Young Dog Growls at Child

A Labrador Retriever growls at a child who pays too rough.

Q. I have a male 1 1/2-year-old Labrador Retriever who has always been very nice and docile. Last week a 3-year-old girl visited and my dog growled at her three times and moved toward her in an angry manner, right in front of me and once on leash. The girl has been here twice before and she can be aggressive with dogs pulling tails, trying to ride them, etc. I'm not sure if my dog would have bitten her, but he did growl and move toward her. I just got back from the vet, and he suggested we get rid of our dog. What is your opinion?

A. The girl probably hurt your Lab when she pulled his tail and jumped on him. Even the sweetest dog has limits. Worried this child would hurt him again, he told her in dog language to get away. He didn't bite, even though he had the opportunity. He didn't even touch her. What he did was normal canine communication — dramatic, but not violent. It would be terribly unfair for him to lose his home over this.

Someone needs to teach this little girl to be gentler with animals, or some dog less docile than yours might really bite her. When she visits, put your Lab in a closed room with his bed and chew-bone, and keep the child away from him. To prevent his experience with this girl from generalizing to all children, invite friends with gentle kids to visit. Confine your dog in an adjacent room with a doorway gate, so he can watch the kids play and see that they're not rough. When he relaxes, let the kids toss treats to him through the gate. Later, leash him and take him into the room, but have the kids ignore him except to toss treats. After a while, when he's calm and interested in the kids, you might allow them to hand-feed him treats. After several pleasant visits, your dog may be ready to be petted, one child at a time. Don't rush this — let your dog's relaxed attitude be your guide.

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Give us your opinion on Young Dog Growls at Child

melvin kuala lumpur, MA

5/15/2009 2:56:01 AM

i think maybe the girl has been to rough playing whit the dog so he gave a warning to her to stop doing that

Stephen Lawrence, KS

4/25/2009 2:32:03 PM

Awesome. Thank you. 2 years after you wrote it, but bravo!

frances proctorville, OH

3/9/2008 4:25:03 PM

good job

Jessi Ft Myers, FL

7/19/2007 10:42:05 AM

I agree, something definately happened to your pup. Kids can be very mean, and labradors are usually so good with people and children and animals. We had a labrador get mean towards kids, but it was only to the kids who used to throw rocks at him through the fence, and spray him with water on cold days. So, please dont put him down, he is not hopeless, he is just reacting to what was done to him.