Coton de Tulear barking at my children
by Jill
(Farmington, Minnesota)
Hello. Our family adopted a 10 month old, male, Coton de Tulear 5 weeks ago. We named him Dexter. He was raised by breeders (2 men) with lots of other dogs, cats and exposure to adults.
We are a family of 5 : me, my husband and 3 girls ages 10, 7, 5. We also have a wonderful 11-year old golden-mix, Katie. Dexter and Katie get along great, but the problem is with our children....
Dexter has bonded great with my husband and I, but not with the kids, yet. I'm hoping now that they are home for the summer we can make this happen.
Dexter is sweet, but shy, and has never nipped our kids or anyone. Rather, he does the "scooby-doo" with his feet to get away from them. He has even now started to jump out of their arms. If I or my husband hold him, he will let the girls pet him and may at times lets us transfer him to their arms. It bothers us that he hides under our tables to stay away from them or new people in the house. He can sometimes be coaxed out for treats from them, but is not wanting to be picked up by them.
Dexter will let my 10-year-old handle him, but always prefers to follow me. And that's upsetting to my daughter. He barks at my 5 year old a lot - I believe because she's loud and quick moving :) We correct him by saying "Eh, eh!" (firmly) then "You're okay..." (sweetly!)when he scrambles away or barks at them. We've even tried ignoring the behavior. We encourage the girls to give treats and lots of loving talk. What else could we be trying?
(My 10-year-old started taking Dexter to obedience training (beginner classes) along with my husband.)
Thanks for your help!
