When we bring human children into our lives, whether through adoption or birth, we can’t help but fantasize about what your happy family will look like. Maybe your dog was your first baby, and you dream of her becoming best friend with your new addition. Or maybe you decide to add a dog into the family to help you feel more complete. Regardless of how your family grows, there is bound to be some stress as everyone becomes adjusted to living together. Fortunately for us, dogs have lots of communication strategies. They use their body language to express how they are feeling. And they sometimes also use their voice in the form of a growl when they think someone should really pay attention. And pay attention we do. But how do we handle it if growling happens?
Our first instinct may be to reprimand the dog – but that simply tells the dog that we don’t care how she is feeling and we don’t want to hear about it. The problem with suppressing the growl is that the dog may simply skip that step and go right to using her teeth. That’s when dog trainers frequently hear things like, “she bit without any warning.” Trust me, though, there were likely lots of warnings. She just didn’t growl…since you taught her not to. Oops.
What should you do if your dog growls at your toddler?
- Move your toddler away from the dog. Let’s make sure everyone is safe. You can put your kiddo behind a baby gate, in another room behind a closed door, or in a play pen. The goal of moving your child is to show your dog that you are taking care of things and that she can feel safe again. It also helps your dog not to feel punished after the growl. If you always move the dog after the growl, she may feel like growling gets her into trouble. And we already discussed what could happen then.
- Print this free checklist to help you figure out WHY your dog growled at your baby or toddler. As much as we love our kids, it helps to be honest about the fact that they can be hard to manage. They have minds of their own. They are noisy. They move fast. They fall down a lot. And they don’t always have control of their bodies yet. So there is a very good chance that your toddler did something to make your dog uncomfortable. This list might help you to identify what that could have been.
- Then what? You know why your dog growled. So what can you do in the future? I’m a big fan of using visual reminders to kids to help them stay in “kid-zones” or stay OUT of “dog-zones”. You could use gates or even mark off an area to identify this zone by using blue painter’s tape on the floor. Reward your kiddo for being calm and slow around the dog. Praise your toddler for making good choices around the dog and for being gentle. You can even use a reward chart. If your dog is settled somewhere nicely, you can play with your child near the dog so you can practice appropriate behavior together. Remember – toddlers are sponges and learn by watching how you and the other family members behave.
- Be kind to yourself. You don’t know what you don’t know. This checklist should give you some red flags to look out for. Knowledge is power, baby.
To get my free guide, please complete the form below.
xo
Michelle
