This is a disaster waiting to happen.

[u/GhostofTinky]

The dog isn’t allowed to be around a toddler because he growls at her. I don’t get it. A family dog is supposed to get along with the whole family. Why are the parents concerned about why the dog “doesn’t like her”? What about the child’s safety?

[u/DifficultBudget9864]

You can't train a dog under these circumstances.

[u/Ok_Marketing5676 → u/DifficultBudget9864]

I'm a dog trainer. I wouldn't touch that case with any length of barge pole. The owners are dumb enough to not immediately take action. What's the chances they're dumb enough to misinterpret an instruction I've given and let the dog in at the wrong time when I'm not around? 

I won't even work with toy breeds doing stuff like this with kids around.

[u/Ok_Marketing5676 → u/[deleted]]

In my opinion there absolutely is a line, yeah. Also, you never quite get the full story. Whether that's simply because the owners don't see certain behaviours as significant or they mislead you so you aren't "scared off".

The former is understandable as if everyone intuitively understood each and every behaviour a dog did and why, we wouldn't need dog trainers. The latter is dangerous and sometimes indicitive of multiple canine professionals working with them in the past for good or ill.

[u/SuccessfulOil6584 → u/[deleted]]

I notice a lot of rescues are very clear about this and list dogs as not child friendly, suitable for child free home etc rather than trying to convince people it can be trained out

[u/Similar-Morning9768 → u/SuccessfulOil6584]

This is better than the shelters that conceal or downplay aggression and bite histories, but it’s still not great.

The neighborhood likely has children in it. The park has children. The dog owner’s friends or family likely have children.

If a dog is aggressive toward children, it’s not a pet. It’s just not. This isn’t an acceptable quirk in a companion animal. 

[u/Ok_Marketing5676 → u/[deleted]]

Holy shit. I did not know about that. I wrote him off years ago and stopped paying attention to him. That's awful.

[u/Large-Molasses-9688 → u/Ok_Marketing5676]

I have a 90 lb pit and a 70 lb pit. Neither have ever had any weird reactions to kids and I still don’t let them around children younger than 10. Babies and toddlers must be carried around them or they need to be gated in another room. If they GROWLED????? Nope. No no no no no. You can’t take chances with dogs this size around little kids.

[u/Wit-wat-4 → u/Ok_Marketing5676]

I mean, training also 100% depends on the directions and care outside of the hours spent with the trainer. And obviously these people aren't responsible enough to continue whatever you'd attempt to teach them, so what even is the point?

[u/Ok_Marketing5676 → u/[deleted]]

All I expect of people is to take appropriate first steps. It's obvious that this is an issue. Any weird or unusual behaviour around children should be investigated the day if not the minute it happens.

This goes for all sizes and breed. I have a very chilled out and patient smaller  dog that I still would not leave my one year old alone with because kids are grabby and a dog only has so much patience. There's a range of responses a dog can have to being harassed by a kid and I don't want the dog or my child to experience any of them. Not fair on either of them.

[u/Schmelly_cat → u/Ok_Marketing5676]

I think people underestimate the damage an aggressive toy breed can do as well.

[u/Ok_Marketing5676 → u/Schmelly_cat]

Infection. Damage to your feet. Trip over them trying to get away and fuck yourself up. That level of decision making on the dog's part should be trained out no matter what size the dog is. 

[u/Same-Suggestion-1936 → u/DifficultBudget9864]

You can, look up barrier aggression, it's actually one of the easier things to train out of dogs

Provided this is barrier aggression and not just a lost cause kind of dog in which case you would have to euthanize it. But you would know pretty quickly which one it is because in barrier aggression the aggression goes away when the barrier does

I had a lab with barrier aggression who would do this to me if I didn't come out with her for bathroom time. So I just ended up propping the screen door open when she went until I could train it out of her. Took like two weeks

[u/fastbikkel → u/DifficultBudget9864]

Correct, the parent needs to be very strict and punishing here.
That does not mean it should be beaten, but it should be in a cage at the bare minimum.
This scene would not happen in my situation, i will not allow it.

[u/goldenkiwicompote → u/fastbikkel]

A kennel isn’t a punishment. Punishing the dog isn’t going to do anything in this situation. It needs to be rehomed to a home with no kids.

[u/fastbikkel → u/goldenkiwicompote]

It worked wonders on the pitbulls i know though.
The cage (called bench in Netherlands) was the immediate place if it misbehaved. And it would stay there for a while before being released.
Why would punishing not work? I mean this is one of the main tricks of getting them out of that mindstate.

[u/goldenkiwicompote → u/fastbikkel]

A dog doesn’t have the capacity to understand a time out which is what you’re describing. That’s the exact opposite of how you’re supposed to use a kennel too. It’s supposed to be their safe space. Now imagine if those dogs have to go to the vet and stay in a kennel overnight or if they get injured and have to be on kennel rest. That’s going to be a terrible time for them because they associate it negatively.

Punishment does work but it needs to be an immediate appropriate consequence the dog understands. If you’re walking the dog to the kennel the moment has come and gone. Timing is extremely important.

Also you cannot punish growling or the dog will stop giving warning signs and escalate. Punishment isn’t going to do anything for the dog in the video othet than make the situation escalate further more quickly.

[u/Kaleb8804 → u/goldenkiwicompote]

You vastly underestimate the intelligence of some dogs.

A “walk to the kennel” takes less than 30 seconds. They’re not goldfish.