I have just read the previous post about growling barking at children.  My dobermann is now 5 1/2 years old.  We live in a very quiet road, there really haven't been any children - but as the cycle goes on, a few houses have been sold and families have moved in again (my children are 22 and 19, and once they were the young children in the road), so for years we haven't had children playing outside, but now all of a sudden its like there are lots.  We have had our dog since he was 8 weeks old, and in his entire life there haven't been any children around outside our house.  My new neighbours of 2 years, their children are now allowed outside too (they are 11 and 5), it seems that all the children come up here and play on their bikes, scooters etc, screaming and running around.  I have to wait to go out with my dog until they have all gone down the bottom of the road, as he barks at the children.  I try to distract him, but it is difficult as they are by my driveway at my neighbours.  Luckily they all know him and if they see me come out into my porch they will all move away - they all know his name and are not really bothered by him (as they have seen him since he was small), he has always been bothered by children screaming.  I just worry so much, specially when I read about The Dangerous Dogs Act.  There would never be a chance that I would ever let him near the children, he is always on lead.  He just seems to get very distressed about this.  I have tried distracting him.

Would it be worth trying to get the older children involved one at a time in coming to your house, and doing a little bit of 'training' with him. getting him to sit for a treat etc. Then he would recognise them in the street rather than being worried by them he would see them as 'friends' as they've been invited into the house.
You could also explain to the children that hearing them shouting outside scares the dog, so maybe they could avoid playing outside your house.

It's hard when they really just don't get to meet many children as they can't get used to them. And even when we had kids in the family the kids really were quiet and decently well behaved and respectful towards animals - not the screetching screaming kids you see tearing around out and about.

Counter conditioning can work well to challenge fears. It's like distraction training except a stage further. With distraction training you get the dog to focus on something they like through interaction with you to place their attention on you and not on the 'thing' that frightenens them -  but it dosent directly teach them to control/alter the feeling of fear. Counter conditioning however addresses the 'thing' they are frightened of by associating these with something 'nice'. So if the dog is frightened of strangers as soon as you anticipate he might react to  stranger and looks you instantly click he first fleeting look and reward before the dog has had any time to build up anxiety related response. By nipping the reaction in the bud before a reaction develops you 'trick'the dog into thinking he/she isn't worried and replace the feeling of anxiety/fear with feel good factor.. Eventually the dog will see a stranger and instantly look at you for the reward. But it relies on a lot of input and continuity to make sure the 'fear factor element' is always associated with possitive reward. It is basically a form of postponed socialisation because this is very much the way you socialise a young puppy it it still can work well with adult dogs.

What have you tried to stop him barking at kids, ie. do you tell him 'no' sternly, or 'check' his lead, does he pull forward wich means you have to pull him back to keep hold of him, does your heart sink and you feel nervous when you are out with him and are confronted by screaming kids etc... How you have been managing this behaviour can make a difference to his perpceptions of children, so again, I think it is definately best for you to seek proffesional help as you will also benefit from being shown how to handle him correctly in these situations.
He may be more than just fearfull, it may be that you have inadvertantly taught him to guard you. Either way, it's best not to mess about when it comes to dogs & children.

> There would never be a chance that I would ever let him near the children, he is always on lead

I don't mean to try and scare you atall with this, just emphasise the fact that it is very improtant to sort this behaviour out. My dog is always on a lead or long-line (he is friendly but the look of him frightens people, so the DDA is always in the front of my mind), this has not stopped children running at him. I know kids should not be allowed to run up to dogs, get in thier face and bear hug them and it's easy to say, 'well you should have told the kid to stay away'. But I have lost count of the amount of times I have been caught of-guard and have a child chuck his arms around my dogs neck (eg. when I've just managed to stop one child running full steam into my dogs face, giving the child a 'dog-savvy' talk, while another child approaches from behind me and starts petting the dog). It would make for a much easier life for you & your dog if you knew your dog was not so reactionary around children. It can be done, it's not too late, but it is far to easy to get things wrong without proffesional help when you are dealing with an adult dogs behaviour that it has always had.

My dog is now 5 1/2 and I have had professional help - I was told not to let him off lead and keep him away from the situations that cause him distress (e.g. turn around and walk back the other way), that was from Rob Alleyn who came to my house when my dog was 2 1/2.  I have been quite lucky that where I walk him there are not lots of children around, the only place now we do encounter quite a few are along by my house, as I explained they all seem to have just been allowed out to play this year, plus my neighbours children too have reached the age of being allowed out on their bikes.  I must admit he seems to have got used to them going by the house on their bikes now, but it is just when we go out and there are about 8 jumping and screaming.  They all know him, and know that he barks, sometimes I wonder if for them it is quite funny to see him barking?  I will definitely start again with taking the treats out and see how that goes.  I must admit when people see me coming with him, usually they will cross over, it is the thing about "dobermann" the scary type of breed - to be honest he isn't that bothered at all when people go by!  The point you say about guarding me, he isn't as bad with my husband, but I would definitely say he thinks this with me.  Even if I am at home watching tv and he has taken himself to his bed he will get up and check to see that I am still there - but if I were to leave the room I would have to go by his bed - he seems as if he is always on guard!

I think you need to get these kids on your side. Tell them you are trying to train him and that he is not used to children. Maybe give them some treats to throw for him, working their way closer, maybe start with your neighbours children at first so he gets used to them. If you are nervous get your husband to try it first so you are not passing on your anxiety. One good thing, its coming up to winter so they will all disappear back into their houses for winter and you will have a few months to work on him :-)

Hi it was me that wrote the post about my neice and my doberman, however i had a situation with her yesterday just so you know your not alone my dobie is only just over a year and is a bitch. Yesterday we went to a member of the familys house who has a little girl of about 7 or so and Lola my doberman was grumbling at her in her own house, this worried the little girl and she then became a bit frightened of lola and cried, we had to explain to paris the little girl that lola wouldnt hurt her to try and stop the anxiety as i understand dogs can feel the tension, paris was very good and took on board what we said and with time of ignoring lola and me keeping the situation under control she was fine paris was stroking her and there was no grumbling paris could walk round the house wherever she wanted and lola was not paying much attention it also helped paris letting her sniff her so she could suss her out. I am also always precautious because i cant imagine how awful it would be to end up in one of those situations where the child gets hurt. But i was most pleased that we had got her out of it and i will continue to work on it as this is something that needs to be addressed as at some point in my life i will want children and i cant have her reacting in such a way. You have been sensible about it so well done as we both know that our dogs are one of a few that are labelled "viscous" and you just dont want them proven right.

Lola my doberman was grumbling at her in her own house, this worried the little girl and she then became a bit frightened of lola and cried, we had to explain to paris the little girl that lola wouldnt hurt her to try and stop the anxiety as i understand dogs can feel the tension

A dog grumbling is a warning. One for you all.

>Lola my doberman was grumbling at her in her own house, this worried the little girl

This should worry all of you. A dog will grumble before resorting to snapping. Lola's being a very good girl and warning you that she's unhappy with the situation. It's now your responsibility to make sure she never has to tell you more forcefully.

oh ok thanks for that, like i said im very aware of the situation and and am in total control as i do not want to be in the worse case scenario. however after a while she did stopped so im not sure whether she was just unsure and possibly felt a bit threatened but im more than likely going to get someone to come in and help.