New dog! And question for "dog people."
OhSewCrafty
member
Today, we adopted a sweet 4 year old hound mix named Gracie. She's very mild mannered and friendly with people. She has been in a foster home with a middle aged couple and no kids (just the couple's young grandchildren that visit often) for three years now. (They also foster a lot of puppies, so when people came to see Gracie, they also saw the puppies and well, you get it.)
She's been very good with Charlie the times we've visited her and the few hours when we first got her home. Tonight when Charlie and DH were playing (rough housing, really) she started barking and growling at them. Her hair wasn't up and her tail was still wagging, but she proceeded to bark and growl at Charlie for the rest of the night.
Anyone have experience with introducing a loud toddler to an adult dog? I know she just needs to get used to his noise and he needs to quit the screaming (for more than just the dog), but should we be concerned?
Here's a pic of the new pup. :-)
Re: New dog! And question for "dog people."
No advice really, just wanted to say GL! She's a cutie!
Maybe she's already being protective of YH, since he's the "alpha male"?
She just had a check up last week before we got her, but I may still ask a vet anyway. The strange thing is that she was barking and jumping around like she was playing, but even when C wasn't playing or being loud. She would hide behind DH and peek out from behind him to bark at C. It was weird.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
With our dog we praise and give massive quantities of treats when there is any positive interaction between him and DD. We have been trying to explain that loud noise gives the dog boo boos in his ears and that we have to pet nice and so on but DD really doesn't get it.
Good luck she looks like a cute dog.
Hmm, maybe she's really just trying to play then and just doesn't totally get it yet. She's probably just confused right now so just watch them together very closely and give her a couple days. I'm sure you'll get a better picture by then.
Dogspeople'sck people and every pack has a leader. Your H and you need to establish dominance. You have tone strict during training and offer treats and praise only when they follow your commands. They are nothing like children. Of you don't take control....they will
. I would suggest signing up for a class. Until then, you can do some leash training. Never let the dog walk ahead of you. If they pass you command a sit. If doggie doesn't sit....make them sit. Then reward and repeat. You should be able to give your dog a bone and let anyone in your house take it away without a growl. When a growl arises, doggie is saying he is in charge. Show him that he isn't. He will respect and love you for it.
Congrats on the new addition!!!
Being new to your home/family I think it would be best to lay off any sort of rough play with anyone. I ask DH not to wrestle with our dog when DD is around (because then he gets all hyper, jumping and I also don't want her to ever start that sort of play with him). Might be a good idea when the dog is around too? Dogs and small children don't know limits very well or when is a good time for play, and the last thing you want is them "wrestling" when you aren't looking. Being new to your family, she may not understand boundaries/routines yet.
OMG, I am so excited for you guys. C is going to love having a dog!!!
I think the most important thing to remember right now is that there is always an adjustment period when a dog comes to a new home, so be patient and give her extra time and space to get to know you and get comfortable in your home. During these first couple weeks, limiting stressful situations as much as possible while maximizing positive encounters as much as you can will really set her up for success in the future.
With an energetic child in the house, I think it's really important to establish quiet places in the house she can go to rest without being bothered. You could do that by giving her naps in her crate when she looks tired/stressed, using a baby gate to give her some space of her own in your living area and/or setting up a bed or travel crate in your living area that C knows is off-limits. We use a combo of all of the above in our house so our dogs can be with us all day but still have some quiet time.
Small children can be a little stressful at times even for the gentlest, most easy-going dogs, so don't force interaction. We always encourage DS to let the animals come to him, rather than chasing them or getting in their faces. I think it's also important to get to know your dog's body-language. Growls and barks are obvious warnings that your dog is uncomfortable, but usually they are preceeded by other stress signals (sometimes known as calming signals) like lip-licking, yawning or wide-eyes. (It looks silly, but I LOVE this poster with dog body language drawings.) If she's looking stressed, give her some quiet time.
On the other hand, gently praise calm, gentle behavior when she's around C. Depending on what she likes, a "good girl," a gentle ear scratch, or a small treat are all good ways of teaching her that kids are awesome to be around.
C is old enough to understand some basic rules, but young enough that you will have to remind him often.
Your house rules may vary, but ours are no touching the dog's food, no tail-pulling, no climbing inside the dog crate if it is occupied, and avoid disturbing a sleeping dog. (Any hitting or meanness is an automatic time-out; everything else, we try to remind and redirect). I tend to be on the cautious side with kids and dogs, so I don't leave mine together unsupervised for more than a few moments even now. With a brand-new dog, I think I'd keep them separated unless you're directly supervising interactions. Again, I should own stock in baby gating companies! 
As far as other basic, new dog stuff. The Pets Board FAQ has a look of good info in it. I highly recommend positive, science-backed training (as far as authors Karen Pryor, Patricia McConnell, Sofia Yin and Pat Miller are a few that come to mind.) I also suggest going to an obedience class even if you've trained dogs before. I think you get a lot out of the experience of working with your individual dog, and a good teacher can help you solve a lot of common roadblocks in your training.
If you have any questions, feel free to page me anytime. I'm so excited for you guys. If you don't mind I might post this on Pets, too, since there are a lot of lurkers there and maybe someone else will find it helpful too.
I agree with GG about trying to set up a little space in your house that is the dog "safe zone".
Our big ol dog is 75lbs, so we don't have a crate. But we do have a dog bed and some pillows in the corner of our living room that is beind DH's recliner - so it's kinda like a little cave space for him.
We've taught Jonny that is the dog's space and he's not allowed back there. So for the most part he's really good about that. The dog goes back there to nap and/or when he needs space away from Jonny who just keeps running after him wanting to play.