Hello everyone I'm new to the group looking for possible answers. Arlo is our 8 month old Doberman that just came back from 2 week professional board and train. He is listening to commands great and doing amazing. However he snaps at my daughter this is the 3rd time.( 2 times before training and this time after). She grabbed his bone before so I would think associating him being that way with her because of that. We have talked to her that she can't do that etc this time he snapped they were both in the kitchen and I was right behind her and she just let his neck n is all no food involved at all. She gives him treats and he listens to her commands but I can't have him doing this, how can I go about correcting and making him like her without having to get rid of him. He is so good w everyone ( even stranger children) just at times not her. Thank you in advance
8 month old Doberman showing aggression only towards my 6 year old daughter
- Thread starter mmartinez
- Start date
Can you please elaborate? I don't understand what this means. Were they facing each other?
Rits
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How old is your daughter?
Its important with little ones and larger dogs to not leave them alone together. There are multiple signs dogs give in their body language to communicate to you they need space before they ever bite. Signs a lot of people miss let a lone expecting a child to pick up on them. What is a simple and possibly fair correction to another dog after many ignored signals, could really hurt your child. It's our job to protect them both by not leaving them together unsupervised.
Is it possible he has any neck pain? He is a bit young but has he had his thyroid checked?
Edit: woops I see in the title she is 6. Yeah if they were alone together with you out of site I would kennel him or make use of an xpen to safely contain him and give him his own space for them both to safely play.
Its important with little ones and larger dogs to not leave them alone together. There are multiple signs dogs give in their body language to communicate to you they need space before they ever bite. Signs a lot of people miss let a lone expecting a child to pick up on them. What is a simple and possibly fair correction to another dog after many ignored signals, could really hurt your child. It's our job to protect them both by not leaving them together unsupervised.
Is it possible he has any neck pain? He is a bit young but has he had his thyroid checked?
Edit: woops I see in the title she is 6. Yeah if they were alone together with you out of site I would kennel him or make use of an xpen to safely contain him and give him his own space for them both to safely play.
Welcome from Minnesota.
Sorry to hear you're dealing with this new issue. It almost seems like something may have happened when he was away for training that you don't know about. I'm not sure if the trainer is experienced with this breed but they do have to be handled differently than most breeds.
Sorry to hear you're dealing with this new issue. It almost seems like something may have happened when he was away for training that you don't know about. I'm not sure if the trainer is experienced with this breed but they do have to be handled differently than most breeds.
The issue is this happened before training and now after but only with her not with anyone else in our family or strangers.
Kswoodssue
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Considering how Sasha was at 8 months, and how rough she was with our grandson, my thoughts are this; Encourage them to coexist, but not to interact. No food, no toys, nothing from the child’s hand. No furniture privileges for your pup. Give your pup all the love and discipline and family time, allowing him time to mature. Maybe a crate in the family room for evenings, so pup can be present, but contained in his safe space. Teach your child to watch and learn your pup’s cues. Growing up together can be a wonderful thing for them. One bite could be devastating for both.
Is there a chance the trainer can come to your house to watch the interaction between your child and dog? Somehow the dog is not respecting her as a leader. And perhaps there was some (bad) interaction between the two that you are unaware of that left your dog not trusting her?
I definitely wouldn't leave the two unattended together. 6 years old, even without this problem, is a little young to be left unattended with a dog. Especially a big dog. I would be watching the two together like a hawk. Watching for signs on both of their parts. Children don't understand the body language of a dog. Some grown ups don't. They may pester too much or get in their face when the dog doesn't want it. They don't know when to back off. They're just children. I would be watching their interaction to see if I could pick up on what's happening. Who's at fault. This is where the trainer might come in handy.
Our Annie is 10 months old and we have five grandchildren. Three who live close by and are here often. The youngest is 8 years old . Annie has been wonderful with them. But I constantly watch! Both the children and Annie. She was corrected from the get-go about jumping on them or anyone for that matter. And once in awhile the children are corrected too if I feel they did something wrong or did it the wrong way. I try to get them to give commands to her. Even just to sit. To help make them a leader over the dog. She needs to respect them and not think of them as a plaything. Even though she loves them and wants to play constantly!
