[Starr05]

We just had our first incident with Gisselle! My one year old daughter walked over to her like she usually did and sat down in Gisselles bed with her...Gisselle turned around snarled and almost bit her!! Does that mean shes not going to be good with her? I am not sure if My daughter accidently steped on her or not. I was sitting by them  when it happened though.

 

[mybaddogs]

that happens at my house every now and then.  We reprimand the dog and make sure we know what happened.  Most of the time my kid has done something wrong, but I want my dog to know whatever the situation she is not to be aggressive towards the kids.

 

[Mastray]

That sounds normal I think. Then again some people have dogs that just let kids step all over them and not even care. Some how I don't think Boxers are like that.

 

[JessiesMom]

They can only have so much patience...

if she did step on her, it would definitely explain why gisselle had that reaction.  And why this is the first time its happened.  If gisselle has never had this problem before i wouldnt be too worried about it!

 

[Starr05]

I just couldn't believe it. I do understand if my daughter steped on her, but I have never had that happen before. My kids can climb all over my other two with out incident. I guee I just thought it would be the samw with her.At least she didn't get to make contact with my daughter.

 

[JessiesMom]

I just couldn't believe it. I do understand if my daughter steped on her, but I have never had that happen before. My kids can climb all over my other two with out incident. I guee I just thought it would be the samw with her.At least she didn't get to make contact with my daughter.

Gisselle is a rescue right???

Have you had the other dogs since they were puppies?

 

[Starr05]

Gisselle is a rescue right???

Have you had the other dogs since they were puppies?

Yes Gisselle is a rescue. The only one we have had as a pup is
liberty the giant schnauzer. We rescued Nash (our pit) when he was 3.

 

[JessiesMom]

[quote="JessiesMom\";p=\"8761":2splgn5k]Gisselle is a rescue right???

Have you had the other dogs since they were puppies?

Yes Gisselle is a rescue. The only one we have had as a pup is
liberty the giant schnauzer. We rescued Nash (our pit) when he was 3.[/quote:2splgn5k]

I honeslty wouldnt read to much into this...

but of course you should keep an eye on them when your daughter is near any of the dogs no matter how well they get along... Accidents do happen...

 

[tootsie]

[quote="Starr05\";p=\"8751":26gwi8nv]Does that mean shes not going to be good with her? I am not sure if My daughter accidently steped on her or not. I was sitting by them

 

[southerngirls]

Savannah has not snapped at my little girl, but she has growled. when we first got Savannah, Ciara (my daughter who is 6) would always try to climb on her or hug her too close. basically she just wouldnt leave poor savannah alone. Eventually Savannah had enough and started growling at Ciara when she was tired. We reprimanded both ciara and savannah. Ciara has since learned not to mess with the dogs 24-7 and savannah no longer growls, unless she is keeping reese in line!! Give her some time, i wouldnt worry about it. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Flutterby]

Toby (bulldog) has snapped at my niece before because she use to climb all over him and he just got tired of it.. I do tell her to calm down if she starts getting rough with him (he was around 8 months old then). She did step on his paw once this past fall and he snapped at her in pain.. I just let him know I won't tolerate it and he knows he's submissive to her.. other than that, I've never had any problems.

 

[Honeyec]

Heh heh sorry, shouldn't be laughing at this but I can't help it - one Christmas we were playing Twister and my mam's Westie wandered onto the playmat.  Needless to say, the pile collapsed shortly afterwards and my sister Clodagh landed right on top of him - she completely squished him!  Well, he took such a bite right out of her ass, he got such a fright! And my Dad, well, suffice it to say that the dog never left a room so fast in his life...

Of course, she was 26 when it happened, so we could afford to laugh, but you should have seen us all giving out to my Dad afterwards!

 

[nano]

Never, ever punish a dog for growling.  It is a dogs only way of warning us that he/she cannot handle a situtation. If you punish growling enough so that they don't growl the dog's next only way of warning you is with a bite.  Growlings should be respected and the behavior stopped that is stressing the dog.  It usually means that a dog needs some SPACE from the irritant, or also might not be feeling well.  

