Shippo's Good With Kids Now

[Cheetah]

I just got back from running Shippo, and more people stopped me to ask to pet him (as usual), and kids this time. He did great with them. I remember back when he was 7 months old, and we had that incident with the crazy little girl, but it's good to know it never phased him (I found out recently that he was never socialized with little kids at a very young age when he should have been).

We were out running, and two little kids stopped me and asked to pet him, so I said yes, and even though they did it totally wrong before I could show them the RIGHT way, he was still just fine! He even gave them kisses and did some tricks for them. The little girl begged me to let her walk him, but I said no (I don't let others walk my dogs). The girl apparently has a chihuahua who she can't even walk lol...

Even though the walk took a lot longer than expected, and I froze my butt off because it quickly got dark and windy while I talked to these kids, it was enjoyable lol, and Shippo made some human friends. >^_^<

[Michael Romanos]

I am very enthused by the reception Shippo is giving people and kids he meets along the way. I let all and sundry pet Taylor but I do watch carefully kids aged under five because every so often you might get a kid who instead of patting, stroking, scratching, cuddling, rubbing, kissing etc will smack or point their finger towards his eyes. I have taken Taylor to pre-school facilities on numerous occasions and luckily only encountered light smacking and finger pointing on three occasions. Taylor knows the difference between a light smack, done in quick succession and patting
( which is sometimes as hard as a smack), he does not like the former and puts on a concerned look and moves forward slowly. His great joy is been surrounded by kids so I go out of my way to get Taylor into these situations.
Shippo will thrive on it. Try taking him to schools and into classrooms if you are game enough to want to share a Corgi with a teacher and a classroom of children.

[Lovemycorgi]

Congratulations to you for teaching him so well and making him feel comforable with children.

[Cheetah]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

but I do watch carefully kids aged under five because every so often you might get a kid who instead of patting, stroking, scratching, cuddling, rubbing, kissing etc will smack or point their finger towards his eyes.

This is what happened during the incident with the 3-year-old girl. She was nuts, I wasn't allowing her to pet him, and her mother just stood there 20 feet away, while this little girl smacked and poked at Shippo's face and CHASED him when he tried to get away! Finally, as a last resort after telling her to get away from us (loud enough that her mother could hear but to no avail) and even heading towards home, I started to pick him up and remove us both from the situation.

The little girl jumped in before I could and cornered him between my legs, smacked him a few more times, and he nipped her fingers out of sheer desparation. She ran to her mom and said the puppy bit her, and her mom simply went "good maybe now you'll leave it alone (Even though she shouldn't have been near us in the first place without her mother's permission)."

After that, I tried to get him around as many STABLE children as possible to make sure the horrible experience wasn't imprinted on him forever... >@_@<

[Jane Austen]

Also sometimes toddlers like to grasp the fur. They are too young to know better. I am very careful with youngsters around Duchess. Most of the children I see at the dog park have been brought up to ask if "they can pet the dog". Adults will often ask even when she is wiggling up to them.
Duchess is always looking for a friend that has "treats".
That mother you discribed was just irrisponsible. I would have been very angry with her. That child is in danger of " learning a lot of painful lessons".

[Cheetah]

I agree. If that had been my child, she wouldn't have been allowed to follow a complete stranger up the street, much less mess with a strange dog.

Everyone else has always asked to pet him, which I am thankful for. >^^;<

[Michael Romanos]

Cheetah - Shippo won't be phased by this incident I am sure. The stupid mother was just using you and Shippo. What I do in that kind of situation is immediately loudly admonish the child - and in your case I'd say to her mother: "Do you mind! Remove your child please." You just have to assertive. Another person might report your Corgi for biting or intimidating or whatever. And then what. But the number of times I or Taylor have gotten concerned over four years is no more that the fingers of one hand and we are regular school and classroom visitors. We have had just as much trouble at rest homes etc where crazy elderly residents/patients have smached Taylor or kicked at him (nothing too serious mind you).

[Clogs]

I make sure I keep Clogs well away from small kids as she doesn't like them in the least. Certainly under five year olds make her very nervous. Especially the screamers and the grabbers. Older kids who know how to approach a dog are OK with her and she'll smooch them happilly, but small ones...uh uh.
In fact, if we're going to be anywhere that I know small kids will be, I muzzle her - more for her protection than the kids. Even a small, non-contact leave-me-alone snap is regarded here as a "threat" by the ever-vigilant authorities.
The parents in these cases are generally the ones who need remonstrating with, as often they don't teach their kids when and how to approach a strange dog.

[CaseLogic]

Originally Posted by Cheetah

I just got back from running Shippo, and more people stopped me to ask to pet him (as usual), and kids this time. He did great with them. I remember back when he was 7 months old, and we had that incident with the crazy little girl, but it's good to know it never phased him (I found out recently that he was never socialized with little kids at a very young age when he should have been).

We were out running, and two little kids stopped me and asked to pet him, so I said yes, and even though they did it totally wrong before I could show them the RIGHT way, he was still just fine! He even gave them kisses and did some tricks for them. The little girl begged me to let her walk him, but I said no (I don't let others walk my dogs). The girl apparently has a chihuahua who she can't even walk lol...

Even though the walk took a lot longer than expected, and I froze my butt off because it quickly got dark and windy while I talked to these kids, it was enjoyable lol, and Shippo made some human friends. >^_^<

Just out of curiousity, why don't you let other people walk Shippo? Is it a risk thing (don't want them to hurt him), or a control/dominance thing, where you always want Shippo to think you're the one in control?

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by CaseLogic

Just out of curiousity, why don't you let other people walk Shippo? Is it a risk thing (don't want them to hurt him), or a control/dominance thing, where you always want Shippo to think you're the one in control?

Cheetah can explain further her specific reasoning, however in this case, it was a child she didn't know who wanted to walk him. For further sound reasons, read Clogs post above. One needs to know their dog, whether there might be risks involved and if it is a trustworthy situation overall.

Debbie

[Chip's Mom]

I do not like anyone else to walk my boys, I like to have my hands on their leashes that way if something happens, I am to blame not someone else. Also, they have a tendency to wait for me even if someone else is walking them. They keep looking back to see if I am following or will try to sit down or walk back to me. I walk my two together and they go just fine. Yesterday, we stopped at a boat launch that had a really nice walking area for dogs and I walked them then took them in the ladies room with me and there were several of my family who would have held onto them for me. I am very overprotective.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by CaseLogic

Just out of curiousity, why don't you let other people walk Shippo? Is it a risk thing (don't want them to hurt him), or a control/dominance thing, where you always want Shippo to think you're the one in control?

I would not let someone I didn't know walk my dogs either.
Especially if it's a young child.

Unless you know the person and know how they are with dogs you are putting your dog at risk. How do you know they'll keep him safe? How do you know they'll keep him from dogs that might want to fight with him? How do you know they'll be fair and humane with him? How do you know they won't steal him?

It's up to YOU to keep your dog safe. You should always know the person you hand your dogs leash to or know they are someone you can trust to keep your dog safe and well. To do less is irresponsible.

Peggy