My pup developed some issues last night

[Drew Good]

Hey all,

The wife and I invited another couple and their children ( 3 girls ) over last night for super and a friendly game of poker afterwards. Well everything was fine for the first couple of minutes while they were coming in the door and stuff. Mercedes was sniffing them all out and giving Kisses, but her happyness did not last long.

As soon as they got their shoes off all 3 of the girls ran for my pup at the same time " oohhh'ing and aaahhhh'ing" to pet the puppy. Well she had a meltdown. This scared the hell out of her, she spent the rest of the night either beside me ( or under my chair ) or even hiding under a desk.

She had no issues with the adults at anytime and if it was just one kid near her she was not so bad but if all 3 were near her or tired to pet her she would litterly start to tremble and she would imeadiately run to me for protection.

She has never had issues with kids before and infact she loves them but something really thru her for a loop last night. I spent most of the night trying to get her to come out of her shell but in the end I had to let her be as the more I tried the worse she got.

Look's like I got some socialization problems to deal with. I think once we loose this damn snow I will start taking her to the park and places where kids are. Whatcha Think? Up until now she has never ever shown any sort of socialization issues.

Drew

[ducksoup]

Socialization at parks, while walking on street and around any place kids are is a good start -- how old is Mercedes now???? -- maybe this was just isolated incident???? -- how often has she ever been 'swarmed" by that many kids???? -- I don't think you have that big of a problem - sounds like she was just more "overwhelmed" than anything -- unless of course this has happened a couple of times

[Drew Good]

how old is Mercedes now????

8 months


-- maybe this was just isolated incident???? -- how often has she ever been 'swarmed" by that many kids????

It was the first time that she has ever been swarmed by kids. As soon as I seen what was going on I pulled her out from under the end table ( after getting the kids to back off and leave her be) and took her into our bedroom to calm down

I tried getting her to "warm up" to them one at a time later in the night but she wanted nothing to do with them. Infact she was out of sorts all night but she seem's back to normal today


sounds like she was just more "overwhelmed" than anything
-- unless of course this has happened a couple of times

Let's hope so, it was the first time I have ever seen her act afraid of anything. Normally she is a firebreather and is not scared of anything.

[North of 7]

I agree with Mike but be careful not to overwhelm the puppy

[Anna Scott]

I guess I am quite a crank when it comes to kids and my dogs. I have often told parents to keep the kids back until I say they can pet the dogs. The dog must be sitting at my side before anyone can pat it. We teach this in basic obedience class. Kids swarming a dog are asking to be biten even if it is the most reliable dog on the face of the earth you never know when the unexpected will happen. I want control of the dogs whenever someone enters the house. When ask "does your dog bite" I reply yes he has teeth, will he bite you not if you are respecting him and his space". Having our dogs out in so many public place we really have to be very careful when strangers approach. I have found that many people are really stupid when it come to their children and dogs.
Letting kids run up to hug and kiss a strange dog is a recipe for disaster.

[luvmylabs]

I agree with Anna. Had our male at the Gold Whistle a few years ago. After the placements were announced, the public was let in. It was crazy. There must have been over a hundred people, mostly kids swarming the dogs. Our guy loved kids, but he was looking for a way out of that arena. He almost climbed into the bleachers to get away from them. We got him out of there and even told a couple of very persistant kids to leave him alone. That many kids all at once can really freak a dog out. He was fine with kids in a normal environment, but that was just too much for him. Then they wonder why a dog bites!!! Sheesh!!

Anne

[Kevin Hannah]

All the advice is good Drew, she was probably just a little overwelmed with all the action. You may find that if the people came over again that everything may be fine now that she has seen that it was no big deal.

Kevin