Need advice on dog showing aggression towards children

[CreamTeaDemolisher]

I have recently taken on my mum's dog as her work circumstances changed and she now has to work long hours, leaving the dog on his own for long periods of time for most of the week. We agreed that he would come and live with me as I am home most of the time so have the time to care for him.

He is a labrador x border collie and is 4 and a half years old. He has been with my mum since he was a puppy and has been around my son since he was born and we have never had a problem with him showing aggression towards my son.
He has lived with us for 2 weeks now and has settled in really well, most likely as he already knew us all.

This weekend my partners children came to stay and as soon as he saw them in the house he began to growl and bark at them, his fur became raised and I noticed he was shaking as well.

At first we thought he was nervous as there were new people in his territory and he calmed down with reassurance from us and became able to sit in the same room as the children without growling or barking. But if out of the house for any length of time, he would start the growling and barking upon return again. By the end of the day he had begun to tolerate the children in the room with him but would bark and snap at them at any sudden movement and was not comfortable with them stroking or touching him.

I'm really looking for advice on how to approach and handle this situation. Would it be best to contact a trainer to help us with his behaviour? In the mean time is there anything I can do to encourage positive interaction between them or would it be best to keep them separate? He has never shown behaviour like this towards my son who is 3 but I am now worried about their interactions.

Please no harsh comments as I realise I have been naive not to think of this possibility, I am just looking for advice from others experienced with dogs and their behaviour. Thanks.

The other reason it would be helpful to see a behaviourist is as your son gets older you will probably want to have his friends round to your house as well. Depending on what the behaviourist says it might be worth thinking whether long term the dog will be happy in a family household and/or whether you want the responsibility of keeping the dog separate from your child’s friends etc long term.

Good luck!

I'd post on dog training advice and support on Facebook. It's run by qualified behaviourists as a resource for dog owners but you'll get responses there. Just make sure you read the units first

Your mother should take him back and sort out a dog walker. You are trying to be kind but you are putting your child / children at risk, giving yourself a load of stress and the dog isn’t happy. The plan has failed!

Collies can be really nervous around children He is fine with your son because he has always known him but these other children are new to him so his probably unsure of them. He needs his own quiet space he can go where they won’t bother him atall and give him lots of exercise before they come round so his happy to rest Collies are such lovely dogs but their nerves can make them touchy they just need to have their space respected and I think he will be fine Good luck

People are very quick to jump to "dog not suited to family" "get rid".

The dog had a massive upheaval and then had a load of strange noise children in his new environment.

Just take it a step at a time and go from there. Behaviourist, vet and secure calm environment for the dog.

Well we've been to see the vet this morning for his check up and he's in good health, she has given me 3 numbers of different trainers and behaviourists so I'll be getting in touch with them to get some advice. Good advice about own quiet space, I'm going to get some baby gates today to section parts of the house. I'm teaching my son to leave the dog alone while he is sleeping/ eating and whenever he has taken himself away.

I honestly think the dog would get used to 4 days with you and 3 days with your mum, and it would probably be nicer and more manageable for everyone, as im sure your mum didnt want to get rid of her dog.
I quite often look after my boyfriends dog here and he sometimes has my dog at his and both dogs are absolutely fine with this. They can have two homes. Even if it takes them a few weeks to get used to it, it sounds like the obvious solution for me as no way should the dog be in a house with noisy children if hes scared, and no way should children be put at risk of being bitten by a scared collie just because theyre being children.