Growling at 9 year old (new behavior)

[Skuly]

Good Morning all,

We moved into a new house about 2 weeks ago. My bedroom is at one end of the hallway and the kids are on the other end. Skuly sleeps in our room in a corner. Prior to moving here, our kids would sometimes camp out on the floor in our room with skuly. Since moving to this house, we've had a campout in our room twice. My 9 and 11 year old still get up during the night sometimes to come ask for something etc.. Anyway, Skuly has started growling at my youngest as he comes down the hall towards the bedroom. He can't even make it out of his door before she starts growling. During the day, she does not do this. The only other time she exhibited this behavior is when we first got her a year and a half ago. After a couple of CTJ meetings, that behavior was corrected. Unfortunately, I am sleeping when this growling occurs and its only my sons crying and calling my name that gets me up.
Last night was the first time that I heard it. I told Skuly to stop and called out to my son but he did not answer so I assumed she was alerting to some noise outside. It turns out that the kid was hiding behind his closed door because he was afraid.
Don't you think two weeks is enough for Skuly to figure out what the deal is in this new house? Why only growl at the 9 year old? He is very respectful of her and does not mistreat her in anyway. What should I do at this point? I can't have my child feel unsafe in his own home.

Thanks for reading the ramble(that was a 1 coffee cup post )

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by Skuly

Good Morning all,

We moved into a new house about 2 weeks ago. My bedroom is at one end of the hallway and the kids are on the other end. Skuly sleeps in our room in a corner. Prior to moving here, our kids would sometimes camp out on the floor in our room with skuly. Since moving to this house, we've had a campout in our room twice. My 9 and 11 year old still get up during the night sometimes to come ask for something etc.. Anyway, Skuly has started growling at my youngest as he comes down the hall towards the bedroom. He can't even make it out of his door before she starts growling. During the day, she does not do this. The only other time she exhibited this behavior is when we first got her a year and a half ago. After a couple of CTJ meetings, that behavior was corrected. Unfortunately, I am sleeping when this growling occurs and its only my sons crying and calling my name that gets me up.
Last night was the first time that I heard it. I told Skuly to stop and called out to my son but he did not answer so I assumed she was alerting to some noise outside. It turns out that the kid was hiding behind his closed door because he was afraid.
Don't you think two weeks is enough for Skuly to figure out what the deal is in this new house? Why only growl at the 9 year old? He is very respectful of her and does not mistreat her in anyway. What should I do at this point? I can't have my child feel unsafe in his own home.

Thanks for reading the ramble(that was a 1 coffee cup post )

First of all CRATE Skuly at night. If you're sleeping, and she decides she needs to do more than growl, you could have a disaster on your hands. Night is a totally different environment than day, and many dogs feel more uncertain of things they can hear but cannot see, and will tend to get defensive. Add that to a completely new environment, and it's quite understandable for some dogs. Not a good mix with children roaming the household in the dark.

Your children should be able to feel SAFE and PROTECTED by you at all times. A growling dog in the middle of the night would surely concern ANY human being, and especially a child. Putting your child into this position is not fair at all, in any way, shape or form. Supervision of children and dogs doesn't end at bedtime. So, if you cannot control the situation 100%, please confine Skuly.

Step up the obedience with her, and keep her contained at night to prevent a horrific mishap from occuring.

Make sure that everyone understands the rules of the household - you, your spouse, your children AND your dog.

I haven't gone back to look at your posts on Skuly.. has she had environmental issues in the past?

Regards,

[Judi W]

Time for her to have another religious experience I would think. She has selected him because she views him as lowest on the ladder (ladders are climbed one rung at a time). She doesn't think the old rules apply in the new house and is staking out territory. No way she should feel free to threaten your child!

[Skuly]

Elisabeth,

No past environmental issues other than a brief adjustment period when she moved in with us a year and a half ago. She has been an exemplary dog.
Of course my family's safety and welfare come first above all. As I said, this behavior is something very new and unexpected. I will go get the crate out until this issue is resolved.

[Skuly]

Judi,
I have considered setting Skuly up just so that I can give her a little religion. Thanks for reminding me of the ladder. I hadn't even thought of it that way.
Like I said before, she is an excellent companion. She takes correction well and I feel that she will adapt easily.

[poohbearsmom]

Good to hear. Wasn't lecturing... you just never know who needs to read those words while surfing a public forum.

Good luck...

[Skuly]

Originally Posted by poohbearsmom

Good to hear. Wasn't lecturing... you just never know who needs to read those words while surfing a public forum.

Good luck...

no offense taken...i appreciate your advice.

