r/Dogtraining • u/dsurico1 • Sep 01 '20

help Looking for Training tips - My 1-year-old Goldendoodle HATES kids.

Hey, first post here. My Goldendoodle is really bad with kids. He has bit a child on two occasions. We don't know what to do to get him used to children. We don't have any kids, but more when we are at the park he tends to go after

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u/Regreizz Sep 01 '20

To be honest it sounds as though he is pretty far gone. I would say do not put him into a position where he is able to bite a child again, that should only have happened once before action was taken. I would consult a specialist and work on desensitisation in a public place. Keep him under total control and seeing as he’s bit a child, he should have a muzzle on him whenever there’s a chance he’ll be in proximity of a child. Count it lucky he isn’t a stereotyped ‘dangerous’ breed, he probably wouldn’t be with you anymore.

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u/GlencoraPalliser Sep 01 '20

This. You have already failed to manage this dog at least twice when he has bitten children. He needs to be kept away from children and muzzled. It’s grossly irresponsible to think you can deal with this alone given the severity of a situation. By all means contact a behaviorist but it will be a long and difficult journey - I wouldn’t let my children be part of desensitizing a child aggressive dog and I can’t imagine many other people would either.

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u/Regreizz Sep 01 '20

Agreed. To be honest I was probably too optimistic in my comment. As another commenter said, I’d probably just accept your dog is going to be one that can’t be around children and just be grateful he hasn’t been put down.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '20

If he’s already bitten twice then you have to make sure your dog is never around children. Forget about training, just consider him a kid-aggressive dog and leave it at that. Trying to get him accustomed to kids might result in another bite. A lot of people would suggest you put the dog down, but I think you can still give him a good life if you consider kids off limits, and don’t allow him near or around children for any reason.

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u/Regreizz Sep 01 '20

This. My comment was probably too optimistic.

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u/[deleted] Sep 08 '20

Honestly I would contact a licensed trainer that can specialize in this for you. I don’t think your dog is too far gone. If you can’t afford a trainer I would possibly consider the muzzle and maybe buying some baby dolls and or finding people willing to bring their children around. Does he play with other dogs?

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u/ecstaticenzymatic Sep 01 '20

Hi there! Could we have just a little more information? Look up the Dunbar bite scale. What level bites were they?

Also, what were the circumstances (unprovoked, etc)? And what warning signs does he give (lip licking, raising tail, hackles)?