Hi
Any tips or experiences, I need some help! We got our dog on Saturday, 5 month old (Shih tsu cross) from a rescue centre. He’s lovely, but very unsure, scared, missing his kennel companion as always been with dogs and I think pining. He’s been generally doing great considering, but on Sunday afternoon he started barking at our children and now does it whenever they enter the room. Short growl then short sharp loud barks. They have been very gentle and calm with him, been supervised and we have given him a lot of space and quiet. He has been mostly in our large kitchen/diner/family room settling in, the children have been in the lounge / rest of house, coming in to see him for short periods to not over worry him with one of us with the kids where they are and one of us with the dog so he’s not left alone. They haven’t been rough with him or loud or crazy, but he clearly feels upset/threatened by them and the children are now getting scared of him. I’m calling a puppy behaviourist/trainer this morning to arrange a 121 in the house (he’ll be having general puppy training classes with her going forward) but any advice from anyone for starters? I knew he’d need a lot of TLC and training and I’m at home most of the day and my husband works from home so we are here but I’m a bit dismayed about this turn of events. He’s fine around me and my husband, he’ll sit on our laps and be stroked and fall asleep and is happy to be handled. He’s also been happy to lie on the sofa and be stroked by my eldest, but when she walks in the room he’s had started to bark at her. If he’s on a lap he’s a happy and calm, if he’s generally padding/sitting in the kitchen and they appear he’s a stressball. It’s not just someone coming in the room - he’s quiet until he see’s it’s one of them in particular. I know we have taken on a dog that needs a lot of time and love and training and we are all prepared to give it. The dog was ok at the premeet with the children before we took him home and had been happy to be stroked by them, no indication of not liking them, but I think he had the confidence of his kennel mate there which helped him (he had been in a foster home for a week with a smaller fog rather than in the main kennels when we picked him up.)
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The doghouse
Rescue dog barking at the children
43 replies
Liberty5 · 28/01/2020 07:00
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