I have a friend who has a 6mth old bitch who is showing dominance signs, a lot of it is to do with how her owners are treating her and they are taking steps to resolve these problems, however the bitch is showing signs of being dominant towards their 1 year old son.  She will barge past him, lie in his cot, never shown any aggression thankfully, she's really a rather sweet bitch just perhaps a tad confused as to where she stands in  the pecking order.

As I have no children I've never had this problem so I wondered what steps you parents have taken to ensure your dogs understand that even though your son or daughter may be young and small they are still above them in the pack order ? 

Thanks. :-)

CHildren and Dogs by Barbara Sykes; this may help.

Dominance?  Pushing past isn't dominance - it's just lack of manners.  Dominance is about breeding rights - I doubt your friends dog has any intention of breeding with their child....... 

I love this - you are so right, it is a lack of manners.... I wish people wouldn't get so woried about "pack order"...dogs don't ;)

Hi Claire,

Don't know if this will help your friend but here goes.  I have two kids and two labs.  My kids are 8 years and 4 years and my labs are 5 1/2 years (bitch) and 9 months (dog).  I have never really had much of a problem regarding any of them, but I have followed a few simple rules which, IMHO, have helped.
1) My dogs do not sleep on/in my kids beds (or mine!)
2) My kids have always 'helped' mixing the dogs food. (this can be rather messy with a very small child!)
3) My kids ALWAYS eat before my dogs. Just to explain, my dogs are fed in the evening (although Kester still has breakfast) and my kids have their tea first. If for any reason the've been out to tea, they still sit up at the table with a drink, before the dogs are fed. I have found that this has helped- kids first, dogs second-.
Hope it all works out
Ali :)

Try a look at www.dog-dominance.co.uk which pulls a lot of recent thinking and behavioural studies together :)

I doubt if the dog is "dominant" as this word is much misunderstood and there are very few dominant dogs in the true sense....i agree, pushing past etc doesn't mean dominance at all, just an overexcited or pushy dog.

With oldler children, it is often a good idea to get them involved with feeding and training the dog in a positive manner, as long as they are safe doing so :)

Hth a bit
Lindsay

Thanks Lindsay.  Just posted then saw your reply :-)  I'm sure the dog isn't dominant yet but is sure on her way to ruling the roost unless steps are taken.  Will look at that website.  Perhaps pushy or a tad bossy is the best way to describe her at the moment, lets hope it doesn't get to dominance!

Cheers! :-)

Thanks Tohme, I will mention this book to my friend.

Thank you Ali :-)  Yes that is a help to me.  Its pretty much the same as to what I do with my dogs, I just wondered how it worked with kiddies.  I guess it's up to the parents to put in the time and effort :-)

Digger/Chloe - with all due respect your replies weren't really very helpful and I disagree to some extent with what you are both saying.  Barging past may be seen as bad manners or disobedience in a 6mth pup, it is no doubt something all of our dogs have done at one time or another however these acts of disobedience can escalate if not curbed, something I am sure should be avoided at all costs and in this case in particular as it involves a small child, large breed of dog and obviously inexperienced owners!

IMO dominance is not about breeding rights, it is about leadership and one of the most important issues to a dog is stability of the pack. Without leadership the stability of the pack is threatened.  Status within the pack is achieved by subtle body language and I think this is something that some of us have difficulty in understanding from a dogs point of view.  How many times do you hear people saying we humanise dogs too much, we look at things from the wrong perspective because we don't see it from a dogs point of view ?!

Chloe - I don't know what you mean when you say "I love this" ?  I feel like you are mocking me, perhaps I am reading your post incorrectly ?But you are right in that dogs don't have a problem with the pack order because they are a damn sight better at working it out than we are ! :-)

Best wishes.

What are the "signs" of dominance that the dog is expressing towards the child?

