Aggressiveness is a serious behavior problem and even more so when it is aimed at infants and children. A bite or an attempted attack is enough to go to a professional immediately, since these types of reactions usually get worse and the consequences can be fatal.
In this article on our site we will explain what you should do if your dog is aggressive towards children, helping you to assess the risk of the situation and the options available to you to solve this problem.
Why are some dogs aggressive towards children?
Many people believe that this type of aggressiveness is due to a problem of jealousy, but the truth is that there are many reasons why dogs attack children, highlighting:
- Bad communication: the child does not understand dog language and ignores the body signals that the dog makes when he feels overwhelmed, cornered or annoying. This is often the trigger for the first negative behaviors.
- Unpleasant experiences: It is normal for a child to end up pulling the dog's tail and even sticking a finger in the dog's eye. The problem appears when we do not stop this behavior, allowing the dog to feel upset and the child to continue being invasive. That is when the dog takes the initiative and starts growling and trying to attack the boy.
- Punishments and/or use of aversive materials: if we do not allow the dog to express himself freely, punishing him when he growls, he can go on to bite directly. It can also happen that we frequently punish him or use aversives (choke, semi-choke and/or electric collars) around the minor, so the dog will end up associating the child's presence with something negative.
- Social Displacement: It may finally happen that, after the arrival of the child or as the child grows, we begin to ignore the dog, let's put it in the garden or let's not worry so much about it. Then behavioral problems can arise (disorders related to separation, stress, anxiety, social isolation…) that can also be negatively associated with the child.
When to go to a dog trainer, canine educator or ethologist?
On our site we want to emphasize that, from the first moment that we observe an aggressive behavior of the dog towards the child, it will be imperative to go to the professional, since the safety of our child depends on it, in addition, there are some risk factors that must be weighed:
- Having a child under 5 years old is a very high risk factor, since the child is not aware that the dog It could be dangerous. At this age they also do not follow our instructions and have no empathy with the dog and the situation in general. In addition, the risk of an accident is greater, as is the severity of the attack.
- If the dog makes unpredictable attacks towards the child, without prior signs of appeasement, try to run away, bark or growl.
- It may also happen that a family member is not giving aggressiveness the importance it deserves and is reluctant to see a specialist. We must explain why it is important to carry it out and what consequences it may have for the minor.
Before going to the specialist we must be clear that results will not be immediate and that they will not always be 100% effective %. Depending on the dog, how long it has been showing this behavior and the factors mentioned above, it can be more or less complicated to treat. In addition, if the guidelines recommended by the specialist are no longer applied, the dog could become aggressive with children again.
What can we do while we wait for the specialist's visit?
Before starting a therapy to treat aggressiveness it will be essential to avoid conflictive situations, as is the direct contact between the child and the dog. We can ask a family member to stay with the dog or with the little one for a few days, until the professional comes to our home and we can start therapy.
It will also be useful to improve the welfareof the dog, providing the necessary attention, appropriate walks and lowering her stress levels. Don't forget that a mentally he althy dog will learn better and faster and will be more willing to work.
