Puppy ‘nipped’ at child visitor

[Margaritawithlime]

God I’m in bits. Any advice would be welcome.
We have a nearly one year old cocker. She’s normally lovely and very well socialised around children - we have two aged 5 and 8. Always in the mix and super friendly.
We have taken time to train and really felt like we had done a decent job of starting life off together you know?
Anyway this eve one of our daughters friends was over as we are babysitting for a half hour and our dog ‘went for’ her out of the blue.
DDog was nestling on the couch alongside my son and me. Daughter and friend just playing alongside and friend leant over to stroke her. She’d been in the house for 45 mins and has been around the dog since she was a tiny puppy as she lives across the road from us so not the first time she’d met doggy and previously all interactions have been fine. It was so unexpected. The dog wasn’t in her crate or in the kitchen which is where she goes for space. She aggressively growled and nipped but didn’t damage skin just scared everyone. What on earth do we do?!
Yes she could be unwell. She is tired for sure after a very energetic day. But it was so unexpected. How do i guarantee she won’t go for my kids?
god I hate this.

I'd suggest having a behaviourist out if there's no underlying health condition found.

You can’t guarantee a dog won’t bite. Under stress or in fear Dogs bite

TBH this is on you.

Over tired dog and a child reached out to stroke it…bound to happen. Be thankful it was a nip (your dog did not ‘go for her’ - she growled a nipped) and remind any children in your house to let sleeping dogs lie. Don’t bother dogs if they’re not asking for attention. It’s dog ownership rule No.1

I wasn’t sure how to phrase it so forgive me if I phrased it incorrectly.
she wasn’t asleep and I’m very clear with the children not to bother her when she is. I know it’s on us. I suppose a better question is given there was no warning growl and she’d been happily receiving a stroke a few moments before what did I miss?

I’ll look into this thank you

This exactly.

First thing's first - she needs a vet check for pain etc. Always do this as your first step when seeing new aggressive behaviours.

That said...At one year old she's about at the age where she will start making her preferences known a bit better. She's no longer a puppy and so that puppy 'acceptance of everything because I'm young and vulnerable and learning' is just about gone.

My guess would be that she has not particularly liked being fussed with in the past, but has either not yet had the skills to communicate it, or her comms were subtle and no one's been picking up on them.

However, now the growl and nip has worked, she will use them again - would be my guess. Don't put her in the situation where she might want to. She won't then get a chance to 'practice' the behaviour and it become ingrained. And won't need to.

And listen to what she said here which is likely to be that she was not happily receive fuss a few mins before, she was just putting up with it and ran out of patience.

Maybe crate train? Then Ddog has somewhere to retreat to when tired and it’s clear she is to be left alone. Also a good safe place to go and decompress after a busy day.

How old is the puppy? Puppies nip, that's what they do, they're babies.

DDog was nestling on the couch alongside my son and me. (First Post)

That implies that the dog was settled? Not asking for attention. Just laying there.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

That’s what you missed. If a dog is not asking for attention, don’t bother them. Don’t let children bother them. Even the most mild mannered dog will snap if they are over tired and bothered when they don’t want to be.

This was a warning. Be thankful your dog gave one - some don’t. Learn from this; don’t overstimulate the dog, make sure people don’t bother her when she’s not asking for attention.

She’s a sentient being with her own desires - not an object to be petted whenever a child wants.

We don’t let our dog on to sofas and beds etc for this very reason. They might look like they’re chilling out, but children (who make unpredictable noises / movements) can startle them suddenly.

i suspect your dog has been giving off very small signals of discomfort - little lip licks, yawns, whale eye and you’ve missed them. So this is the next step for her.

keep your dog off the sofa and give her a bed in the living room but essentially you want to keep dogs and children separate as much as possible, unless they’re being supervised and you can watch your dog’s body language

Sorry to say, but a puppy should not be left with children unsupervised. Lesson learnt, not the puppy's fault.

We have. Her crate is right there for her to be used and she has done so regularly since we got her. It’s absolutely her safe space and she is never bothered or interrupted there. That’s sort of what shocked me that she hadn’t taken herself away.
I think the next steps are to call back our trainer who is a behaviourist and get a vet check. Then any visits from children and I think we should relocate her so she isn’t disturbed.

She was sat right next to me.

Thank you for that. I’ve spoken to both parents and this is the reason I posted. You’ll read that nobody else has suggested she is a dangerous dog but that is my worry. I think an irresponsible dog owner wouldn’t have worried or bothered with crate training or training in the first place. What exactly are you suggesting I do? Just so I am clear.

Yes I see what you mean. Sorry I assumed you’d meant she was asleep.

Not anything to add but some of these replies are mean! OP doesn't sound irresponsible and is trying to prevent a reoccurrence, not be told off for something she didn't realise was going to occur!

This is why I would never have a dog. Friendly shitty little Jack Russell went for my kid when he tired to stop the dog drinking my tea. Nasty things. Gave him shock of his life. Don’t even get me started on XL bullies etc.

havjng said that, I’ve never known a cocker to bite.

What colour is she?

Some dogs prefer their own space to rest away from people especially children. A basket in a quiet place on the floor and children told not to touch. Let the dog have a quiet time when it knows no one can annoy it.

I have had my dog do this. She’s very small and very cute, 10 years old but could pass for a pup. Luckily the parents were understanding that it was out of character but I now warn any children that come to my home that she’s a bit grumpy and not to pet her unless she’s coming to you for attention

Ignore the hoards of unhelpful, boot-sticking twats who will comment.

I would take the dog to the vet to check for anything underlying. I'd also not let the dog on the sofa. It sounds like it could have been resource guarding (you). Cockers can be terrible for it. I'd also get a proper behaviourist to help you. For now I'd crate her whenever you have other children over. It's a giant pain but until you know what's going on and can sort it out she's not safe.

Also google cocker rage syndrome