Is my dog trying to dominate my child?

Question

I never leave my daughter and dog alone I have made it a point she is the only one to feed the dog.. My daughter is 4 years old and our dog is 1 1/2 latley the dog has been sniffing her excessivly and mounting her my dog is a female. also the dog is pawing at her and scrathing with both paws toward her like she is digging toward her especially when my daughter is lying down.. I stop this behavior when ever I see it but can any one tell me why the dog is doing this.. should I be worried? what can I do to ensure my childs safety? Is this behavior in a dog normal? please respond

Answer 1

Mounting is a sign of dominance. Its like a big slap in the face to humans.

I recommend you get your dog into obedience classes yesterday.

That is all I am going to recommend, without seeing your dog I can't see any of the subtle signs dogs give when roles have been reversed. Since your dog is already mounting human members of the family, I wouldn't feel right advising anymore than seeking proffesional help. I don't want anyone getting hurt.

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT do what gypsy has suggested. "Alpha rolls" like she has suggested have become popular by Cesar Milan. Any dog trainer or behaviorist with some credit will say his methods aren't the best. Alpah rolling is VERY rarely necessary, and can result in injury to both you and the dog. I would NEVER suggest an adult to alpah roll, much less a 4 year old child.

Answer 2

You don't want to yell at the dog. The dog is trying to show that she is boss over the child. Have your daughter feed the dog. Make her sit and do not allow her to eat until told to do so. Also have your daughter be firm with her. Don't go to hitting the dog or yelling you don't want to scare it. Having pit bulls I have learned a lot and you may want to look at this site and try some of the training methods on your dog pbrc.net I believe that it will help you alot

Answer 3

Humping: Is It All About Sex?


Why do dogs hump? Dogs humping humans may amuse other humans, but rarely the human who's being humped. Some dogs will hump a toy or sofa cushion incessantly. We accept dogs humping other dogs in the act of mating, but in other situations it can create problems. What does all this humping mean, and what can we do about it?

Early Days

Puppyhood socialization to another dog of the opposite sex can help a dog orient sexual behavior for adulthood. Whether you're going to breed the dog or not, it helps for the dog to develop the concept that sexuality is toward other dogs, not humans or pillows.

Much of the humping you'll see among puppies as well as among adult dogs is play. Some of it expresses dominance, but that's not always the case.

If a dog persists in humping another dog in a social situation, distracting the dog who's doing the humping into another activity is a good idea. For one thing, it's best that a dog not get obsessed with humping. Besides the potential annoyance to others, it can even result in physical irritation. When you consistently interrupt the humping, you prevent it from becoming a strong habit in the dog.

Secondly, being humped can become oppressive to the dog who is the target, so that's another reason to interrupt. This is a common complaint in situations where dogs get together to play, such as dog parks. Just distract the humping dog, without punishment of any kind.

Physical Issues

Irritation or itching in the genital area can cause both male and female dogs to hump in response to the physical sensation. Be alert to this possibility, and of course have your veterinarian prescribe treatment to correct any underlying condition.

When a female dog is in heat, she, other females, and of course the males around her may turn into humping fools. Of course, this would be sexual arousal. The excitement of the situation can lead to fighting, as well as the strong possibility of an accidental pregnancy. Female dogs in heat need to be kept under top security!

Effects of Neutering

Behaviors can start for physical reasons and then continue because they have become habits. Humping is a prime example. Perhaps initially the dog derived pleasure from it, or simply was allowed to do it for prolonged periods with another dog, a human or an object.

When a male dog is neutered, a female spayed, or a medical condition irritating the genital area corrected, an established humping behavior may continue because it was allowed to become a habit. For this reason, neutering a male dog is not a sure cure for humping people's legs any more than it's a foolproof method of stopping urine marking in the house after that has become a habit.

Neutering does reduce the physical pressure on the dog, and can make your task easier when changing habits through behavioral means. It's important to stress, though, that intact male dogs need not go around humping everything in sight, either. The same simple distraction into another activity that works for neutered males also works for those who are not neutered.

Alternatives

Correcting a dog in a harsh manner for humping is not necessary and can create problems worse than the humping. Work with the dog to develop several behaviors the dog will perform on cue, such as sit, down, come, fetch, go to a spot and settle calmly, go find a toy to chew, and any trick the dog enjoys doing for a reward.

