Advice please - our std. poodle does not like children...

[greenmom17]

Our almost 10 month old std. poodle is very timid and nervous around people other than our family, especially other children (like neighborhood kids). If anyone (especially kids) gets to close to her (within a few feet) she will start barking and growling. I always have her on a leash and tell kids not to pet her b/c I'm afraid of her biting someone.

Obviously this is a huge problem for us as our kids have friends over all the time and I want our dog to be comfortable and trustworthy as much as she can. We adopted her around 13 weeks (in the dead of winter) so she didn't really socialize with children other than my own until this spring. Did we miss a crucial window for socialization?

She is also a very nervous dog around the house - barks/howls at everything and it's really really getting to me. I'm about to get a bark collar but I'm more concerned with her reaction to kids.

She is walked daily, we take her to a dog park every other day, and when the kids are playing in front of the house I sit outside with her on a leash so she is familiar with them...they just can't get close to her.

Please - any advice? I really can not afford a trainer so I need to do whatever it takes myself. Thank you!!!!

[Ola_]

The first step is to reach out to the breeder or adoption group and ask for help, if you don't have the funds for a trainer. How about a group training class, is that an option?

Teaching her to look at you and respond to simple commands (sit, down, etc.) *instantly* even around distrations will go a long way towards managing this. Unfortunately you really do need to socialize puppies early and often, paying special attention to fear periods. Can that be undone? I lean towards no, but you can do training now and focus on socializing her extensively.