It's very important to me, as I'm sure it is to you, that my dog gets along with children. They are part of my life that are not going away. So the dog needs to fit in. And that's my job.
8 months old seems very young to me to be 'aggressive'. Like @JanS said I would ask the trainer if there was anything that may have happened while he was away. I've never sent my dogs away for training so I don't know what that's like. But I would think that the training was involve socialization and maybe even children. But maybe not. That would have been nice though!
That's an important part of training to me.
I don't know, I'm trying to put myself in your position as to what I would do. And the biggest thing that comes to my mind is being the third party whenever your child and dog are together. I would be making sure your dog minds and is calm and settled before any interaction.
And remember the rule NILIF (Nothing in life is free.) Annnie doesn't get anything unless she gives me something. Potty training was always, give me a potty and then you get a treat!:
You want a bone to chew? Okay lets go through our Sit, Stay, Down, heel, whatever. She has to do something. I don't just hand it to her.
Is your dog allowed on the couch? Being higher than your child as she walks by might be an issue. It gives them superiority. I'd be watching that too.
Check out your dog's health first to eliminate that and go from there. Please keep us updated on your progress.
I definitely wouldn't leave the two unattended together. 6 years old, even without this problem, is a little young to be left unattended with a dog. Especially a big dog. I would be watching the two together like a hawk. Watching for signs on both of their parts. Children don't understand the body language of a dog. Some grown ups don't. They may pester too much or get in their face when the dog doesn't want it. They don't know when to back off. They're just children. I would be watching their interaction to see if I could pick up on what's happening. Who's at fault. This is where the trainer might come in handy.
Our Annie is 10 months old and we have five grandchildren. Three who live close by and are here often. The youngest is 8 years old . Annie has been wonderful with them. But I constantly watch! Both the children and Annie. She was corrected from the get-go about jumping on them or anyone for that matter. And once in awhile the children are corrected too if I feel they did something wrong or did it the wrong way. I try to get them to give commands to her. Even just to sit. To help make them a leader over the dog. She needs to respect them and not think of them as a plaything. Even though she loves them and wants to play constantly!
It's very important to me, as I'm sure it is to you, that my dog gets along with children. They are part of my life that are not going away. So the dog needs to fit in. And that's my job. 8 months old seems very young to me to be 'aggressive'. Like @JanS said I would ask the trainer if there was anything that may have happened while he was away. I've never sent my dogs away for training so I don't know what that's like. But I would think that the training was involve socialization and maybe even children. But maybe not. That would have been nice though!
That's an important part of training to me.I don't know, I'm trying to put myself in your position as to what I would do. And the biggest thing that comes to my mind is being the third party whenever your child and dog are together. I would be making sure your dog minds and is calm and settled before any interaction.
And remember the rule NILIF (Nothing in life is free.) Annnie doesn't get anything unless she gives me something. Potty training was always, give me a potty and then you get a treat!:
You want a bone to chew? Okay lets go through our Sit, Stay, Down, heel, whatever. She has to do something. I don't just hand it to her. Is your dog allowed on the couch? Being higher than your child as she walks by might be an issue. It gives them superiority. I'd be watching that too.
Check out your dog's health first to eliminate that and go from there. Please keep us updated on your progress.
Thank you so much!
Hmmm…it’s a shame that he doesn’t warm up to your daughter. We all want our family to be included esp children. I think it can go either way with Dobermans- either lovey dovey or competitively driven or both. Competitively driven as in the hierarchy of the pack. He has prob bonded to you and sees your daughter as a sister (litter mate) in the pack not as a superior. Therefore he asserts himself to achieve status over her especially with toys, food, objects and you. I have read that some dog folks don’t believe in the pack mentality with humans. Well, a Doberman is a Doberman- animal is an animal.
My daughters were older than yours but I had one like this, my first male could give a rats ass about my family- he would shine up to them sometimes but that boy would just be rude to them all. The more they incorporated themselves with feeding him, participating in training, taking him to the park, walking him, etc, the more he accepted them as a leader- a giver of good fun things.
