Hi all,

Nando gets pretty excited around my 3-year-old niece and will jump up/sniff her. At his size it really is a bit of a problem for him not to be 100% and ideally we'd like them to be able to get along just fine for when the summer comes. At the minute we can walk them together and because Nando has more interesting things to do he will run about, maybe coming back to lick her (yuk!) once in a while.

I would trust him not to ever bite or be vicious towards her and I trust her to be respectful of his boundaries- she is a dog savvy child and doesn't try to pull his tail or wind him up.

What is the best way to keep him calm around her?

Thanks,
Josh

I don't really have a clue tbh, I had exactly the same problem, Ralph was overly enthusiastic whenever he saw my niece. The solution in my case came from the niece herself :) She would literally dominate him and show him what she doesn't like. After 2 days the dog was as calm as I've ever seen him and little Jo was having the time of her life:) Ofc, Golden Retrievers are made for children, so take caution with other breeds :P

>She would literally dominate him and show him what she doesn't like.

That sounds ominous. Could you explain what she did?

>Golden Retrievers are made for children,

No, golden retrievers are 'made for' steady working.

    She would literally dominate him and show him what she doesn't like.

That sounds ominous. Could you explain what she did?

Agree JG, it is very unwise to allow a child, particularly as young as 3 to try to dominate a dog, very irresponsible iMO.

I maybe read this a bit differently? I figure he meant the child didn't let the dogs push her around.  Like, she's not dominating the dog(as if she could lol) but she's not being a pushover herself?  That's how I read it.
Dunno about the GR comment though! What's that supposed to mean as all dogs shouldn't be trusted 100%.(Take it from me that is having 'issues' with kids and dogs!lol)

Have you shown Nando what you would like him to do around your niece i.e. put him on lead - walk towards her if he goes to bounce then just walk away - he doesn't get to see her unless he sits calmly?  easy to say I know - you could try the tree thing i.e. make like a tree (the niece) but as she's easily knocked over might not be feasible! 

Your niece could have a treat ready to give him when he does sit? or perhaps she could throw a treat down so he's not looking to her hand for the treat?  but I would keep on lead until you are sure he's much steadier.

Does he have a toy perhaps you can have when she's around that will take his attention away from her - he might just need to sniff and get her smell out of his system then will leave alone?  but again would put on lead?

Can you remind me what breed Nando is?

Have you shown Nando what you would like him to do around your niece i.e. put him on lead - walk towards her if he goes to bounce then just walk away - he doesn't get to see her unless he sits calmly?  easy to say I know - you could try the tree thing i.e. make like a tree (the niece) but as she's easily knocked over might not be feasible! 

Your niece could have a treat ready to give him when he does sit? or perhaps she could throw a treat down so he's not looking to her hand for the treat?  but I would keep on lead until you are sure he's much steadier.

Does he have a toy perhaps you can have when she's around that will take his attention away from her - he might just need to sniff and get her smell out of his system then will leave alone?  but again would put on lead?

Can you remind me what breed Nando is? its ok looked it up - he should be reasonably quick to cotton on :)

Thanks for your help Rachelsetters! I have thought of those things however I think it's something I'll first have to try around my sister without my Mum & Dad around as Nan & Granddad get very defensive around their favourite little niece LOL.

She will sometimes get him to sit for a treat but he doesn't listen to her too much because of her high-pitched voice. I like the idea of walking away until he's nice and calm. He picked up really quickly on the fact that we want him to sit/lie down nicely when speaking to people in the street so I think this should be easy for him to pick up using the same method.

Will report back! Taking my niece to Disneyland for the week so will begin trying when we return!

">he doesn't listen to her too much because of her high-pitched voice

It is exactly this that excites a dog, and leads to the jumping up.  Said child should be supervised, and encouraged to speak low/gently and not excitedly.  If that makes sense.

Once he has gotten himself calmed down, he won't react to her high-pitched voice. We do get her to speak nice and low to him when giving a command but because of her age I just don't think he can understand her and even when being low it is still fairly squeaky! She does try her best, bless her, but I don't think he'll be listening to her commands for a while. She likes to play a game where we take him out the room, and she hides treats, and then he comes in and we give him the 'find it!' command and he'll sniff it out.

Is this sort of game a good idea- to take his mind off Niamh- or will it excite him more, do you feel?

When I had my first Elkhound I found even sitting she would knock over my toddler, my 4 year old was big for her age, but even her, so we was taught to lie down before she got attention from any of us.  This worked well, as long as the kids also stayed calm, didn't run about or squeal.

With the dog we had prior to this I fenced off the garden so part was a no doggy area where kids and their friends could play without getting silly with the dogs.

Dog/s and kids only interacted for quiet time.

Considering the objective should be to make dog and child relaxed and happy in one another's company, treating one another with respect, I think this kind of 'find it' game is a brilliant way to help them interact in an appropriate way. When he is more used to her he will calm down. 3 year olds are squeaky and move irratically and fall over easily, this is all very exicting for any dog.
If he gets too boistrous, give him time out. If she gets too boistrous, give her time out. Teach them both acceptable ways to interact, they will be attracted to each other (she smells sweet and lickable, he looks fluffy and interesting...) so if they know what to do with each other, they won't make mistakes. I teach my kids (both under 5) and visiting kids (all ages) things they can do to interact with my big dogs like paw, down, turn, fetch, speak etc. As they get used to each other it will be easier for him to follow her instruction and for her to get her timing right. Allow her to regularly watch you running through some tricks so she can learn how to interact. Accept it will take time, even months before he can work out her squeaks ;-)
The only thing I'd warn about is if he does accidently knock her over etc don't over react, don't punish him. Scoop her up to comfort her if necessary but deal with the situation as calmly as possible and let him stick his nose in to check what is going on. Some dogs are quicker at learning to be aware of small children's personal space than others, just make sure you always supervise and take the lead with all interaction just as you are doing with the find it game. 

>Scoop her up to comfort her if necessary

Better an "Oh dear, whoopsi-daisy, up you get", before she has time to cry, so that she doesn't think that being knocked over is a terrible thing to happen. ;-)

>but deal with the situation as calmly as possible and let him stick his nose in to check what is going on.

Spot on. It's no different to her being knocked over in play by a bigger child.

Exactly, my 4 year old often gets knocked over by my dogs tail, he laughs and picks himself up. Its often the adults that set the tone and supervision is the key.