Flat Coat Chasing Kids..... Help!

I just adopted a lovely 3 year old FCR who seems to view toddlers just as she does birds! If she sees small children running from a distance, she goes wild, barking, lunging, etc. It’s a little scary, in fact. I’m trying to distract her with treats which she does accept. Is there a safe way to introduce her to children?

thanks so much—-elle

Hi Elle, Hi Ivycat!

First off, good for you for adopting!
I second the recommendation to get yourself a trainer, especially to determine what sort of excitement this is…playful excitement? Prey drive? Fear? It is important to figure out the reason behind her behaviour. Since she is barking and lunging I would probably guess it is mostly fear based.

You can try a desensitization process. Since she will take treats this is helpful.
Try to figure out the distance that you can put between you and the kids that does NOT start her barking and lunging. Once you have found that distance, have her sit and look at you and give her a reward. Move a bit closer..same thing. This can be a slow process over several weeks or months or it could be quick depending on the dogs personality. Everytime she looks at the kids, even a glance, ask her to look at you and when she does, reward her. Make the treats really yummy but very small as you will be giving many many treats…lol.

If she goes into lunge mode you have gone too fast and too far. Move back and start again. The idea here is for her to start concentrating on you more than the kids and to eventually start to associate the kids with goodies. Once dogs really start to improve you find they actually go “oh kids! Treat!” and look at you automatically. That’s when you really know you’ve made progress.

Until you have this under control and have found a good trainer, do not allow young children to approach your girl. All it takes is one setback and you have a traumatized dog and a traumatized child.

Once you have made good progress you can have children (older kids if possible) simply walk by, no eye contact and no talking, and toss a few goodies in her direction. Progress from there as slowly as needed and allow your girl to move at her own pace. Be aware that there is the possibility that she may never learn to love kids, but can learn to tolerate them.

Good luck.
Check with the APDT to help you find a positive reinforcement based trainer in your area. The website is a great resource to find a trainer.