We have a 5-month old 50 pound lab and an 8-year old neighbor boy who
love to play, wrestle, roll on the ground together. Unfortunately,
the dog now thinks that any child it sees is fair game to play the
same way. Whenever the dog sees a child, it runs up to it, pushes it
to the ground and basically mauls the kid. Parents of course aren't
always pleased. How do we stop this behavior? We have instructed the
neighbor boy to cease and we are soliciting his help in keeping the
dog at bay, to sit and all that but other kids are still vulnerable.
Any/all suggestions much appreciated.
Dave Perry

wrote:
Whenever the dog sees a child, it runs up to it, pushes it
to the ground and basically mauls the kid. Parents of course aren't
always pleased. How do we stop this behavior?

I would start by teaching the dog to come when called, then to sit
quietly until you tell him it's okay to go greet the person.
There's no excuse for letting any dog run up to random people.

I'd also work on acceptable greeting behavior. As in, the dog gets
absolutely no attention from the greetee until he is sitting quietly.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article .com,
wrote:

How do we stop this behavior? We have instructed the
neighbor boy to cease and we are soliciting his help in keeping the
dog at bay, to sit and all that but other kids are still vulnerable.
Any/all suggestions much appreciated.

Training. Not sure why you allowed the behavior to begin with, but
what's done is done. You should be in obedience classes at this point
in your pup's life, and you should have control of your dog when out on
leash, and when off leash in your yard.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

In article ,
Shelly wrote:


I would start by teaching the dog to come when called, then to sit
quietly until you tell him it's okay to go greet the person.
There's no excuse for letting any dog run up to random people.

And keeping the dog on leash until that level of training is achieved,
for so many reasons.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

wrote:
We have a 5-month old 50 pound lab and an 8-year old neighbor boy who
love to play, wrestle, roll on the ground together. Unfortunately,
the dog now thinks that any child it sees is fair game to play the
same way. Whenever the dog sees a child, it runs up to it, pushes it
to the ground and basically mauls the kid. Parents of course aren't
always pleased. How do we stop this behavior? We have instructed the
neighbor boy to cease and we are soliciting his help in keeping the
dog at bay, to sit and all that but other kids are still vulnerable.
Any/all suggestions much appreciated.


Leash.
Supervision.
Obedience training.


Parents aren't pleased, but what about the kid himself? Is he O.K. with
the rough play?
What exactly are you asking the kid to cease doing?


--Lia

Parents aren't pleased, but what about the kid himself? Is he O.K. with
the rough play?
What exactly are you asking the kid to cease doing?

--Lia

Parents of the neighbor kid are fine. Kid himself enjoys it. It's
other children such as at dog parks, on leash-free beaches and family/
friends who visit with children - they're the ones not so pleased.
Dave Perry

In article .com,
wrote:


Parents of the neighbor kid are fine. Kid himself enjoys it. It's
other children such as at dog parks, on leash-free beaches and family/
friends who visit with children - they're the ones not so pleased.

Ah yes, dog parks. Those places people take their dogs instead of
training them to behave off leash. Ok, not everyone who goes to dog
parks fits that category, but too many for me to risk my dogs at one.

Most dog parks have no-kids-under-12 rule as well, but it is the dog
owner's job to TRAIN THEIR DOG (are you seeing a theme?) to not be a
nuisance or danger to others.

No matter that the neighbor kid and his parents don't have a problem
with it. It's a really bad thing for your dog to have learned.
Tackling and mauling children is not a good game. Fetch. That's a good
game. Especially for a lab.

Have I mentioned obedience training?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

wrote:

Parents of the neighbor kid are fine. Kid himself enjoys it. It's
other children such as at dog parks, on leash-free beaches and family/
friends who visit with children - they're the ones not so pleased.


In that case, stop asking kids to train your dog for you.


Leash.
Supervision.
Obedience training. (Ask your veterinarian to recommend a class or
trainer.)
Tons of supervised exercise.
Could you teach your dog to trot on leash next to a bicycle?
Swimming is also good.
So is running on a long rope in the park. Every few minutes, you call
your dog, reel him in, and reward him for coming when called.


--Lia

In article ,
Julia Altshuler wrote:


Could you teach your dog to trot on leash next to a bicycle?

I wouldn't be doing that with a 5 month old lab pup. No jogging either.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet Boss wrote:
In article ,
Julia Altshuler wrote:


Could you teach your dog to trot on leash next to a bicycle?


I wouldn't be doing that with a 5 month old lab pup. No jogging either.


Good point. What's the appropriate age for that sort of running?


--Lia