No, You Can’t Pet My Dog

I grew up absolutely loving dogs. Like seriously, I was obsessed. I had (I think) a total of over 100 stuffed animal dogs and I always dreamed of the day I could get a pet dog of my own. My parents were not the biggest fan of pets, but encouraged myself and my siblings to love and respect all animals.

Any time I saw a dog on the street, a neighbor’s yard, or anywhere in public, I would rush over and ask to pet the dog. Because, even though I didn’t grow up around dogs in our home, my parents taught me to always ask permission before you approach a dog. Looking back, I think I was only told “no” once or twice when I asked to pet someone’s dog. But as a child who absolutely loved dogs, this was the hardest thing I could hear. Of course, being so young, I had no idea why I received a negative response. I thought all dogs were nice and friendly and wanted to be pet.

Honestly, it is a little embarrassing to admit it, but Navy is not good around children. The only reason why this is embarrassing to me is because sometimes it may come off that we have this perfect dog and we have it all together. We had plans for her to take her Canine Good Citizen test and eventually get into therapy work. Well ICYMI, Navy is not little Miss Perfect and Zach and I definitely do not have it all figured out with raising her or Duke. We made so many mistakes with Navy, including her socialization. 

SHE WAS NOT ALWAYS LIKE THIS

We thought we did a really good job training Navy. Sure she didn’t always want to heel on leash, and sure she barks a lot, but when it came down to it, she was a really good dog. Before we brought her home we made sure to do as much research as we could on our own and we signed her up for all the right trainings. One thing we made sure to do was introduce her to children at a young age. At just a month or two of age she met her first toddler and shortly after she met a baby. She was introduced to my young cousins and even my three-year-old niece. 

Navy and my niece bonded instantly. I was so incredibly proud and impressed with how well Navy handled herself around my young niece. If you’ve been following us on social media for a while you may remember our semi-viral video of Navy and Mia sharing a slice of pizza, or Mia tormenting Navy with a toy. It was absolutely adorable to see the two of them play together. So yeah, I guess you could say at about six months old Navy was pretty good around kids. 

How freaking cute right?

How adorable is that little laugh? #friendgoals

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THE CHICK-FIL-A INCIDENT

Just like all great stories, I remember this particular day like it was yesterday. Navy and I sat outside a Chick-fil-A on a bench waiting for Zach to run in and grab us some chicken biscuits. I was hangry and not in the best mood and neither was Navy. Navy is a daddy’s girl and she was feeling pretty anxious about being separated from Zach. 

A group of kids under the age of 10 spotted Navy and rushed over to greet her. Before I could even say anything, they started to pet her. I saw Navy get a little stiff and she jolted back. One of the little girls grabbed Navy’s ear and touched her face. Navy just about had enough and barked, like really BARKED right in the little girl’s face. Of course the child was scared, so the girl and her little friends ran off. Honestly, this was the first time I ever saw Navy react in a negative way towards anyone. She would not stop barking at the children, even as they ran away.

I figured this was a one time thing. I mean, the kids crowded her and grabbed her without asking permission, Navy was clearly scared! However, ever since this incident, Navy has become very reactive towards children. She has never bitten a child or been aggressive towards one, but she will yap like crazy when a child comes near her.

IT’S NOT THAT SHE HATES KIDS…

I promise, Navy really does like kids. Like a lot of herding dogs, small animals, moving objects, and children running around excites her. Her herding instincts kick in and all she wants to do it bring these moving objects together. Also like many dogs, Navy does get anxious when on leash. Adding a herding dog on leash with children running around in a million different directions is not a good mix. 

Now, when we allow Navy off-leash with children she is completely fine. She absolutely adores chasing after them and allowing them to chase after her (though she flexes her speed and loves showing the kids how fast she is!).

HOW WE RESPOND NOW

Thankfully the majority of children who come around Navy ask politely if they can pet her. At first, I didn’t know what to say when they asked. I am a pretty awkward person and I cannot say no to a child, so I would sort of fumble around with my words for a few minutes and then say “not right now” and walk away. I never want someone to think my dog is a bad dog, or aggressive, because she isn’t! Because the moment Navy starts barking like crazy when a child approaches, and they run off crying or saying “bad dog”, “mean dog”, it truly hurts me.

So now, when a child asks to pet Navy, I say one of the below things:

1. No, I’m sorry, my dog is still in training. 
2. I’m sorry, my dog is nervous right now. Maybe you can pet her later.
3. No. My dog is very anxious on leash. 
4. She’s nervous around children and I’m afraid her barking might scare you.

We also added a yellow ribbon to Navy’s leash in support of the Yellow Dog Project.  This global movement aims to show the public and dog owners how to identify dogs needing space and promote appropriate contact of dogs. Yellow Dogs are pups who need a little extra space. According to the Yellow Dog Project website, these dogs are not necessarily aggressive but may have issues of fear; pain from recent surgery; are a rescue or shelter dog who has not yet had sufficient training or mastered obedience; are in training for work or service; are in service; or other reasons specific to the dog. 

MOVING FORWARD: OUR TRAINING AND SOCIALIZATION PLAN

Zach and I want to have a family some day and we cannot have Navy acting the way she does currently. We are not professional trainers, by any means, so we chose to work with a professional trainer to help Navy get “re-socialized” to children. Throughout our training we’ve learned to take things incredibly slow in order for Navy to gain her trust back with children. We were also taught to carefully assessing Navy’s mood before we bring her around any children. 

When we go out in public now Zach and I keep our treat pouch filled with Navy’s favorite treats. We always stay at a distance from children at play and hand Navy treats and give her praise as the children run around her. By doing this periodically, we’ve noticed Navy is less yappy around children at play. She even will let some get close to her, but we are not letting any children pet her yet.

Dogs and children can be a really great combination, but properly socializing your dog to kids takes time and a lot of patience. We want all of Navy’s experiences around children to be positive and fun! Because of this, we do not want to force any interactions. That would be a recipe for disaster. If Navy seems nervous or anxious, we will not take her around children. Going forward, we plan to give her as much time as she needs to become more comfortable around children.

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Being a good dog parent is hard work! You have to put in a lot of work if you want a well-behaved dog. Hopefully our post gives you some insight into how we handle our dog Navy around children. 

How does your dog act around children? Are they yappy like Navy, or a total cuddle bug like Duke? Let us know in the comments below! 

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