I have a 2 year old cavalier king charles spaniel who became very nervous of our niece and nephew on Saturday.  He isn't used to kids as we don't have any ourselves and it was the first time that our niece and nephew came round who are aged 4 and 2.  They are quite loud children and were quite excited to see the dogs, wanting to stroke their heads and play with them.  Unfortunately, Sam became very scared and ran off into the kitchen shaking like a leaf.  We tried asking the kids to give him a treat but he was still very scared and was just jumping on my partner or myself for protection. In the end I just put him in his bed and shut the kitchen door. This does worry me as one day we will probably have a child of our own.  Has anybody else experienced this and if anyone could give me any tips on how to overcome this it would be appreciated.

Hi Cavifan,
I don't blame him a little scarry!! Messing up his quiet life.
How dare they!!!!
It would have probly been the same if a stranger came in shouting!!
He need's his own space and he will go to them in his own time.
If you had your own children it will be a gradual process wouldn't it.
I wouldn't worry!! children can be quite scarry.
Regards
Denese

Can you take him out on a regular basis where he can see and hear children playing? Like walking past playgrounds, parks and generally places where there are likely to be children. To start with, he just needs to see and hear them, not come into contact with them.

If he starts to become stressed, ignore his behaviour and just keep doing whatever it is you are doing, ie, sitting on a bench or walking.

I'm not saying this will work but whenever any of mine have started to display symptoms of fear or stress in any given situation, I have exposed them to it as much as possible for as long as it takes to get over the "fear factor".

HTH :)

Safety first.  By running into the kitchen, Sam is showing that he needs some distance between him and these very young children, of whom he is afraid.  Perhaps if he was shut behind a stairgate when they next come, he could at least see them but, for their own safety and because it is pointless, they should not try to interact with him whilst he is so fearful.  You will need to distract the children so that they don't immediately go up to the stairgate and begin staring at him or trying to stroke him through it.  Get them doing something else, so that he can have a look at them.

When he is calmly lying down behind the gate, you could toss him treats.  At the tender ages of 2 and 4 it is unlikely that the children will be able to do this, even at the stage where Sam is ready to accept it.  Perhaps in time, he will get used to them and perhaps be offered the chance to come in when they are playing quietly or sitting up at the table but they will always need to be carefully supervised around him - and prevented from trying to grab him or even stroke him if he is still nervous of them.

As the previous poster said, it will also help if he sees children around and about but not so close or so many that he becomes afraid.  You cannot force him to overcome his fears, just offer him the opportunity to learn that children can be ok.  Not all of them are, of course!

Thanks for your replies - I shall try taking him out around children to try and get him used to them.  We have a park just round the corner in fact.  Also thanks for the tip about a stairgate - this sounds like a very good idea.