Back, and needing some help.

[Charlie'sMom]

Hello all,

I know I have been absent for a while, life with baby and pets has been busy, but everyone is well. We have started running into an issue however.

Up until now Charlie (6 1/2 year old Newf) has been a bit standoffish with the baby (Sawyer) he will come over and give him a bit of a sniff, and the odd kiss, but isn't super cuddly or anything like that, which is fine with me. He has tried to play with Sawyer, but has tried the bouncing/jumping athletic play that is obviously inappropriate, and has been gently discouraged. However, now that Sawyer is crawling Charlie is resource guarding his toys, dishes etc against Sawyer. He has growled, nothing more than that, but it obviously makes me uneasy.

I am going to lock up the food dishes, but I hesitate to limit his access to the water, and I don't want to lock Charlie in a separate room from us all the time. Our house if very open concept, so gating a small area off for the dog or baby isn't really an option.

I have been looking for a trainer in my town, but all I can find is petsmart training in the store, nothing in home as of yet. Can anyone help me figure out a place to start to help them become friends. I just cannot tolerate resource guarding against the baby, and while he has never bitten anyone, the whole situation makes me so anxious.

Thank you guys so much!

 

[Angela]

Welcome back. Where are you living now? If you are still in Calgary I can recommend Newf trainers.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

We are in Medicine Hat now.

 

[R Taft]

Welcome back....Now I will help with most things over the net.......But babies/children and resource guarding need a in-house, come to the house trainer. Who can see and meet the dog, Are there any APDT trainers at all in your area, or anyone who trains on NN, within driving distance. This is something that should be done ASAp.
There are things that can be done for the individual dog. I would have a look at Jan Fennell You tube videos, but they are a generalized gaining Leadership and not to fix problems quickly. It is often the type of management I set up, with some other training.
But I do recommend you find someone who is a recommended trainer by something like APDT or equivalent.

 

[Angela]

I googled Medicine Hat and the only people I could find are an Agility club, don't know if there are any members who are qualified to help you. Can't really think Petsmart will be any good but I quess you could try them.

Looks to me like the closest behaviour trainers are in Calgary which I know is many Km from you but if you want the name of a Newf person who can probably help you let me know.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

I googled Medicine Hat and the only people I could find are an Agility club, don't know if there are any members who are qualified to help you. Can't really think Petsmart will be any good but I quess you could try them.

Looks to me like the closest behaviour trainers are in Calgary which I know is many Km from you but if you want the name of a Newf person who can probably help you let me know.

Yeah, in my searching it doesn't look like the agility club has anyone with much experience with in home training. I have an appointment with our vet for Charlie's immunizations at the end of the month and I will ask our vet clinic if they have anyone that they would recommend.

I do always supervise Charlie and Sawyer when they are together, and separate them if I need to be occupied with tasks like cooking where I can't be within arms reach. I have removed the food dishes and his toys from the main living area, so there shouldn't be any triggers around.

If I can't find someone locally I will probably have to look into someone from Calgary, I just shudder to think of the extra expense for them driving down (gas plus their time), especially since being on mat leave makes our budget extremely tight as it is.

I have tried all the basic things like hand feeding his food, etc but obviously I will not put my 9 month old in a position to be hand feeding Charlie (though he does try and sometimes succeeds in handing Charlie food off of his high chair when he is eating). Charlie had a major resource guarding issue when he was a puppy that we worked really hard to get under control. He doesn't guard against me or Troy (my husband), or any other grown-up human, just the baby. It is like he sees the baby as more of another animal than a human. I don't really know how to change that.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Just thinking out loud here...you might want to have his thyroid checked when you go in.

 

[Ivoryudx]

EEk, I'm sorry to read you don't have a lot of resources available for help. I agree, you need someone to come in and do a one on one in your home sooner rather than later. However, a big thing you can work on yourself right now, is to offer Charlie a 'better' reward/treat whenever he is near Sawyer. Also offer him the 'better' reward/treat anytime he displays that what 'he' has is of value. If you can get him to walk away from what he has to come and get the treat, then even better!

I'm not sure how you trained him when he was young and displaying these behaviors, but it is not unusual for a dog who has shown this behavior before, to have it reoccur to need reminder training.

With the baby, Charlie's 'environment/pack' has changed, and his status is now changing again as the baby is getting more mobile. No, he probably does not understand the baby is not an animal. THis is more common with dogs who are single dogs and don't live with a group of dogs. They just don't ever get the experience of interacting on a daily basis with another on their level mentally or below. So they are more confused than anything and act out. He actually needs a couple different things to happen for him to understand he is not threatened. One being that anything with the baby is 'good' for him. The second being that he does have things of his own, but they are not more important than what he could have. So while it may seem akward or backward, to reward him when he is guarding something, what your telling him is that what he is thinking is important, is not. If you did this with him as a puppy, he will 'get it' pretty quick. Of course I would remove the food dish, as it should not be left down when he is not eating, and the baby can be kept away while he is eating until you work through his ability to be called away from his food mid meal, to come and get a better treat from you. You can also feed in a crate when those busy times occue and you can't work with Charlie.