i have a 3yr old son who got a BC puppy for his birthday last august. i have no idea of dominance issues at all (what they are etc) but my puppy does barge past my son sometimes but as soon as my son shouts sit or anything to be honest lol guinness does it immediately. so if barging past is bad manners or dominance cameron soon sorts that out with a sit lol also cameron likes to do training (yes even at 3 yrs he is very involved and close to his puupy who is nearly as tall as he is bless). cameron gets guinness to stop at the bottom of the stairs and sit, then cameron says stay and goes to the top of the stairs into the lounge and when he has guinness' treat ready for him he shouts 'come back guinness' and he does and then he is made to sit again then the poor thing gets his treat - that way he has kind of learnt i hope that he does as cameron tells him too even though he is smaller etc. i know at 1 yr old this is a bit advanced but i thought id give the general idea anyway to you for when the kiddie is a bit older. also camerons bedroom has safety gate on it and only he goes in and out of it  - guinness has never been allowed in there wont be - thats camerons space and will stay like that, maybe your friend could introduce a safety gate to the kiddies room as i imagine he/she will be walking soon so will need one to stop them wandering all hrs anyway lol is the dog allowed on furniture - just relating this to it knowing it can go into the kiddies cot? if so again maybe consider not allowing on furniture in future?

hope something in all this ramble helps lol

nails :0)

No, not mocking you - I was replying to digger to say I love the way it was put: "not dominance but bad manners" :) I didn't have time to reply any further as I was on my way out! :D

Thanks Nails (what a name!).  Your ramble has made a lot of sense :D

Tohme I will hopefully be speaking to my friend tonight, I call everyone a friend but she's actually the sister of a friend at work and I've never met her yet, hopefully after our chat I can clear up a few queries.

Chloe I'm pleased you weren't mocking me.  I hate asking for advice on this board because I've been posting for too long to know just exactly how nasty things can get.  Thanks for your reply :-)

As I have no children I sometimes find it hard to understand them.  Nails even just reminded me that the child probably will be walking soon - I just assumed he would be walking already !  Gawd help me if and when I become a mam :rolleyes:

hi claire :)

nails is my name on forums as that what i do for a living lol i am a nail technician (manicures etc)

glad i could be of some help, god i ask for it enough lol

nails :)

Oh dear - so what I said wasn't helpful because you don't agree - I hope you never have to deal with a truly 'dominant' dog.........

Digger, I will make allowances for the fact that you don't know me.  Those on this board who do know me will know that I am not so shallow minded as to say someone is unhelpful just because I disagree with them :rolleyes:

You've made two postings on here, one stating what you believe to be dominance and that this bitch is simply displaying bad manners and one stating you hope I don't ever have to deal with a truly dominant dog.  Not once have you made any suggestions as to how my friend might overcome her problem in order to rid this bitch of bad manners, which is what I was asking for in the first place - therefore in my opinion your postings are not helpful :-(  Given you don't know me, how can you make such a statement about my dealing with a truly dominant dog?  It's not really dogs my query is based around as I deal with mine quite well thankyou, it was more children given I don't have any !

I thought I had misunderstood Chloe's posting and she kindly confirmed that I had.  You on the other hand appear to continue to want to have a dig at me, is that why you named yourself digger ?  Perhaps you have proven my point about my rarely asking for advice on here ?!

i knowyour freinds baby is only a year but the younger the better imo. When i got my first GSD my children were 2 and 3, there were shown from day one about food and correct handling and they both helped with putting food down, putting lead on, even throwing a ball for the dog. We now have another GSD she is coming up for 10mths my 9 yr old feeds them in the morning, adult first pup second, but pup is made to sit and wait for food then told 'go on then' to eat. Then they 8 yr old does it in the evening, this then shows to respect the children aswell as us. And the 4 yr olds job is to help with brushing and walking at lunch time.
So my advice to you would be to get your freind to involve there child now maybe simple things like helping to put the bowl down or throwing a ball (then with mum or dads help to get it back) and putting lead on, even brushing.

Hope that is some help to your freind

Cordelia

I have two kiddies aged 4 and 3.  They get on very well with both dog & bitch.  The only time my dogs push past is when they are excited.  My bitch only ever showed signs of dominance towards my dog but never towards me or my kiddies. 

Maybe your friend should start defining which places the pup is allowed and which are not.  Safety gates sound a good idea.  My dogs have always been taught from day one where they are and are not allowed. 

You say the pup is sleeping in the babies cot/bed?  Maybe the pup is feeling left out as I know that babies do take up a lot of time and energy.  Would you be able to help your friend teach their dog to sit when a member of the family enters/leaves the room or when walking through doors.  Mine more often that not now sit at the door and let my kiddies in/out first before they are allowed through doors.  This shows that the child comes first and the dogs can sort the rest out between themselves.

I don't know if I have been able to help but I hope your friend sorts things soon.

Has it occurred to your friend that the dog may like lying in the bed because it is more comfy, smells "nicer" than her own or even has "food" remnants in there?

Just a thought!