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We just got a new dog she's about a year old.
As soon as my husband and i got home she started barking at our son.
She barks at him every time he comes into the room,or outside.
Its just him i dont know what to do.
How old is your son? Something about him makes the dog nervous if your son is a young child the dog might be afraid as maybe it is not use to children? Make sure your son is not making direct eye contact with the dog and look at your son's body language too. Is he moving slow and stiff?
When my sister got her dog she would go nuts when she saw the man next door and it was in an aggressive fashion so I told my sister to give her neighbor some dog treats and have him toss them at her dog when ever he saw it and at first just toss them not even say anything then start talking to her and next get her to come up for a treat, it did not take long but the dog thinks the neighbor is teh best thing around. so you want to make an association of something positive for the dog to your son so when she sees him she thinks good things happen when he is around I like him.
Phoenix the deaf vision limited ( since birth) BC I had was terrified of kids and she would not take treats as she was just too anxious when a kid was around. I had 3 young nephews and she did warm up to the older two but the younger one was hyper and his quick movements made it harder for her so she would see him bark then go hide but do so in a place where she could see him and watch him. If he sat and watched TV she would sneak up and sniff him.It did take a long time before he could pet her as she would run from him. even as he grew up and got to be over 6 ft tall she was very hesitant around him and while he could pet her she would not relax like she did when adults petted her. And he loves dogs and has always been great with them. Jazz and Dash LOVED the kid. Finally when she was an old dog she began to let kids pet her and actually enjoyed it.
If he's old enough to be responsible for feeding her, that usually does the trick. If he's too young for that, or doesn't want to, then just have him hand her her food bowl for a couple of weeks, with nice, slow movements and no eye contact.
Congrats on your new baby! She is still a puppy, and will have a puppy brain for another year or so.
Not so fast... When you bring home a dog, you bring in a living creature that changes all the time, like people. I know of many dog owners who started with a cute pup that after a great year, started growling and showing teeth to their small children and/or other dog (the two dogs coexisted happily for one year).
It is important to understand what's going on. Is she showing hostility to you child only? Perhaps she is afraid of him and its a defensive act, or she dislikes all children due to previous negative experiences? Can she be corrected? Or trained by positive methods? There are many ways to correct such behaviors. Why not consult a dog behaviorist?
Correct her. Did you make her sit at the front door, when you first brought her home. Did you go in before her....And walk her around the house on her leash....She should not be showing this type behavior if she just got into your home....It is your home...not hers. I personally don't like the sound of this...
Personally.....I do not think you should go get a dog from a rescue, without everyone going together.
She may see him as a littermate, truthfully there are all kinds of possibilities. I really think your son's age is very important to this discussion. What you should do if your son is a teen is different than if he is a crawling baby. Also your dog's possible breed matters - the options for how you should handle this if your dog is a pitbull or other potenially dangerous breed is a lot different than if it is a yorkie or chihuahua type.
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OP, I have a formerly feral foster puppy right now. He barks at the cats (after 6 weeks here) but it's because he wants them to play with him - and they keep their distance, usually up high. I like the suggestion of having your child either put food into the dog's dish or put the dish on the floor (small child, you supervise by guiding the child's hand with your own). Give the dog just a small amount of food at a time (not it's whole ration). You want the dog slightly hungry but not ravenous.
Until the growling/barking stops, do not leave the child and dog alone together. Supervise. If it's an older child who is comfortable, you might try hand-feeding the dog after placing the food into the dish.
These are steps. Don't jump into this, go slow and be prepared to back up. 1 step at a time.
For videos on how to do this and other advice, see DogSpeak
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