[Canula2000]

My dog would be crated at night if she tried this trick. Children need to be safe in their own home. How can you give her a good correction for this behavior if you are asleep?

[TerrierMan]

I still don't fully understand dominance issues in dogs. None of the dogs I have ever been around have ever exhibited this behavior. My cousin;s Rott-Doberman
mix has NEVER growled at her youngest (7 years) child. It's strange to me, some dogs never engage in dominant behavior, but some really get serious about trying to establish their dominance. I wonder if careful and selective breeding can really tone down the dominance drive in dogs?

[Burnsway]

I agree with the crate suggestion.

Psyche has never really threatened Rachel and so far under a "good watch" she has not tried anything with Dawn. But she also does not have the best temperament and we have a few issues with her. Because of this I have a strict rule in this house that she is behind a closed locked door with us after bed time and when we are not home. She is not allowed to roam at night and we keep the bedroom door locked so there will be a knock first.

If I did a camp out in my room then she would be put up elsewhere for that night. She is probably a better dog then I give her credit for but I'm a big nut with safety first.

Remember that a growl is a warning that a bite "may" follow.

[Skuly]

This dog has excellent temperment. Past trainers and other people who knew her from her show days ALWAYS comment on how wonderful her temperment is. I believe that this growling, which has just come up in the past week, is an adjustment issue having to do with the move to the new house. Measures are being taken to end this behavior.

Canula - Your post makes me feel defensive. The very last sentence in my original post states "I can't have my child feel unsafe in his own home.". In a subsequent post, I reiterated that my family's welfare comes first. So,What is your point? I also never said that I could give her a correction if I was asleep. I stated that I would like to set her up so that I would have the opportunity to correct her. This implies that I would be awake.
This situation is very new to us and did occur when I was asleep. Once my child let me know what was going on, I began working to correct it.

[Burnsway]

Originally Posted by Skuly

This dog has excellent temperment. .

I'm sorry Skuly, not wanting to be rude, but a dog that will growl at a 9 yr old but not an 11 year old is not showing "great" temperament. Not that growling at your 11 yr old also would make it better, but it is obviouse she is as JudiW said Starting a try at climbing the ladder. She may have a "good" temperament but is testing the grounds, but she knows darn well what she is doing.

This is not anything to be defensive about. My dog often test the boundries and many times it is not "MY" fault but if I ignore those signs then it becomes "MY" fault.

If it was just because it was dark and she was uneasy in a new home then your 11 yr old and others would be getting the growl also.

[Skuly]

hey Burnsway,

I talked to the 11 year old yesterday when I was trying to expalin to the kids what I thought might be going on with skuly. He said that she did it to him one time and that he said her name and that once she heard that, she quit. The 9 year old said he didn't ever try that.
I may be wrong but I believe that just about any dog will test boundries. It's up to the owner to make the boundries clear, which has been my goal from day one.
During the day, she and the 9 year old play together very well. I had him do some basic obedience with her yesterday (come, sit, down). I also had him come WITH ME in and out of my room last night while she was laying down.
I really think that she is not used to this place. For example, at the other house my husband always came in the front door. In this house, he comes in from the garage and she alerts to that if everyone else is in the house.
I am taking the crating advice and reinforcing her position in the family. No animal will ever take priority over any family member.
I understand what you are saying about the temperment and agree that she is not showing excellent temperment.

[Judi W]

Keep in mind that this is not a dog you have raised, but one brought in as an adult. She is also an opportunist and looking for chances to up her status, hoping that the new quarters offer her that opportunity. (not all dogs or all Rottweilers have this attitude, but this girl does). I know that if you observe her carefully you will see little bits of this during her daily actions as well. You are doing the right thing. Make it abundantly clear to her that her crap is not going to work and that new living quarters are not an opportunity for her and that she is not fancy.

[Skuly]

Originally Posted by Judi W

Keep in mind that this is not a dog you have raised, but one brought in as an adult. She is also an opportunist and looking for chances to up her status, hoping that the new quarters offer her that opportunity. (not all dogs or all Rottweilers have this attitude, but this girl does). I know that if you observe her carefully you will see little bits of this during her daily actions as well. You are doing the right thing. Make it abundantly clear to her that her crap is not going to work and that new living quarters are not an opportunity for her and that she is not fancy.

I think she is an opportunist for sure. I'll be a little more vigilant during the day for other signs. She pretty much follows me around all day unless she is in her "look out" spot at the top of the front stairs where she can see out to the street.
I'll put out my "No fancy Dogs Admitted" sign.