Barking at young child

[Abigail83]

hi,

i'm new here, i'm hoping someone will be able to advise or help with an issue i have with our King Charles.

He is 3 years old, not neutered and has grown up around young children. We have taken him on as my sister is no long able to cope with him due to long working hours.

He seems to have settled in pretty well over the last week. However, on a number of times he has been barking at my daughter who is 6, and last night after giving him a treat to sit down and eat, he barked and growled at her as she came in the room. (she did not attempt to stroke him or go near him)

any advice on how i can deal with this please? He is a very placid loving little dog, but just seems to get upset by my daughter?

Tia

 

[gypsysmum2]

Although he may have grown up around young children he may not yet trust your daughter. It is very important that you realise that dogs do not have morals. They do not think it "wrong" to bite people they just learn to get along with us most of the time. I would keep the dog and your daughter apart until you can get professional help to diagnose why he is behaving the way he is. Remember he is not being naughty just confused.

It may be something as simple as resource guarding which is manageable but you do need to get it diagnosed properly.

The organisations you need are either COAPE or APBC. Please do not delay in getting help.

 

[Abigail83]

Thank you for your reply, I will definitely look into this. I want what's best for everyone.

As I say, he is a loving dog even snuggles up with my daughter in the mornings but just has barked and turned funny last night.

Thank you

 

[gypsysmum2]

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[arealhuman]

I'm a new dog owner so my advice my not be correct, but if youve only had him for a week or so, IMHO this probably isn't enough time for him to become settled and it may just be a case of getting used to new surroundings and people. Afterall, he won't understand why all this has changed. Just my view, feel free to ignore it! As gypsysmum said, I'll also be interested in how you get on.

 

[hollysh]

It may be a bit of jealousy as well. It's obviously very new to him. When you were down on the floor giving him a treat and then your daughter walks in, also possessiveness over his treat.