Growling problems

[pomegranate427]

Hello I’m new to this group I rescued my dog about a month ago and she is 35% cattle dog and chow chow. I have 3 kids twins that are 6 and a 5 year old. My 6 year old daughter I’m not sure why, but she growls at her constantly and is always watching her. My daughter will walk by her not touch her or anything and she growls will sit down on the couch beside her and she growls. I just don’t understand why. She has never growled at my son yet who is her twin and he is adhd so he is very hyper and loud she has growled a couple times at my 5 year old. My dog is 3 years old I do not want to take her back to the shelter, I want to be able to get it to where she isn’t growling at my daughter anymore she is scared to even go near her and is heartbroken that she doesn’t think the dog likes hers. I can’t afford to hire a trainer what can I do to help. When she does growl my kids move away from her and give her space.

 

[obadimu]

@pomegranate427 Keep making sure the kids give space when this happens, and provide private space for the dog that kids know is off limits (a kennel, room, or bed). I’d keep an eye to see if she seems to be resource guarding anything—dogs can resource guard food, furniture, rooms, people. It’s possible she could be resource guarding the couch.

 

[tidus2014]

@pomegranate427 The problem with rescues, is that no one does any breed research before they show up and pick out a dog. Cattle dogs, generally speaking, need a lot of training. They need constant stimulation and need to be exercised very very frequently (sometimes hours per day). Not all cattle dogs are good with children, and there are many chows that are not good with children. They also have "a person" and when someone is around that isn't their person, there can be signs of aggression shown. Especially growling and sometimes nipping, and these can be exacerbated by lack of exercise and stimulation. You likely need to increase whatever activity they're receiving, but you can also incorporate your daughter into these activities so that they start to become more comfortable with her. Include her on walks, fetch, etc.

 

[sozbun]

@tidus2014 from their post history, this person was told their dog was a hound mix and unless you're very used to cattle dogs, their dog doesn't rly look like one so this was a surprise heeler and not a lack of breed research on their part. I do agree that's def an issue that happens A LOT though, we even see it in heeler groups all over where people buy heeler puppies and they're like "this is my first heeler!! why is it biting me and what toys can I get it that it won't destroy in 15 seconds???", it's unfortunate that such a difficult breed is so cool/unique looking because a lot of people just see their spots and think they're cute and can't be worse than any other dog. I'm just saying this person specifically got a surprise heeler which is definitely difficult and I have way more sympathy for ppl in these situations than people that just bought a cute puppy off Craigslist without so much as googling the breed.

 

[lee102]

@pomegranate427 Growl back.

 

[pomegranate427]

@lee102 I do

 

[excellency]

@lee102 In all seriousness don’t do this. You and your family need to gain this dogs trust

 

[excellency]

@pomegranate427 Start having your daughter feed the dog. That will help your dog trust her