I think it’s a work in progress though. The more you include your daughter in training the better. No way would I let her be in a room by herself with him and I would not turn my back on them. She’s just too young. Children don’t mean to do stupid things but they are innocent and naive and do them anyways-
such as put her face in his to hug or kiss him, tease him with a toy or food, ride the horsey, tug at his ears/fur. Often see children do these with others dogs and parents let them- these are things NOT to do.
Gotta be careful though…6yr girl is awfully young to be messing around with a Doberman imho- especially one that has already set out a warning multiple times.
You stated he just got back from a professional b/t…so you should be continuing on with lessons and training that he learned there. I would post my daughter close to me and send him through a block of commands. When it’s correct, have her reward him with a treat- under your presence/supervision. Over over over and over…he will begin to see her as a superior- giver of good things.
You can do this with her, just gonna take time and energy- always…always keep your head on a swivel with a Doberman.
My daughters were older than yours but I had one like this, my first male could give a rats ass about my family- he would shine up to them sometimes but that boy would just be rude to them all. The more they incorporated themselves with feeding him, participating in training, taking him to the park, walking him, etc, the more he accepted them as a leader- a giver of good fun things.
I think it’s a work in progress though. The more you include your daughter in training the better. No way would I let her be in a room by herself with him and I would not turn my back on them. She’s just too young. Children don’t mean to do stupid things but they are innocent and naive and do them anyways-
such as put her face in his to hug or kiss him, tease him with a toy or food, ride the horsey, tug at his ears/fur. Often see children do these with others dogs and parents let them- these are things NOT to do.
Gotta be careful though…6yr girl is awfully young to be messing around with a Doberman imho- especially one that has already set out a warning multiple times.
You stated he just got back from a professional b/t…so you should be continuing on with lessons and training that he learned there. I would post my daughter close to me and send him through a block of commands. When it’s correct, have her reward him with a treat- under your presence/supervision. Over over over and over…he will begin to see her as a superior- giver of good things.
You can do this with her, just gonna take time and energy- always…always keep your head on a swivel with a Doberman.
Home dynamics to a dog is a pack order. If you had two dogs instead of this dog and a 6 year old, it would be the same. He is putting your daughter "in her place" below him in order. He doesn't care about other children because they aren't part of his family and there isn't any pack order for him to worry about. You don't mention other children in the home, but an analogy I'll bring up is that if you have two kids, they may bicker a little bit, usually the older one bully's the younger one just a little, or at least takes charge and "bosses". If you're in the room and see this, you take charge and don't allow the older sibling to be rude or bossy to the younger child. Arlo has taken this position of being boss to your girl and at 8 months old is about to enter his most challenging time for you - what we call "Doberteens". He needs to very quickly learn that he has ZERO boss privileges in your home and especially never left out of sight with your daughter. What is normal behavior to a dog - snapping at a face to get another dog to back off - can be a disaster for a child, even if no harm is done, the mental trauma at that age can be long lasting. Dobermans at this age (or any age, actually) need tons of firm but fair guidance and discipline. Since Arlo has already established in his mind that he can snap at your daughter, you must learn the warning signs that he might display ahead of snapping and correct him for "just thinking about it". Which means never ever alone with your girl and watching like a hawk when they are in the same room, teaching your daughter not to interact with Arlo, and I'd suggest that you amp up Arlos respect for you to the point that you (along with your spouse) are so important to please that he'd never think of trying to tell your daughter what to do. This takes significant time and orderly obedience that is more strict than simple sits or downs. You need to establish a "place" for Arlo to go & stay while you're busy - a crate or a bed on the floor - that he will learn is his own safe place where he's never bothered. Until he has a down-stay while you are out of sight, use a crate or X-pen and shut the door to it. That place should be strictly off limits to your daughter. Arlo should be able to hold a down-stay on that place at any time. Involve your trainer if you need to, but as mentioned already they should be familiar with Dobermans temperament. Learn & use the NILIF training. An 8 month old Doberman snapping at a child has got to learn that there are consequences to pay for poor decisions.
