Socialising with children
I'm very new here, just got my puppy 2 days ago and from what I can tell she seems to be a typical OES, following me around like a shadow, not wanting to be left alone at night etc. My main concern is that I don't know any children so I'm not sure how I'm going to get Bumble used to them. Any ideas? (I live on the same street as a school so I want her to be good with any children we happen to bump into [hopefully not literally]). |
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| Congratulations on your new sheepie!!!! And welcome to the forum from St. Louis!!! Since Bumble..(cute name, by the way!!) is so young, I would wait to have any actual contact with the children. But, if you have a window she can look out to see the children that would be a good way to introduce her to little people and not have any interaction at this point. When she gets a little older, you can take her for a walk around the school so the children can pet her ~~it won't take Bumble long to associate petting and love with the kids (of course under your watchful eye...). For now, take her for car rides so she can experience 'planes, trains and automobiles' and get used to the sounds so she is not fearful as she grows. I am sure there will be many members here who have lots of great advice... oh...and please post pictures of your Bumble when you can!!!!  |
| When I was training Harry in anticipation of becoming a therapy dog I always made him sit before children pet him. That made him a little less intimidating I think. I also held him still so that he wouldn't scare them if he moved suddenly. Bumble will get used to a routine or protocol for being around kids. |
| My boyfriend and I do not have any children. Our dogs were exposed to children on walks in the park. At 3 months old, Asterisk had a very jubilant 4 year old boy race right up to her and pet her atop the head. Asterisk sat nicely for it with her butt wiggling. To this day, she seeks out children to pet her when we go to the parks. |
| As mentioned - get as many positive exposures of everything possible while they are young. (after shots and all that good stuff). Start out with the behaviors you want for a lifetime as much as possible. No nipping, no jumping, all that becomes the way they naturally greet if you are consistant. |
My two had very little exposure to children. At around 18 months, my sister visited with her toddler. Morgan had to go upstairs becasue he was in a I jump on all humans stage (he was too big for the adults to enjoy that from) I left Miss Marley to her own divices. She followed the kid around slowly while she was walking and when the kid dropped to a crawl, Marley dropped on her belly and followed her  She had zero additional interaction with kids until recently at shows (well she could see the annoying neighbor kids in their yard). She is four and she stands patiently while kids of all ages pet her and give her the attention she believes is her due. We also brought a sheepdog home from the shelter when my guys were about 6 and 11 - he had as far as we were told no experience with kids, he was very calm with them form day one. Morgan on the other hand has been around kids a little more - and really thinks they are made just for him. He still has very little control around them or adults for that matter- he just doesn't jump anymore but he mugs everyone for treats if he is off lead. On lead he has a reasonable sit stay. I really think obedience and seeing all kinds of things - other animals lots of people and different noises are key. BUT I would never trust a sheepdog around a bunch of running screaming kids without a leash - they could easily knock one over without meaning any harm. I know somedays that is tempting  |
| Thanks for all the tips guys! It's going to be such a long wait for her to finish her vaccinations! I'll get some pictures up soon. (I only have the camera on my phone at the minute, which, despite Sony Ericson's claims, is rubbish!) I'm sure you'll hear from me again about diet and grooming! |
No children left in this house, but all three of our dogs love them  Ripley our OES is now 15months old. Before she had all her shots I would carry her into the local PETSMART (didn't put her down or touch anything) she was a kid magnet. Her breeder also had lots of kiddo's coming and going at her house. Now she patiently sits and also wags her butt when kids come to pet her.She has always been extra gentle and quiet with small children When out walking with our crew, we always stop and ask any kids that show an interest if they want to pet the dogs.It always helps the big two leggeds calm down when we say the boy's are therapy dogs and Ripley should certify this May |
| When we first had Bailee, we had a Trainer come to the house for a one on one training session. Bailee was not yet 9 weeks at the time and the trainer "directed" us to ensure that Bailee met as many people (old, young, big, small, white, black, hispanic, mem, women and children) as we possibly could. She had us have him meet the Mail Carrier and that worked great. She told us that the people he met in the first 2 weeks with us would become his "family", meaning that he would always be comfortable with them. As well she told us to ensure we met a minimum of 100 assorted sizes and types of people in the first 2 months. We did everything she told us to do and Bailee is the most social dog we have ever had. We were also told to have him interact with other dogs, again we did this and again he is the most canine social dog we ever had. At about 8 months of age we took him to obedience school and he was very well behaved (most of the time at least.) I guess her concept worked, very well in fact. He is the most pleasant dog with other dogs and people we could want. He was exposed to our 2 Grandchildren (8 and 5 at the time) and loves them to death. I guess the key here is simply, socialize, socialize, socialize. Good luck. |
| Baileesdad I love your answer! The latest research show's we have been doing our puppies a diservice keeping them isolated till 12-14wks of age,when all shots are finished. If your puppy has had two sets of shots by 8-9weeks get them out and about. We also did what you did with Ripley and she too is calm and very outgoing(though going through the Princess/Brat phase right now) Here's a great website on puppy development-it explains why Bailee's trainer recommended what she did http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/Develo ... tages.html |
| I've had lots of visitors so she's getting plenty of adult interaction, we're also going to visit my mum and her two collieXpointers so hopefully she'll get along okay with them! |
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