How to prevent this from happening again/kids and safety around dogs

[Lady Mayapple]

My younger sister has a 9 month old timberwolf/German Shepherd mix named Balto. He is as sweet as can be, very gentle, but has no concept of his size or strength. Lil' Sis still lives at home with our parents, and we went to visit last weekend. DS2 loves Balto and gets excited when he comes up and licks his face and paws at him, and then he'll start running. Well, one thing you don't want to do around Balto is run, because then he will think you are playing chase or tag, and he will knock you over like a football player. We kept telling DS2 "Don't run! Don't run!" The inevitable happened and Balto knocked DS2 right over. He wasn't hurt, but just scared and confused. I am hoping he finally understands why we told him not to encourage the dog to play chase, but DH was rather upset with the situation and does not want it happening again. My dad put Balto on his run, but he hates that and will howl and howl until someone comes to get him. He is not an aggressive dog, and I have no fear of him hurting my kids, so I don't think it's fair to put him on the run every time we visit. He's still a puppy, after all, and he just wants to play.

Thoughts?

[Tigerchild]

Your parents and sister need to invest some time in teaching the dog manners. He's only going to get bigger and stronger. Not proactively teaching a large strong dog not to jump and paw or come or stay on command is irresponsible, especially for a hybrid owner whose dog will be targeted for fear and scapegoating anyway.

If he has not been trained, then they do need to keep him on leash/under control until he is, when there are small children who also need some "training".

While it's true that yes, you do need to train your son as well, the onus is not totally on him! But if the dog's owners don't see the big deal about allowing a puppy big enough to take a child down to jump on the kid, I guess you don't have much alternative.

If you state that the dog does not know its own strength, is free to give chase and knock people down if it thinks that they are playing, then I don't understand how you can say that you have no fear of him hurting your child. Intentionally, perhaps not, but he can unintentionally hurt him *now*--and the dog is only going to get bigger and stronger.

[Lady Mayapple]

What I meant by I don't fear the dog hurting anyone is he wouldn't attack or bite, he doesn't growl and hardly ever barks. He just howls when you tie him up. If you were standing perfectly still in the middle of the yard, he would not just run over and jump at you. If you saw him coming and started running away from him, that's when Balto will chase you.

They are working with him, and he's gotten a lot better. He did used to jump on people when they came into the house, but he doesn't do that anymore.

The incident unfortunately happened when me and my dad were on the other side of the house. My dad would have called for Balto immediately, as he had been doing all morning long if he saw him getting too excited with the kids, and he does come when called. My dad put him on the run after that and didn't let him off until my sister got up. My sister is actually more strict with her dog and knows he can be obnoxious, so she keeps him inside the house when there are people outside visiting.

To be quite honest, I don't think my dad is all that thrilled about the situation. My sister and her husband are living with them because neither one has steady employment, and they tried living with her husband's parents but that house is just insanity. My parents already have two older dogs of their own, one of them a "flight risk" that can NEVER be let out of sight, otherwise he will go to the neighbor's house and cause trouble or run into the road. They tried Invisible Fence and Chopper, their black lab/redbone mix, blew right through it like there was nothing there. I can sense that my dad is annoyed at having to look after Balto on top of their other dogs. I feel badly about requesting that Balto be kept inside when the kids are outside playing, and I definitely don't want him to always have to be on a chain while we are there, but until he learns to behave perhaps that's what I need to do. Ugh...this is going to be really uncomfortable.

[Tigerchild]

That sounds like a pretty uncomfortable situation all around. But you need to protect both the dog and the kid, KWIM? Owning a hybrid is a lot like owning a pit. If your child (or even someone just playing) were to get hurt and it was accidental, there might be big trouble because of how those dogs are perceived. Which is why I feel so strongly about people who choose to have a strong breed (no matter if it's on The List or not) taking responsibility to make sure that they are managed well, esp. for the dog's protection.

I understand not wanting the dog on the chain (and to be really honest, that is so not good at all esp. for a hybrid...but I'm not sure that it's great for any dog period). If you don't think that your dad would be willing would you or your DH be willing to keep him on leash? He does sound like a sweet baby, but if somebody is not willing to work with him now, that could change a bit in adolescence--and sometimes (esp. if Balto is a high content hybrid) friendly pups can turn very fearful and wary as adults (it's pretty natural) if they're not properly socialized and trained--or sometimes even if they are (I have only heard/seen that happen with high content or first cross dogs though most "hybrids" are not very high content or sometime not even any at all.)

Or, since he is sis' dog, if she's not awake or willing to manage him when guests are there, then he should be in the house unless there is someone there to willing to be resposible for him (Dad, you, DH, ect.). I mean, it is good that she is disciplined with him when she is present, if she is okay with someone else looking out for him if he's going to be out without her, that seems to me to be a really good solution. Either he is in the care of someone who will keep him and the kids safe, or he is in a safe spot where he can't get into trouble.

[Momily]

Honestly, I think the only way to prevent that, until the dog has had a chance to "grow into his size", and learn some rock solid obedience, is to keep them apart, or at bare minimum keep Balto on leash with someone holding the other end every minute.

My 27 lb fluffy little mutt slammed into a much bigger dog (German Shorthaired Pointer, maybe 60 lbs) at the dog park, and the other dog flew and ended up limping away. Reverse the size difference, with a big dog and a young child, and you could have a head injury or other tragedy.

I love my dog, and love other people's dogs, but kid safety come first and untrained, or poorly trained dogs (even if the reason they're untrained is because they're young an it's a work in progress) and small children is a disaster waiting to happen.

[SquishyKitty]

The dog needs training, your son needs to not be around him alone without a parent to remind both the dog and the child of their manners. Even our rottweilers' herding instinct kicks in when she's around a lot of kids, so we don't let her loose around them. Kids run and play, dogs feel the need to herd and correct. It can be a bad situation. Don't set the kid or the dog up for failure, you know?

The dog is, first and foremost, not a family pet, but a herding dog and a pack animal. He is also a puppy. Your sister/parents need to get that dog into training classes ASAP, as she's already going to be dealing with the stigma of a hybrid (which is illegal in many states). If she starts having issues with a badly-behaved hybrid, I think she will have a lot of problems.

[SquishyKitty]

Also, 9 months is plenty old enough to start training. Our trainer has puppy classes and older dog classes, and our rottie was already in canine good citizen training by that age. Once she finished with that, she knew basic commands, leash manners, and listened very well. We still don't leave her to run free around strangers, but that's because we don't trust other people lol.

[Lady Mayapple]

Thanks so much everyone. Balto is a high content hybrid. He is 80% wolf and 20% German Shepherd. I didn't even think about the herding instinct-that makes a lot of sense. He likes to walk in circles around people, almost like he's saying "No, go THIS way!"

I think it is best for everyone if he stays on a leash or in the house. Even though my family lives in a rural, remote area on a dirt road, people speed down the road all the time. We've had two dogs die on that road in the 17 years we've been there. And as for the other problem we have with my dad's two dogs wandering up to the neighbor's house (they go up there and pee on their cars. I have no idea why-Dad said it started a few weeks ago.) it's only a matter of time before Balto joins in and follows them up there. But like I said, my sister has him leashed when she is out with him. He will get better, I'm sure of that. They're no strangers to training. We bred Springer Spaniels for several years and did the training ourselves.

***Just got a call from Dad*** He apologized and said all three dogs will be chained for the 4th of July party on Sat.