Dogs don’t have a say in the training methods you use.
Dogs do have feelings and are emotional beings.
Dogs do feel pain and aggression exhibited through growling, lunging and biting can become the go to response depending on the methods used. This can lead to very serious concerns for the dog and the family.
Dogs also can also learn to suppress behaviors like growling if they are punished for doing so.
THIS IS DANGEROUS!
A dog with a suppressed communication like a growl will result in your dog going straight to a bite.
Zero warning.
I understand if you have small children in the home and you hear your dog growling and your child is nearby, you’re scared.
You’re really worried about the safety of your child and your go to response is yelling and punishing your dog.
Please stop.
Meeting a dog’s displeasure of the experience in the environment with your “mean voice” or scary body language or even physical force will make the problem worse, it will also impact your relationship with your dog which will degrade over time. It can also lead to more growling or worse like snapping and biting towards your child.
What will you do then?
Teaching children about how they impact and influence their dog’s behavior is utterly important.
Not only is this for the immediate, but learning for both the child and animal is life long.
Empowering children to understand how they can impact the world around them is also confidence building, encourages compassion and empathy.
Teaching children how to safely interact with dogs, encourages your dog to seek out your child for all things.
Together, your dog and child can build a strong bond which is mutually rewarding.
In order to get here, teaching both appropriate ways of having fun and building a relationship is necessary and taking small steps.
Learning is never linear and it for sure requires repetition and everyone in the home caring for the dog and child have to be on the same page.
Not sure where to start?
Get your school aged kids enrolled into the G2G: Kids Virtual Game Series!
Four Paws & You Dog Training 