ferrocious behaviour

[pratimauday]

my 3yrs old labrador is vry ferrocious
he doesnt like children at'all and there r twochildren in our hme
how to change his behaviur

[Ghilly]

As much as you're not going to want to hear this, the most unsafe situation involving a pet that I can think of is to have a dog that doesn't like kids in a home with kids, and if that dog has aggression issues, it's doubly bad.

It's imperative that you consult a canine behaviorist NOW, before something happens that everyone regrets.  Truth to tell, the safest thing to do would be to rehome the dog to a family that doesn't have children, and tell them WHY you are rehoming him, so they don't accidentally allow a child near him without realizing what he is capable of.

This is not meant to sound harsh, even though I know it does anyway, but if he bites a child, it will not be his fault, it will be the fault of those who put him in a situation where he was more or less forced to interact with children despite his obvious fear and/or dislike of them.  The sad part, though, is that even though neither the dog nor the child are in control of the situation, they will be the ones to pay for it, the child will sustain a bite, perhaps to the face, depending on the size of the child since it's a large dog, and the dog will more than likely pay with his life, since many dogs that bite end up being put down.  

So unless you have a way to separate this dog from the children in the house, and can guarantee there is no way they will be together, this is an unsafe situation and I can only recommend rehoming the dog before something bad happens.  Even if you do manage to work with a behaviorist and get him to a point where he doesn't outwardly show aggression toward children, you can NEVER trust him with children.  He will never be an acceptable dog for you to have in your family for this reason.  You won't be able to enjoy him the way a family should enjoy a pet, and he won't be able to realize his full potential as a pet if he can't properly interact with his family.  The kindest thing to do in this situation, for everyone, is to find him a family that doesn't have children, tell them the truth about why you are rehoming him, and let him go to that new home.  Then, depending upon how old your children are, either wait a few years to get another dog or find a dog that is foolproof around kids, maybe one that comes from a family with a lot of kids that is being rehomed because they have to move and can't take the dog with them, or something of that nature.  But if you're going to have a dog, it MUST be one that can happily live with children.

Ghilly

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Wow...I bet you sure are stressed out with the dog acting that way towards the kids.

Did you just get this dog or has he been in the family for awhile?  Is he still intact or have you had him neutered?

As Teko said, more than likely the dog is afraid for some reason.  If your kids are smaller (toddlers), dogs are really scared of them!  They are loud, they don't move normally and in general, many dogs have issues with kids at that age, unless they have been exposed to them previously.

This is a great question for the behaviorists we have in the Ask a Vet forum...find the Behavior forum there and post this question to them.   You will get some great advice!

Good luck to you!

[teko]

The dog is afraid the children will hurt him more than likely.  I just got a 4 year old pom and the first night I had em he bit my husband. I use a spray bottle and when ever he growls or acts agressive, I spray him in the face. Works for me, so far.

[margypops]

How do the children behave towards him , are they kind ,have you had him since he was a puppy, and how has he been treated by the family. Very often animals like children are copying the behavior they have learned and if people and children behave unkindly the animal responds in kind. Dogs arent usually born disliking children or people  ..they learn to.