Alright, I need some insight from dog owners!! We’re dog sitting for someone and my kiddo was growled at. Long story short, dog had a rawhide and was in his crate. My son walked up to her and got close to the door...that’s when she growled. So, my question is: those of you that have little kids and dogs...is this normal for dogs? Or should this not be tolerated? I’ve never owned a dog, so this is all new to me.
ETA poll!
29 votes
pear / 1599 posts
Since the dog had a rawhide (treat/food) and was in the crate I think this was normal. And is the dog use to kids? If not it would make me more nervous. But Even if they were they still can growl when the kid gets too close. I wouldn't want to keep my child around a dog that has a lower tolerance like this a lot. But kids need to learn you can't bother a dog when they are eating. Our dogs can growl when the kids get too close to their food bowl while they are eating a treat. But that's ours that we have known for 14+yrs so I know their tolerance and I use it to teach my kids.
pomegranate / 3809 posts
I think it's "normal" for a dog to growl and 'protect' their food when eating it, but it's not *acceptable* imo. My husband has done a lot of training with our dog and any hint of food aggression. With us at least, he no longer growls when we come near him, mess with him, or touch his food/bone/whatever he's eating. We have yet to see how he'll be with the kid.
persimmon / 1023 posts
Yes our dog will growl even at an adult if he has a special treat and thinks you might take it. We never let our son go near him when he’s eating or chewing even a regular toy. Even after having dogs my whole life and knowing our dog well before having DS, I never ever trust any dog not to react to a child. We had a couple minor incidents when our son was younger and we saw a behavioural vet about it. There isn’t anything abnormal about our dog but we need to be vigilant about certain scenarios and just in general with our child and other kids. His safe space is his bed and our son can’t touch him on his bed or go on it when the dog isn’t there. Eating and chew toys are a no go as well. I would just be vigilant about watching them and not leaving them alone together and allow the dog to have his safe spot where no one can bug him.
I think supervison is a must at all times whenever dogs and kids are involved, no matter how good the dog is or how gentle the child. You just never know.
persimmon / 1196 posts
Our dog is super tolerant of and gentle with LO, but we still warn LO away from crowding him when he is in his crate. That is the dog's domain, so we even discourage her playing when he is not in there, but when the dog is hanging out in the crate, approaching the door can also make him feel cornered.
A lot of words to say I think it's totally normal, but should also be a good reminder to supervise their interactions closely.
persimmon / 1111 posts
Normal yes. Normal for a stressed dog in a new environment, yes. Okay for my dog to do to my toddler, nope.
If this was my dog we'd do lots of conditioning and training. My toddler can take treats from my very reactive dog. But this is not your dog and training takes months,so I just would not leave your kid and the dog alone together and keep your kid away from the crate.
persimmon / 1310 posts
Same as @Pollywog. I don’t accept it in our personal family/pet dynamic, but it’s to be expected in the situation you described.
kiwi / 500 posts
I'd never allow a dog to show food aggression. It is absolutely not acceptable, IMHO. But like others have said, if you're just pet sitting, there's nothing you can do except keep your LO away from the dog when he has food.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Based on my how my dad trained our dog, a golden retriever, that would be unacceptable behavior. My dad used to share a story how my toddler brother was actually putting his hand in our dog’s food dish while he was eating and our dog did not act aggressively. I think my dad said early on he would give and takeaway the dog’s food to establish food rules or something. I recall being able to take a rawhide out of my dogs mouth with no issue.
What you described would totally freak me out.
coconut / 8079 posts
We have taught our son to stay away from dogs when they are eating. My mom is super strict about it. Our dog and my moms dogs have never ever shown food aggression but MIL’s dog snapped at me when I walked past him once. I didn’t know someone had given him something to eat, but LO remembers this and is careful.
coffee bean / 28 posts
It's normal, but not acceptable. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. As a pet sitter it's not your responsibility to discipline the dog. However, I'd probably keep your little one away from the crate and I don't think I'd be pet-sitting for this pup again. I'm sure all will be fine, but territorial dogs and little children should be mixed with caution.
grapefruit / 4291 posts
I would rather the dog growl than bite, particularly if this is a dog who doesn’t usually spend time around children.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
Normal, esp it's not your dog. Agree with @Hypatia: that I would have trained my dog to not have food aggression to begin with (thankfully my dog has never had a hint of aggression towards anything lol). Anyway, since it's not your dog I'd be super careful about your LO's interaction with him since you don't know his personality well.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
So, I think this is normal, especially since the dog isn't yours/you're pet-sitting. Part of having kids and dogs together is also teaching your kids how to behave around animals--teaching the kid to leave the dog in the crate alone, esp w a treat. If it was your own dog, working with them to not be aggressive w food would be in order, but since it's not...
