Things seem to have gone from bad to worse.

[Sarah83]

Rupert had a go at some children today. This is the first time he has ever shown any aggression towards a human of any age. The kids in question were nowhere near him, not bothering him, not even looking at him. I've got no idea what it was that set him off, one minute he's sniffing around on his long line, the next he's lunging and barking and snarling at them. And I mean really going for it. I didn't tell him off or anything, just brought him back in, but I don't know what to do now. His aggression towards other animals is one thing, if he's going to start it with children then I'm afraid it's not something I'm prepared to live with. Not with just how serious he is when he attacks. Obviously I'm not going to make any decisions on one incident, especially not one so out of the blue and out of character. He's literally just had a full check up by the vet, everything has come back normal. I'm just feeling so upset, lost and confused right now. His reaction to these kids scared me to death, it's exactly the reaction he gives when another dog gets in his face.

[JudyN]

I've no advice I'm afraid, just wanted to send you a virtual ((((((hug)))))) I can't imagine how upsetting this must be after all the work you've put in with him.

[MissCarla]

I'm sorry Sarah. Is he usually okay with kids? Maybe he is still stressed from the loose dog incident.

It will be alright. You are a smart cookie and you can manage this.

[WufWuf]

He might not have known that they were children maybe he just saw small moving shapes and it freaked him out. How far away were the kids? Honey will sometimes get worried if the kids are far away but once she gets closer she's like oh its children not scary monsters. This is usually when she's had a scary experience already and she's on edge. Give him the benifit of the doubt for now and maybe give both of you a little break from the world as much as you can - outside to do his business and then back in. Take some time out for yourself if you can and just chill out and try to give yourself a break from thinking about him - a couple of glasses of wine and a nice hot bath, something that you enjoy to raise your spirits, everything seems so much harder if your feeling worn out and stressed.

[ladybug1802]

Oh Sarah I am so sorry Has anything particular stressful or different happened in your lives recently that could have affected him?

I wish i could add something more helpful.....I can totally relate to how you are feeling. When Dylan would lunge at people and snap at them I would spend so much time in tears, not knowing what to do, where to go, constantly looking out for people in case they got too close, in case Dylan bit them. I was SO stressed and its horrible....I really feel for you. Big hugs to you x

[Sarah83]

Only stressful things lately have been that dog attacking him through the door and his ear infection which is all cleared up. I know these could have contributed but his reaction just seems soooo out of character. Wuff, he knew they were children, he'd passed within a foot of them without a problem a few minutes before this explosion at them. They weren't doing anything, just standing around talking to each other. He's met these children several times and been fine with them. He's not all over kids like he is adults but he's never shown any fear of them or any aggression towards them, will go to them for patting and almost all his experiences with children have been positive, his last negative experience was about 6 years ago.

Took him out for a pee a couple of hours ago and ran into the same 3 children. The little boy on his own got practically no response, he glanced at him and that was it. The two little girls however resulted in him showing signs of being very stressed and the same sort of behaviour he gives when he sees another dog. And they were all about 10 metres away.

I've had Rupert 7 and a half years and he's never even looked at a human funny before. Even when a guy stamped on his front leg he only yelped (I did more than yelp!) so this was just sooooo unexpected and out of the blue.

[Nettle]

I bet my old sea boots it's scent. I reckon there is some scent on the girls that has bad memories for him.

A while back on here someone had an ex-laboratory beagle that bit her hairdresser. The link - the smell of bleach.

So - back to positives. Find a scent he likes (eg liver sausage) and apply it in his general direction when the children are about.

Nothing to lose but some smellies.....

[jacksdad]

Sorry to hear you and Rupert had a bad day. Know how those can go. You are really an inparation hanging in there with him. 7 years.. you should be proud.

I bet my old sea boots it's scent.

I have read 3 books now that hammer home the point that dogs are all about the smells. It's such an alien way of exploring/gathering info about the world for us humans by comparison, retrieving memories and association etc that I keep forgetting the power it has on dogs.

[Sarah83]

Thanks Jacksdad, I often wonder whether I'm doing the right thing by him with his issues though. He seems happy enough most of the time but then at other times his fears seem to take over and he's miserable and stressed and I just wonder whether I'm being fair on him.

Nettle, I did actually think about scent once I'd calmed down a bit. Could be something as simple as they live with the dog that attacked him the other week. He's met them before and been fine with them and they said they had a dog. Course it could be something else but I'll try feeding him roast beef whenever they're around.

[Ari_RR]

We noticed with Ari that he reacts when he is startled by a human. Perhaps sometimes he get too deep in thought or too deep in smells, doesn't notice someone until the last moment, which leaves him no time to assess the person, and then he puts on the show (barking, growling, snarling, lunging towards the "enemy"... scary, actually, he is a large size dog). Could it be that those poor kids scared or startled Rupert somehow, even though they seemed to be minding their own business?

[Nettle]

Could be something as simple as they live with the dog that attacked him the other week.

Exactly.

That is as vivid to him as seeing the dog is for you. Hard for us to remember sometimes.

Hang on in there - this is a big 'un, but it's still a blip. You'll both manage to get past it, and sooner than you think.

[Sarah83]

Well he's certainly not become reactive to ALL people. Went to take him out for a pee this morning and someone was coming through the main door. He barked, I thanked him, he relaxed and got all wiggly and happy when the person actually came in. Normal Rupert Bear behaviour. Then a couple hours later our buzzer goes, again he barks, comes running to the door with me to see who it is and is his normal "oh my god, a human, look at me, aren't I just wonderful? Don't you want to pet me? You know you want to!" self.

We've not seen any children since the incident so I'm still not sure whether it was just these girls, whether it was a one off or whether he's suddenly developed an issue with children in general but it's nice to know he's still his normal self with adults at least.

[Sarah83]

Bit of an update on this situation. We've had new neighbours move in across the hall (with a dog called Rupert ) and they have 3 children. Two are school age, one younger. Rupert has been absolutely fine with them out in the hallway, showed no signs of unease let alone aggression. Just been stood talking to their mum with the youngest boy, there was no lunging, barking or any sign that he was uncomfortable. He just stood there with his tail wagging and doing a bit of air sniffing in their direction while they stood at a normal conversation distance.

So...it's looking like it's either these particular children he had an issue with for whatever reason OR they were doing something that upset him and I just didn't pick up on it. Obviously we're going to be careful still but we're tentatively optimistic that there isn't a big problem in general.

[Erica]

Good to hear!