Let me introduce you to a technique that I call “Toddler Proofing”, if you are concerned about your dog’s aggression towards your children.
Re-programming a dog’s emotional reaction to your child’s touch or presence, from feelings of agression to excitement, or at the very least tolererance, is a technique called Toddler Proofing… tolerance.
This process is CRUCIAL for families who want to prevent their children from being bitten by their dogs when they aren’t looking. Because roughly 65% of all dog biting cases are to the face, preventative training is something all families should take very seriously.
It only makes sense to consider preventative training, since it is very difficult for parents to completely prevent their kids from pulling their dog’s tail, or climbing over him, or curiously taking food out of his food bowl. And while this article can in no way guarantee that this will work for all cases of dog aggression with kids… it is a great starting point.
Effectively fixing dog aggression with children can be done using what I call “Hi Value Emotional Rewards” to your dog when the child does something irritating to him BEFORE the dog experiences the aggressive emotions, and is the secret behind Toddler Proofing.
Here’s how Toddler Proofing works:
Step #1: Make sure you know what your dog loves more then anything in the world. In order for Toddler Proofing to work, you need to have a Hi Value emotional reward.You may use treats like cheese or meat for some dogs.Chasing a ball may be better for other dogs.Interrupting the normal emotional pattern your dog experiences when your child goes to bother him may be done by using this reward. So make sure to have this reward handy.
Step #2: Start small! Accepting all sorts of behaviors from you child all at once should not be tried. Instead pick a behavior that only mildly bothers your dog.We want to work on the behavior of allowing your dog to tolerate his tail being pulled without growling in this example.
WARNING!!! NEVER put yourself or your child at risk of being harmed by your dog.These techniques should only be used for mild cases of aggression.You should consult a professional trainer in your local area to help you with your issues directly, instead of following these directions, if your dog is dangerous or you are afraid of being bitten. There’s simply too many factors for considering your safety that this article cannot address.Which means, you must be careful.
While only “slightly” bothering your dog, reward him. To teach your dog to be more accepting of “Tail Pulling”, reward your dog while lightly grabbing his tail.Instead of pulling his tail, just lightly grasp it at first.Be sure to reward your dog with a food treat, or other reward, exactly at the instant your grab his tail.
When receiving a reward, you can FORCE your dog to feel an emotion of excitement when his tail is being touched, rather than feeling aggression. Done repeatedly this will reprogram your dog to get excited about having his tail touched as more often then not it leads to a reward. In effect, you’re reprogramming his emotional mind!
Add more discomfort slowly. When your dog willingly lets you grasp his tail ten times throughout the day without growling or showing signs of aggression, it’s time to increase the discomfort.Do this SLOWLY and CAREFULLY.Never push a dog past his comfort zone.While continuing to reward him with food treats, instead just try grabbing your dog’s tail slightly harder.
Should you notice your dog is bothered with harder grasping of his tail, you should BACK OFF and squeeze lighter.
Teaching your dog slowly that having his tail grabbed is a good thing is the goal.
You will be able to continue to increase your dog’s tolerance threshold by rewarding your dog for having his tail grabbed while receiving a treat. If done correctly you can increase the tolerance threshold of how much discomfort a dog can feel before acting aggressive substantially. This is why Toddler Proofing is such a wonderful technique for fixing dog aggression with children.
In many cases Toddler Proofing like techniques have been used on working dogs like seeing eye dogs.Trainers need to train the dogs to tolerate having their tails stepped on or run over by wheel chairs in cases like these.While these handlers might accidentally cause them pain, their owners need to not be bitten.
You can effectively fix dog aggression towards children for all sorts of behaviors that they do to dogs that bother them, such as whisker and tail pulling, or feet touching, by using Toddler Proofing strategies correctly.
I hope this helps reduce your dog’s aggression towards your child!
Tags: babies and dogs, dog agression, new baby with dog, toddler proofing your dog