Does Charlie like a crate? It could give him a specific location to go to cool off, on his own, if he gets to worried. It would be something that you could observe his behavior to see if there are specific times that he goes in on his own, or takes things there, etc. and the baby can learn not to go in there, or vis versa if the situation happens. Observing his behavior with a crate, may help you in understanding that maybe he gets more possessive when he's tired, or he's needing a place of his own, etc. Dogs are like perpetual two year olds, and sometimes making them take a nap when they are obnoxious is the best solution, even when they are six years old.

As far as the Agility Club, if you have not contacted them already, you should. As there are a lot of people who cross train, started out in Obedience, or do behavior modification work through private lessons on the side. Most have email lists that they could send out a message for you asking for someone who could help, or know someone.

Lastly, please be sure that Charlie is getting enough 'mommy and daddy' time and exercise. I know its hard to do with a baby, but a satisfied dog is better behaved. So if he gets his long romp in the field he may be less inclined to care about whats going on in the house. If you know anyone in your area with another giant breed dog, who would like to share walking or play time together, it might be a huge help until you can get someone in to help you one on one.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

Ivoryudx - Thank you for the advice. I did email the agility club, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I will definitely start trying the approaches you mentioned, by giving treats around the baby, and offering him higher value items in exchange for the stuff he normally guards. Sawyer does naturally reward him by offering him food that he is eating (Sawyer is in a big share phase right now, which oddly applies to the dog and cat as well). We also reward him with lots of praise and pets for appropriate, gentle interaction with Sawyer. We will start to work on the food dish.

He doesn't like a crate, as soon as we started leaving it open, he would never choose to go into it, so it has never been set up in the new house. He does treat our ensuite bathroom as a den of sorts, so we will continue to let him have free access to it (he will actually go in and close the door for a time out), and we respect that and don't let him out until he barks to be let out (unless we really need to get into there to get ready of course).

As far as one on one time, that could use some more work, I try to make sure to spend some one on one time with him when Sawyer is down for naps, but he definitely hasn't had as many outings recently.

 

[new_2_newf]

do what you can to give him lots of exercise and mental stimulation (I can't imagine it's easy when you run on baby time, but try to do what you can). Regardless what is going on, a tired dog will have less energy to be/do anything, which will help until you can get this figured out.

 

[Diana]

We went to see a canine behaviourist this weekend, for Riley with his anti husky issues. He seemed extremely knowledgeable. and has been training dogs for over 30 years. Unfortunately, he is based just north of Calgary in Delacour, but I'm thinking he may know of someone closer to Medicine Hat who may be able to help? His name is J C St. Louis, phone number (403) 226-0769. Might be worth a try. He also has a website you can check out. http://www.caninebehaviourist.com/

 

[Charlie'sMom]

Just to update: I still haven't heard back from anyone at the agility club. We didn't have any incidents yesterday, and Charlie let Sawyer pet him a few times (and we gave Charlie treats for it). He is concerned about his feeder being locked up, but I am sure he will adjust soon enough.

Thanks Diana! I will send him a message.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

I've no advice, but am wishing you the very best of luck...I can't imagine the amount of stress and worry you're experiencing! :hugs: from one mama to another.

 

[Sierra Newfs]

I am so sorry to hear of the concerns you are having, but so thankful you are aware of the issues and looking for solutions.

You may want to get in contact with Barbara Walmer at the Calgary Humane Society as she might be able to help with a referral to either a trainer or behaviorist closer to you. The Calgary Humane Society offers private behavior consultations http://www.calgaryhumane.ca/privateconsults and teaches classes on pets and babies so I'd expect the trainers would have a good grasp on the topic.

A couple other great resources are first, Jennifer Shyrock's Family Paws Parent Education http://familypaws.com and there is a presenter listed in Calgary, who may also know someone closer to you. The second is Madeline Gabriel of Dogs & Babies http://www.dogsandbabieslearning.com in San Diego, but again she could know someone closer to you. Plus, both websites have tons of helpful information.

If distance is in issue, several behaviorists (both veterinary behaviorists and applied animal behaviorists) do distance consultations. Off the top of my head, Tufts and Purdue offer such services. http://www.tufts.edu/vet/behavior/petfax.shtml and http://www.vet.purdue.edu/animalbehavior/index.php I know it wouldn't be the in-home help you are looking for, but with ease of taking video and discussing it over FaceTime or Skype this may be an option to consider.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

I think I am going to have to go the distance consultation route. I contacted the local humane society as well as the agility club and neither know of any behaviourists within close driving distance (<1hour). The trainer from the local agility club has some suggestions, and I am going to give those a go for a little while, and hope that is makes some distance.

Sawyer and I had play dates today, so we weren't home much when he was awake, so no issues today. Tomorrow we will be home more, so I can keep trying to work with Charlie.