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DeltaDogz - Purely Positive Real Life Training

Is there such a thing as a child-friendly breed?

3/18/2012

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Whenever I research breeds, I frequently come across supposed traits such as "loves kids" or "perfect family dog". These alleged characteristics are attributed at some place or other to anything from Golden Retrievers to Pit Bulls. I consider this to be one of the most misleading statements for any breed, even the Labrador. It is downright dangerous, because people will buy a dog of a so-described breed, thinking that his child-friendliness is "in-built" and so does not require any particular attention.
Nothing could be further from the truth.

For puppies to develop into dogs that are comfortable around children, they must be exposed to children during their critical socialisation period between 8 and 14 weeks. The more positive experiences the puppy has when around children, the better. This could include having children feed the puppy treats, rewarding simple behaviours such as a sit or coming to them.  Ideally an adult should provide reassurance and maybe more treats when kids make their high pitched noises and run around wildly, as they will. 
At the same time, children need to be taught how to behave appropriately around dogs and puppies. Whilst you can try to get your dog to accept things such as patting on the head and pulling his tail, it is very advisable to teach the human youngsters that dogs are to be treated gently at all times, and to protect the dog from unpleasant handling.

Omitting to do any of the above can easily lead to problems. Yes, many dogs end up being tolerant of children even without proper socialisation, but that is no more than luck, and grossly negligent.
The only thing worse than omitting proper socalisation is subsequent punishment of the dog if he growls at a child. One owner proudly informed me recently how his dog now promptly leaves the room when his child enters, after having been severely punished for growling at his child previously. I know who is going to the blamed for the disaster that is likely to occur should this dog ever find himself inadvertently cornered by a child. Unfortunately it won't be the owner. 

The other aspect of "perfect family dogs" such as Labradors is that they rarely classify as anything other than tanks on legs in their first few years of life, and, without proper impulse control training, possibly for the rest of their lives. Labs show up in relatively large numbers at the RSPCA, and their "giant puppy" temperament could be one reason. Children under eight will find themselves taken off their feet by the happy Lab pup on many occasions, surely not quite what the parents had in mind when they completed their family with their four-legged child.

So the unsurprising conclusion is that most dogs can become the "perfect family dog" and be tolerant or even appreciative of children given correct positive training and conditioning and extensive socialisation. As for the breeds, it is much more important to be aware of what they were bred for, and so what their likely inbuilt behaviours are, than supposed "kid-friendly" characteristics. Read some breed-specific training tips here. 

Bringing a dog into a family is a huge commitment and poses many challenges, particularly if the children are small. Tips on how to get it right will be the topic of another blog post!
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How breed stereotyping stops effective training

5/23/2011

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Sighthounds can't be trained to come back, because they compulsively follow everything that moves, being sighthounds. Beagles and other hounds are the same with regards to scents. Alaskan Malamutes (the most wolf like of all the dogs) must be dominated, relegated to the absolute bottom of the pack, otherwise they will try to lead the pack. Collies are great with kids. Pitbulls are bred to be aggressive and must be ruled by a firm hand.

These and other breed stereotypes have condemned a great many dogs to miserable lives. Owners of whippets and greyhounds never even try to train a recall, forcing their dogs to forever walk at human pace, depriving them of the exercise they were bred for, and of any social interaction. 

Alaskan Malamutes, presumably because they are so wolf-like, are "trained" by using plenty of aversives to ensure they don't consider themselves the leaders. Some of the Malamutes treated in this fashion end up so stunted in their ability to offer any behaviour, for fear of the ensuing punishment, that even the most positive training approach may not be able to undo the damage, at least in the short term, see here for an example.

Collies and other dogs supposedly "naturally" good with kids may therefore not get exposed to kids enough during their critical socialisation period early in life, and may end up fearful of children, or even aggressive. Any dog requires thorough socialisation, ie exposure to plenty of different things in their environment, including children, in a way that ensures a positive experience for them, in order to set them up to be truly "good with kids" and other things in the world. 

Breeds do come with certain characteristics of course, but these revolve around what they were bred for in the first place. It is true that sighthounds will be more attracted to chasing that bird or rabbit than a beagle, who is more likely to use his nose to follow a scent, being a scent hound. However, all this means is that you need to structure your training to work with these breed traits. 

Read more about specific training tips for some of the most maligned breeds!
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    Daniela Pelgrim

    I started my dog journey with Jessie, a small white fluffball bichon-schnauzer cross. She was trained in the traditional way by choke collar and praise via voice. After she died, Giro, my smooth collie, taught me how wrong this approach was. Kiara, my whippet, reaped all the benefits, and can't wait for her training every day, all day!

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