Best of luck with your training, please keep us posted on your progress. Welcome to Doberman Chat, we are always willing to help.
Best of luck with your training, please keep us posted on your progress. Welcome to Doberman Chat, we are always willing to help.
It's not an uncommon problem. Yes, I've dealt with it.
It's just natural for dogs to not respect children, andI the younger and smaller the child the worse.
You mentioned your child gives him treats. I would have her tell him to sit and make sure he hits a proper sit and holds it until she releases him from the command before she gives him the treat. Having her work with him like that is going to be key in getting him to subconsciously see her as more of a leader and above him in the pack. Yes, you will have to help a lot at first. Note, please, you should be careful about having her get face-to-face with him. So, the sit might be a dangerous thing because that will be the physical arrangement – pretty much fact to face. I don't know how tall your daughter is. I would recommend a lay-down instead, and maybe that's the way to go; but it's harder to get a dog to do it. Try it though.
Your Dobe is still quite young, and that works in your favor, although it's always possible he's going through the "Dobertees" which can bring regression in good behavior.
My last Doberman – a male working-line Dobe – did one day snap at my little toddler aged daughter. I saw it happen. She approached him while he was laying in a sunbeam on the dining room floor. See, our Dobes know they much get up and move when a family member walks toward them and needs to get by. They move for us. We don't move for them. So, Oji was irritated about having to get up from his lovely sunbeam spot to move for daughter. He jerked up hastily and his forward motion saw him putting his jaws completely around the tiny forearm of our daughter. Thank God, he stopped short of biting down. He knew how to full-mouth bite, owing to his breeding.
I told daughter to never again approach him when he is in a sunbeam...
...which leads me to: Don't allow dangerous situations to occur. Avoid them, and set yourself up for success.
I have not had time to read the above comments, but if you let your Dobe on furniture, I would cut that out. I would not allow the physical situation to occur where he is above her. Don't let her crawl or lay on the floor with him around. Don't let them just loosely play or wrestle. Their interactions need to be calculated and orchestrated by you.
My Dobes have always looked to me when the young child comes near them. They look to me like "Is this okay?" "Am I doing anything wrong?" That's the deference you are looking for.
It's just natural for dogs to not respect children, andI the younger and smaller the child the worse.
You mentioned your child gives him treats. I would have her tell him to sit and make sure he hits a proper sit and holds it until she releases him from the command before she gives him the treat. Having her work with him like that is going to be key in getting him to subconsciously see her as more of a leader and above him in the pack. Yes, you will have to help a lot at first. Note, please, you should be careful about having her get face-to-face with him. So, the sit might be a dangerous thing because that will be the physical arrangement – pretty much fact to face. I don't know how tall your daughter is. I would recommend a lay-down instead, and maybe that's the way to go; but it's harder to get a dog to do it. Try it though.
Your Dobe is still quite young, and that works in your favor, although it's always possible he's going through the "Dobertees" which can bring regression in good behavior.
My last Doberman – a male working-line Dobe – did one day snap at my little toddler aged daughter. I saw it happen. She approached him while he was laying in a sunbeam on the dining room floor. See, our Dobes know they much get up and move when a family member walks toward them and needs to get by. They move for us. We don't move for them. So, Oji was irritated about having to get up from his lovely sunbeam spot to move for daughter. He jerked up hastily and his forward motion saw him putting his jaws completely around the tiny forearm of our daughter. Thank God, he stopped short of biting down. He knew how to full-mouth bite, owing to his breeding.
I told daughter to never again approach him when he is in a sunbeam...
...which leads me to: Don't allow dangerous situations to occur. Avoid them, and set yourself up for success.
I have not had time to read the above comments, but if you let your Dobe on furniture, I would cut that out. I would not allow the physical situation to occur where he is above her. Don't let her crawl or lay on the floor with him around. Don't let them just loosely play or wrestle. Their interactions need to be calculated and orchestrated by you.
My Dobes have always looked to me when the young child comes near them. They look to me like "Is this okay?" "Am I doing anything wrong?" That's the deference you are looking for.
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