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Dog nipped at child...need advice
Hubby and I just bought our first home and decided that we wanted to adopt a dog from the local shelter. He's a lab/retriever mix and came in as a stray so the shelter didn't have any other information on him. He's been pretty docile, calm when indoors and housebroken. He does jump on us and visitors when they enter the home which we are working to correct. He gets along great with strangers and other dogs. When we've come across them when we're out for a walk, he gets excited and curious but has never growled, barked or nipped at/bit any stranger or dog when we see them out.
That is until today. I took him over to a friend's house to visit. There were children there, 2 of them around 10 and 1 around 4 yrs old. He loved the attention of the older children, then he lunged at and nipped at the 4 yr old when he got up from his seat. It wasn't really provoked and the child was a litle squirmy in his chair at first. He just got up from his seat and stood next to it when the incident happened. Before this, he was petting him and gave him a treat when the dog followed his "sit" command. No skin was broken and there was no blood, but I felt terrible. This is the first and ONLY time he's done this. Even after this happened, when the child walked by he would occasionally growl at the him.
We don't have any children in our home yet, but plan to in the future. We've only had him for a few weeks but he's proven to be a great companion for us in our home. This is tearing me up because he's been such a joy for us. Any advice as what to do? Honestly, other than going on walks, he hasn't been exposed to many different people, especially young kids. We don't want to have to take him back to the shelter, this is the first time he's been introduced to children as long as he's been with us. Thanks for your help and any advice or similar situations you can share.
Re: Dog nipped at child...need advice
How long have you had the dog? Too much too soon with adopted dogs can prove to be quite harmful. You may just have rushed into things too fast. He should, ideally, have an opportunity to get to know you/your house/your rules/your family before any outside visitors/trips. This can be a couple weeks of just 'getting to know you' time.
I would get him in an obedience class as well. Speak with a behaviorist. Introduce children slower next time (not 3-4 at one time, for instance). You owe it to the pup to give him every opportunity to succeed in your home - you adopted him, not the other way around. Whatever you do, don't give up on him. What he did was not vicious or malicious, it was a reaction to a situation. Find out what he was reacting in that manner, and work to correct it with a behaviorist if necessary.
Good luck.
FF
Also remember that the younger a child is, the more they freak dogs out. They move erratically, they speak in loud, high-pitched voices . . . They don't act like adult humans.
Also, what makes you say that he was loving the attention? I'm just curious, because I wonder if he was giving off non-verbal signals that he was actually a little uncomfortable around the kids, and the snap was his way of telling you "I'M FREAKED OUT, GET ME OUT OF HERE."
I wasn't there, so I don't know his tail position. A wagging tail doesn't always signal happiness.
Of course, he could very well have been at ease with the older kids and nervous around the 4-year-old.
This e-booklet (it's a PDF) is about preparing pets for meeting a new baby, but there is a list of non-verbal signs of stress and has illustrations of dog body language and what they mean.
"excited" and "wagging" are not always happy! they can very easily be mistaken for happiness when they are in fact anxiety.
I agree with PPs.
One of my pups doesn't do well in new places at all. She gets very nervous in new environments with new people. Molly is the sweetest dog and very gentle with kids she knows, but put her in a situation that is unfamiliar and she will let you know quickly she wants out. Like they stated before, it could just be too much for the pup right now.
I'm no expert but I think this webinar is super helpful. http://www.apdt.com/education/webinars/archives/0013/default.aspx
She shows examples of body language and what it means, gives examples of how to handle things and does it in a very non-judgmental and realistic way.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
I know this thread isold, but just wanted to comment -
Give your dog time to adjust, and give him plenty of training. When we adopted Stoli, the first night he went after Bacardi and within the first few weeks he lunged/snapped at my nephew. We worked hard at training him, and more importantly setting him up for success instead of failure (crating when we aren't home, babygates when he has high value toys/treats, etc).
Now, 4 years later, he is an awesome family dog. We have a 2 year old and a 5 week old and he's great with them - but we still only let him have certain toys/treats behind a babygate, and our son is constantly reminded that he can NOT go near an eating dog.
Good luck - it isn't easy but it is worth it.