Need Advice on training ACD to live with kids

[sarsath]

Sorry this is so long. On mobile so may have formatting issues.
I’ve had B (ACD X not sure of mix) since he was 6 months old, he’s now 5.5. He’s an inside dog and has never really been around kids other than occasionally a neighbors kid (8+ yo) and my sister who was 10 when we lived with her. He’s super social, loves everyone, goes most everywhere he’s allowed with me. I knew he tried to herd and nipped at adults being obnoxious and kids running around acting crazy but I didn’t want kids and the adults he’s around off leash are used to having dogs around so I never anticipated an issue.

Now I have a 4 year old step son (every other weekend) who just started coming around my house recently when his dad and I got engaged. As well as a baby due in June. B is super tolerant and likes SS when he’s calm and quiet... rare for a 4 year old. He has a pretty good understanding of how to interact with animals so that’s not an issue. As soon as he get excited, jumps around, runs to another room, moves spontaneously, or acts like a kid, B is “herding” chasing him, jumping at him, barking, nipping legs and arms, etc. SS thinks it’s hilarious and isn’t scared of him yet because we’ve always stopped it immediately, B drags a leash around when he’s there and is crates or locked in our room when our total attention isn’t on them.

We have friends with a baby and he’s the same way, super alert when baby is around, any small sound has him jumping toward the baby (not to check it out, he tried to nip baby’s ear while I was holding her) and barks at her for making noise or moving.

Before anyone says training we set up an assessment with a trainer at the beginning of the year after noticing the problem and he’s seeing them once a week (that’s all we can afford and honestly don’t have money for that). They also plan to do in home training after a few sessions in their facility. They train working dogs, including the police K9s around here so I’m fairly confident I can’t find a better trainer nearby.

I’m interested to see if anyone else has had similar problems and how they overcame it. I’m aware ACDs frequently have issues with kids and a lot of this should have been dealt with when he was younger... but I never even considered I’d have kids, and here we are.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate all suggestions, I’ve added a picture of my baby because he’s adorable
Bandit

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@sarsath I wonder if you could let the 4 y/o do some commands for treats with him. Sit, stay, lay down, and rewards. Then he might start to see the kid as an alpha too, just like how he respects you. Or maybe the kid can hold the leash (with assistance) when you walk. Small steps towards respecting boundaries with small ones.

 

[gracefaith7]

@imagebeastmarkbeast This. My pup was chasing and herding my 6 year old daughter every time she started to play rough and run around. I've since trained both my daughter and son to do a routine with sit, down, go get it, and come here. At first, the pup didn't want to listen to them. Now she does. And the amount she tries to herd them is down by a bunch.

 

[sarsath]

@gracefaith7 That’s a good idea. Well try to work towards that.

 

[sarsath]

@imagebeastmarkbeast He does well with holding the leash. We let him give some commands but he can’t hold the treats right now because B has a bad habit of snatching treats and getting your entire hand and does it worse with him. We’re also working on that in training. He does tell him to get in his crate and put his bowl down for him after he’s sitting and waiting. Hopefully that will help some.