Post by tank on Oct 1, 2010 21:39:28 GMT -5
I figured out last weekend that Jake is really afraid of children. His last home was with a small child whom he loved but I think he was fearful of her friends that came over and thats why they got rid of him.
What I have witnessed so far is him being comfortable with all strangers but when I child is spotted he gets all uncomfortable and paces. When the child trys to pay any attention to him, he cowers and runs away. (This was with 3 different kids ages 6-10.) He was fine with the tall 12 year old who is actually really fearful of dogs. When I had people over I put him inside while we were outside and told all of the children they were allowed to play with Lucy but Jake had to stay inside because he was afraid of kids. If they wanted to go inside to use the bathroom they had to have a parent with them. This worked well until the end of the night when my friends little boy went running screaming into the house. Jake ran up to him and barked at him then cowered under the kitchen table and wouldn't come out. Jakes bark is very low and intimidating so he scared the crap out of the kid too.
How do I help him become more comfortable around children? I don't want to put him or a child in danger. I don't think he would hurt a child but you never know when a dog is pushed past their fear threshold like Jake was that night. He also isn't food motivated at all and will turn down a treat if he is at all uncomfortable. He is a very calm chill friendly dog but has a lot of fear issues. He shows no signs of being abused to me. I just think he was a stray for the first year of his life so he is very underexposed to everything.
Any advice or links to articles would be helpful. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make my boy comfortable.
What I have witnessed so far is him being comfortable with all strangers but when I child is spotted he gets all uncomfortable and paces. When the child trys to pay any attention to him, he cowers and runs away. (This was with 3 different kids ages 6-10.) He was fine with the tall 12 year old who is actually really fearful of dogs. When I had people over I put him inside while we were outside and told all of the children they were allowed to play with Lucy but Jake had to stay inside because he was afraid of kids. If they wanted to go inside to use the bathroom they had to have a parent with them. This worked well until the end of the night when my friends little boy went running screaming into the house. Jake ran up to him and barked at him then cowered under the kitchen table and wouldn't come out. Jakes bark is very low and intimidating so he scared the crap out of the kid too.
How do I help him become more comfortable around children? I don't want to put him or a child in danger. I don't think he would hurt a child but you never know when a dog is pushed past their fear threshold like Jake was that night. He also isn't food motivated at all and will turn down a treat if he is at all uncomfortable. He is a very calm chill friendly dog but has a lot of fear issues. He shows no signs of being abused to me. I just think he was a stray for the first year of his life so he is very underexposed to everything.
Any advice or links to articles would be helpful. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make my boy comfortable.
I look forward to learning much here