# 2nd rescue dog



## Sgp0511 (Jun 8, 2015)

Hello all, so me my wife and our daughter adopted a5 year old black lab from our local animal shelter. He was found stray and had been in the shelter for about four months. Our daughter is two years old so when we went to the shelter to look we knew Good with kids was a must. Prior to this last year we adopted a 5 year old poodle shih tzu mix. She was pulled from a kill shelter and in a foster home for a while until we adopted her. She took a while to get used to daughter who was one at the time as she did snap at her a few times but she was such a small dog we controlled her and now she is the most amazing dog, our daughter can lay on her and she would not do a thing 100% full trust with her. So now back to our current situation. When we got to the shelter he was the first dog that caught my eye.he was heart worm positive but upon adoption he will get treatment fully sponsored by the shelter. We got him out and I brought the family including our dog along to meet him. We spent alone time with him and he was very laid back but it was very hot out and he just was begging to go back inside. We decided to take him home. The first day went fine he was just following me and my wife around sniffing things, but he avoided our daughter like she wasn't even there. By day two he was already comfortable with me and the wife, greeting is happily as we came home but still avoided my daughter. Fast forward to today, day five and he had been amazing he is house trained but now he wants to be constantly by me or my wife's side. The only concern I have is he has only approached my daughter maybe two times. When she goes to pet him he usually walks away. I have been using positive things with her and him. I get my daughter to put his bowl of food down and tell him to eat then I get my daughter away from him as he is eating. I get her to give him treats , which he eats willingly. He still walks or turns away when she pets him and the wife is worried that he may randomly snap. We are always supervising when they are together but what are some things I should watch for in him with my daughter? I know it has only been five days but the wife is so worried he will randomly snap I don't know how to reassure her. What are some tips and tricks to create a bond with them?


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## Sgp0511 (Jun 8, 2015)

I also don't want to push the dog too hard but at the same time the safety of my daughter is first to me. When we got our first rescue she snapped at our daughter but she was easy to control as she was so small but our worry is that this dog is so big 80lbs we worry we couldn't stop him as easily as our small dog


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

I would keep doing minimal positive interactions with your daughter, but don't force the dog to interact with her if he doesn't want to. 

Also, if he is heartworm positive he may not be feeling himself and not be overly interested in physical touching from her.

But.. yea, it's only been 5 days, he is probably still confused with the huge life change, I wouldn't be too concerned at this point.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Agreed with Ireth.

But also, I would stop letting your toddler lay on your dogs. No climbing on dogs, no draping over dogs, no laying on dogs. It is stressful for the dogs and depending on the kid and the dog, painful for the dog. 5 yrs isn't old but it isn't young either and a dog can start having mild aches and pains that mean he won't like a kid smooshing him, ya know?

Also consider that "good with kids" can mean that the dog was viewed around 5-10 year old kids who move and behave a lot differently than toddlers. It doesn't mean the dog will snap but it means that the behavior of a smaller child can be more stressful and confusing for a newly adopted dog who has lots of other things to contend with mentally and physically.

Do your research ln dog body language and warning signs. Recognize when a dog is stressed or tired or in pain and stop the situation before it results in a bite. All dogs will bite if pushed to a limit, the answer in general is just don't push them that far.


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## Sgp0511 (Jun 8, 2015)

So today my wife daughter and dogs were walking through our living room, light was off and apparently the dog growled at our daughter who was just standing next to him, not touching him or doing anything to him, not even facing him. She is very worried now as am I, I do want to get some behavior training done but the wife doesn't think you can train a dog to like children. Don't know what to do. Other than that episode all was well today. The dog even put his head in my daughters lap and started licking her.


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