young enough that you will have to remind him often.  Your house rules may vary, but ours are no touching the dog's food, no tail-pulling, no climbing inside the dog crate if it is occupied, and avoid disturbing a sleeping dog. (Any hitting or meanness is an automatic time-out; everything else, we try to remind and redirect). I tend to be on the cautious side with kids and dogs, so I don't leave mine together unsupervised for more than a few moments even now. With a brand-new dog, I think I'd keep them separated unless you're directly supervising interactions. Again, I should own stock in baby gating companies!

As far as other basic, new dog stuff. The Pets Board FAQ has a look of good info in it.  I highly recommend positive, science-backed training (as far as authors Karen Pryor, Patricia McConnell, Sofia Yin and Pat Miller are a few that come to mind.) I also suggest going to an obedience class even if you've trained dogs before. I think you get a lot out of the experience of working with your individual dog, and a good teacher can help you solve a lot of common roadblocks in your training.

Congrats again and enjoy your new addition!

OhSewCrafty

GrayGhost13:

Hey girl, I just responded to you on our BMB, but I'm going to XP it here too, in case the info is of use to anyone else who may be reading.

I think the most important thing to remember right now is that there is always an adjustment period when a dog comes to a new home, so be patient and give her extra time and space to get to know you and get comfortable in your home. During these first couple weeks, limiting stressful situations as much as possible while maximizing positive encounters as much as you can will really set her up for success in the future.

With an energetic child in the house, I think it's really important to establish quiet places in the house she can go to rest without being bothered. You could do that by giving her naps in her crate when she looks tired/stressed, using a baby gate to give her some space of her own in your living area and/or setting up a bed or travel crate in your living area that C knows is off-limits. We use a combo of all of the above in our house so our dogs can be with us all day but still have some quiet time.

Small children can be a little stressful at times even for the gentlest, most easy-going dogs, so don't force interaction. We always encourage DS to let the animals come to him, rather than chasing them or getting in their faces. I think it's also important to get to know your dog's body-language. Growls and barks are obvious warnings that your dog is uncomfortable, but usually they are preceeded by other stress signals (sometimes known as calming signals) like lip-licking, yawning or wide-eyes. (It looks silly, but I LOVE this poster with dog body language drawings.) If she's looking stressed, give her some quiet time.

On the other hand, gently praise calm, gentle behavior when she's around C. Depending on what she likes, a "good girl," a gentle ear scratch, or a small treat are all good ways of teaching her that kids are awesome to be around.

C is old enough to understand some basic rules, but young enough that you will have to remind him often.  Your house rules may vary, but ours are no touching the dog's food, no tail-pulling, no climbing inside the dog crate if it is occupied, and avoid disturbing a sleeping dog. (Any hitting or meanness is an automatic time-out; everything else, we try to remind and redirect). I tend to be on the cautious side with kids and dogs, so I don't leave mine together unsupervised for more than a few moments even now. With a brand-new dog, I think I'd keep them separated unless you're directly supervising interactions. Again, I should own stock in baby gating companies!

As far as other basic, new dog stuff. The Pets Board FAQ has a look of good info in it.  I highly recommend positive, science-backed training (as far as authors Karen Pryor, Patricia McConnell, Sofia Yin and Pat Miller are a few that come to mind.) I also suggest going to an obedience class even if you've trained dogs before. I think you get a lot out of the experience of working with your individual dog, and a good teacher can help you solve a lot of common roadblocks in your training.

Congrats again and enjoy your new addition!

Thank you so much! I was actually hoping you'd respond. Haha

I have a book from the dog rescue by McConnell and London and it's been pretty helpful for the basics, but most of the stuff I'm finding is about introducing an existing dog to a new baby - not the other way around!

They seem to be doing a bit better this afternoon though Charlie is struggling with the new rules (read: meltdown after meltdown, which only adds to Gracie's anxiety). Thankfully, Charlie can go play in his room and Gracie can hang out in the living room when things get crazy. Our extra baby gate is currently giving our extremely pissed off cat a space of her own. Haha I'm hoping once the shiny wears off of "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" everything will calm down.

That chart is hysterical, but very helpful! I grew up with dogs, but haven't owned one in about 10 years so its a nice refresher. Gracie is definitely falling into the anxious category at the moment. Lots of change after being in the same home for so long.

Thanks again for the help and I'll definitely let you know if I have questions. :-D

GrayGhost13

OhSewCrafty:

Thank you so much! I was actually hoping you'd respond. Haha

I have a book from the dog rescue by McConnell and London and it's been pretty helpful for the basics, but most of the stuff I'm finding is about introducing an existing dog to a new baby - not the other way around!

They seem to be doing a bit better this afternoon though Charlie is struggling with the new rules (read: meltdown after meltdown, which only adds to Gracie's anxiety). Thankfully, Charlie can go play in his room and Gracie can hang out in the living room when things get crazy. Our extra baby gate is currently giving our extremely pissed off cat a space of her own. Haha I'm hoping once the shiny wears off of "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" everything will calm down.

That chart is hysterical, but very helpful! I grew up with dogs, but haven't owned one in about 10 years so its a nice refresher. Gracie is definitely falling into the anxious category at the moment. Lots of change after being in the same home for so long.

Thanks again for the help and I'll definitely let you know if I have questions. :-D

Yay, so glad I could help! I am sure you're right that things will get easier once the novelty wears off for all parties involved. GL and congrats again!