Nano

 

[Starr05]

We have kept Elyse(my daughter) away from Gisselle since it happened.....well not away but gave Gisselle space. Things seem to be ok. Gisselle came over and gave her a kiss. I just kinda freaked out, like I said never had that happen before..... first time for everything

 

[caillou]

Never, ever punish a dog for growling.  It is a dogs only way of warning us that he/she cannot handle a situtation. If you punish growling enough so that they don't growl the dog's next only way of warning you is with a bite.  Growlings should be respected and the behavior stopped that is stressing the dog.  It usually means that a dog needs some SPACE from the irritant, or also might not be feeling well.  

Wow...i didn't know that but it makes sense. Voltaire's one of those "any attention is good attention" dogs. Nobody ever annoys him and he's never too tired or grouchy for play -lucky. But what if the dog gets smart and then uses the growling to intimidate and get it's own way? If it gets all territorial over toys? bed? food?

 

[nano]

Wonderful question, Voltaire. The way to deal with territorial over things, is to give dog his/her own space in which he has a place to be with toys, etc. where no one else is allowed access. It is good to teach a dog the command "drop it" and have him give you the toy.  Then be all happy and return to him saying "here".  This establishes your leadership and that while, you might want something, he will get it returned or something wonderful in return.  Also never play tug-o-war with your dog.  This is a game that a pack leader, in a dog pack, never, ever engages in with other dogs.  This is a game played by puppies and secondary dogs.  These are things I have only recently learned in the past few years thru a friend of mine who is a well known canine behaviorist and master dog trainer, goes to show you certainly never know everything in life.

Something I use with my dogs is practiced during feeding time.  The command to eat is also "here" this means it is now yours not mine.  "mine" is the command I use to say this is not for you!  I put the dogs dish down and say "here"  then I will say "wait" and briefly pick dish back up and say "good wait" and quickly return with a "here" command.  I also use a lot of brief strokes and touches on the dogs back while they are eating.  I have never had a problem in 26 years of boxers with any territorial growling over anything where I am involved!

Sometimes there is some amongst themselves, but since I have established that I am in control of the good stuff, I can remove the item at any time and redistribute or put away. This I would like to stress, I HAVE STARTED WITH YOUNG PUPPIES, not a dog with a current problem.  It you have a problem with this I would consult a professional trainer.  But the "here" "drop" and "mine" commands are indespensable in our household to establish my control of the good stuff.

  My last female did a warning growl, snap, at a toddler who poked her finger into her eye when she was cornered while laying on her dog bed.  I could not punish for this warning and merely removed the dog to her safe space away from the offending child.   The parents were completely understanding of what had happened and the child was unfazed.

Nano

 

[caillou]

Also never play tug-o-war with your dog.  This is a game that a pack leader, in a dog pack, never, ever engages in with other dogs.

Tug-o-war games are Voltaire's favourite games 8O !! He's a very submissive dog so it's the only time he gets to have a good growl. He never gets carried away or nasty- it's always a game and it's me who decides when to stop. Is that ok to play this kind of game if your dog is very respectful of your place as pack leader in all other areas? The only exceptions to his being submissive are barking at strangers and avoiding head petting by anyone facing him. If he likes someone he leans on them for a "butt stroke" :roll: !

 

[nano]

As a general rule it is not a good game to play with your dog.  It makes them want to tug about other things as leads and whatnot and to think things are his to fight over with you.  It is up to you.  I am just passing on what I've learned and decided not to do as the potential for problems I don't need.  I used to play tug with my first boxer years ago, all the time.

Nano

 

[Barbs2Ks]

What about two dogs playing tug of war?  My sister wanted Kiah and her Golden Retreiver to play tug of war with some socks she knotted up.  Not sure if I like the idea of socks but she hasn't chewed any of mine yet

 

[nano]

If you read my post before my last one, it says it is a game played by puppies and secondary dogs in the pack.  It is fine for dogs to play together as long as no one gets vicious over it.

Nano