And I say this as someone who was severely bit by our family dog when I was 2--I tried to give him a hug while he was eating and had to have plastic surgery to repair my eye. The dog needed to have been trained not to be food-aggressive, but I also needed to be kept away from the dog while he was eating (I was with a babysitter when I was attacked...)
grapefruit / 4278 posts
I haven't read all the responses, but the crate is typically considered the dog's safe space. You should teach your son to stay away from the crate, especially when the dog is in it. You can train a dog as much you want, but ultimately they are still animals and are unpredictable. I would never let my kids climb on, pester, or try to take food from any dog, even our own.
pear / 1547 posts
Growling is good! The scary thing is when dogs bite without any warning. We have 2 dogs and we always teach our LOs to stay away from the dogs if they have food or a toy, and to leave ASAP if they growl. We try really hard to reinforce for the dogs too that if they growl it means their space is protected, so that they keep giving the warning and don't bite. Our dogs are gentle, but one of them is a herding mix and he likes to give air nips if his growl isn't respected which doesn't hurt anyone but everyone freaks out, so knowing how to read his signals is important.
pomelo / 5220 posts
As others have said - normal, yes. Something I would want to have as a regular with my own dog, no.
But repeating what others have said - I think I would train both my dog not to be food aggressive (our vet always said to put our hands in our dogs dishes as they were eating as puppies to train them) and I would train my boys to leave dogs in their crates with treats alone - and growling is a sign to give a dog space.
In a pet sitting situation, I'd train my kid, not the dog since it's not my dog.
apricot / 424 posts
Dogs can't speak (obviously heehee)... the growl was probably his was of saying stay away from my awesome toy to a person he didn't know well and wasn't confident wouldn't take it away.
Agree with others that you should be sure to leave a dog space when in their crate especially with food or a favorite toy.
persimmon / 1023 posts
@kiddosc: 100% to your comment. An dog can revert to its instincts at any point no matter if you train him his whole life and there was no reaction or adverse effect a million times. An animal is an animal first and foremost, and we always respect our dog and other dogs boundaries.
pomegranate / 3355 posts
@muffinsmuffins: 100% this. I always, always try to get this through to people. An animal is an animal and they can revert to their basic instincts at any time. I get really nervous when I see kids crawling or bothering dogs when they are eating or trying to clearly get away from them... eek.. gives dogs bad reps for just being a dog
apricot / 264 posts
I agree with what everyone else said! Just a couple of other comments . . . None of my dogs have been food aggressive but rawhides are a different story. That might be that dog’s special thing he loves. Also, I would just be weary depending upon the breed of dog and whether or not they have been near children. We had one huge German Shepherd who would lay on its side and let my toddler feed him one bite at a time. My son would put his hand in his mouth one piece of food at at time. Obviously we were supervising him, but to our dog it was like a sign of affection so he loved it. As others have said, ultimately dogs are animals even if they are well trained!
persimmon / 1419 posts
Same as everyone else, normal, but not really acceptable. I do want to add that context matters a lot for dogs, and things that they may never do with their owners they might in other contexts. The same as you don’t really know what to expect from the dog, it doesn’t know what to expect from you or your toddler. The thought of a loopy person you don’t really know coming into your personal space would probably freak you out too. A growl for a dog, as long as they weren’t showing teeth, is the way they communicate, essentially the equivalent of “back off.” Idk how old the toddler is but if he/she is old enough, it’s a good learning moment. Otherwise just supervise, especially if the dog is crated or eating and you’ll be fine.
nectarine / 2028 posts
@ustechie: One of the dog trainers we worked with told me that a growl is a warning from the dog. As others have said, it's a "back off" kind of comment from them. Her crate is her safe space, so it doesn't surprise me that she was "protecting" her food in the crate. Dogs very rarely bite out of nowhere, and something like this-a growl-is a first warning sign. I have one dog that was food aggressive when we got him, and as a result there is 0 interaction between my 3.5-year-old and the dog when food is around. The only way to 100% keep something from happening is to separate them, so that's what I do (when the dog is eating). Since you're pet-sitting (very nice of you to do with kids around!), I'd just separate them.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 1 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
22 comments