Ok, here's the story.

I have a neutered male Boerboel that turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. We have had him since he was 11 weeks old. I have always practiced NILF with him and we have taken obedience classes. He also has passed his CGC and TT. He is very confident and I believe he has a stable even temperment.

I have 2 children, ages 3 and 4. The dog and kids are always supervised when they are together. My children have been taught the proper way to treat the dog. Not bothering him while he is sleeping, no climbing on, hitting, chasing, teasing ect. Up until yesterday, I have not had ANY problems with Truman and the kids. He has always been comfortable in there presence.

Here's what happened. Yesterday I was sitting at my desk working on the computer. Truman was sitting by my side. My 3 year old came into the room to talk to me and got within about 6 inches of the dog. Truman dropped his head slightly and got up to walk away and let out a growl as he was leaving. This caught me totally by surprise. I lept up and grabbed him by the collar and forced him into a down. I know that wasn't the right thing to do, but I didn't even think about. Lucky for me, he complied and submitted.

I'm now a bit worried that this dog is testing his rank with my children. I am ordering the pack structure DVD, but was unsure about what to do in the meantime. Some people, on other boards, are saying you should never supress a dogs growl, that that is their way of communicating.

I feel like him growling at my kids when they haven't done anything to provoke the dog is totally unacceptable! My feeling is have him on a prong and a drag leash and give him a #10 correction for this type of behavior.

I wanted to check with those who have more experience dealing with this behavior before I carry out my prong plan. Right now he is totally seperated from the kids, until I figure out what to do. I need to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand, or one of my kids gets hurt.

Thanks in advance,

Tracy

Edited by Tracy R Touzjian (06/19/2008 04:16 PM)
Edit reason: spelling

Tracy,
The very first thing that I'd do with a large/giant breed dog his age is to check for an underlying health problem before I'd treat it as a rank issue.

The big breeds age fast, he could already be arthritic and in discomfort and not be showing it until he was stressed by the child entering the picture.
It's a long shot, but I learned some sad lessons back in the days that I worked Mastiffs, so it wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Once that's done and if he's given a clean bill of health, let us know and we'll work out the next step....

Hi Will,

He just had his yearly exam last month and was declared healthy. He had bloodwork done about 4 months ago that was normal. I've seen no signs of any physical issues, ie. arthritis etc. He's quite active and doesn't show any lameness or discomfort after strenous excercise. I guess it is possible, but my gut says it's not a medical issue. I've been a vet tech since '94.

While you're following Will's advice Tracy, I would give him a separate place to lay or even a crate where the kids don't approach him when he's laying down.

Hi steve,

He's got a crate in the mud room that he has access to at all times. He wasn't laying down when this happened. Nor was he in a corner. So thats kind of why I saw it as a rank issue. He was next to me when my child approched us. It was kind of like he didn't want my son near us. Possibly being posessive of me? I don't know, maybe I'm reaching??

He dropped his head, turned to leave, and growled as he was exiting the room? Did he growl as he was walking away or before he turned to walk away? Was he facing your son when he growled?

What did Truman do while your son was approaching you both? What did he do when your son got within 6 inches of him? Did he turn to walk away then or did he growl then?

Hi Jen,

It all happened so quick. My son approached Truman from the side. They were not facing each other. As soon as my son got about 6 inches from Trumans shoulder, Truman stood up, began to walk away, and growled at the same time. It was a short growl, but a growl nonetheless. He was never facing my son. He did glance at him as he was getting up, but not staring.

He only got about 2 steps, before I grabbed him and forced him down. He went down for me and immediately acted very submissive towards me.

While you're working on this Tracy I would just suggest a little less freedom and a little more separation.

I'm all over that, Steve! Right now he is thethered to me!

Tracy I agree with Steve on less freedom and more separation. I do wonder, though, how previous interaction has been with Truman and your son?

Has there been any change in structure or handling or training, recently?

Edited by Jennifer Marshal (06/19/2008 05:30 PM)
Edit reason: wrong button!