The list of alternative behaviors can be endless. Vary which behavior you cue as a distraction from humping. This keeps your intervention interesting for the dog, and helps avoid encouraging new obsessions.

I hope this helps.
I have 2 girls ages 4 and 6 and I have had them take our 2 dogs to obedience classes, so that our dogs don't feel dominate over the girls. try that if all else fails.

Answer 4

This is very normal in a dog. I strongly suggest that you don't stop the dog from doing this. Watch closely because the dog is just curious. When a dog meets something that is at its own eye level, it feels threatened. Don't let the dog get nose to nose with your daughter because there is a small chance she may bite you daughters nose, but very unlikely, especially she shows no other mean behaviors. IF that does happen yell at her and slap her behind, to let her know that is bad. If that ever happens again you will have to get rid of the dog, she can be put down if she bites another child. All in all, I am positive that because the dog is so young she is just be curious. I know I would be!

Answer 5

Yes, this is dominant behavior. You are correct to be worried.

Having your daughter feed your dog is excellent. In addition to feeding her, you daughter should be having the dog obey commands.

Start out by having her tell the dog to 'sit' before she feeds her. You need to back up your daughter's command. Don't tell the dog to sit yourself, instead, be standing behind your daughter when she gives the command. If the dog doesn't sit, you walk around, press the dog into the sit position and return behind your daughter.

Have your daughter release the dog, then repeat the command.

The dog doesn't get the food until she sits when your daughter tells her without you physically making her.

Extend the dog's obeying your daughter with treats, again only awarded to the dog when she obeys your daughter's commands without your interference.

You also need to work on your daughter's tone of voice when she talks to the dog. Make sure she is giving commands in a low, calm tone.

Your girl should also not be playing any 'power' games with the dog at her young age. No tug-of-war, chase, etc., where the dog can be the victor in the game.

When your daughter pets the dog, it should be from the top down, no kisses to the dogs chin, especially!

Your daughter shouldn't lay or sit in positions where the dog's head is higher than hers. If your daughter wants to lay on the floor, have the dog in another room or in a down position herself.

When your dog displays dominance behavior (mounting is a classic one) to your daughter, you need to have your daughter put her hand on top of her muzzle, you put your hand on top of your daughter's, press the dog's head downward while scolding her.

Good luck, and great job on never leaving the two alone!

Answer 6

she's trying to show that he's the alpha dog, and best thing to do is discipline her. vets will tell you that if you prove that you're the alpha dog to them, that this type of behavior will stop. when she does it, turn herover onto his side, and hold her down on the floor by the neck,,, don't hurt her, of course, just hold her down until she stops fighting back, and tell her NO very sternly. it mimics what the alpha in the pack would do to another dog.

Also, don't feed them until you and your family are done eating. first to eat is the alpha. keep that in mind.

good luck!!! most dog behavior is status related... the humping the leg thing, the mean about food behavior, growling at men, scratching, sniffing, being aggressive,,,,,, everything is part of it. try that for a week or two, and see what happens.

my dauschund used to hump legs, till i tried this, and it worked sooooo well, it only took one day and it broke her of it.

and if she starts barking, don't yell at her, just go and hold her down. yelling at her, mimics barking in her language, so, she'll just continue doing it, even louder.

good luck!!!

Answer 7

yes, but what 'gypse76' said is stupid and will get your child attacked-try tying the dog up for 5 mins or so everytime she starts to do it ok. this will be telling your dog that if she tries to dominate your child, you will punish her, hereby showing your dog u r boss. get ur child to do this too so the dog knows you AND your child are leaders over it.
Good Luck........
P.S.-what 'amleecdt' said will work as well I did that to my dog when she was jumping up and trying to rip peoples clothes off them. I tonly took 2 days for me.

Answer 8

Many behaviors are breed specific, since we don't know the breed of your dog, your question is more difficult.

Dogs should never be left alone, with children, especially small children. They may not intend to harm the child, but accidents happen.

Answer 9

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/0a3Mv

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

Answer 10

The dog is trying to be the alpha,
one thing you could do is force your dog on to it's back and have your daughter sit on her while staring in to the dogs eyes until the dog refuse to look back. That along with your daughter being firm with her will establish that the dog is not alpha.
You may have to help your daughter keep the dog on her back the first time or two if you decide to try it.