It’s fair to say that Wolfgang has never been quite so keen on kids. Totally at ease with any children passing or being close by and ignoring her but not so happy with kids approaching and trying to interact. And considering she still looks like the cutest puppy most kids want to cuddle her and pick her up…..not knowing that deep inside this little Jack Russell Terrier mix’s soul, there is a big wild wolf!!
Coming from a home with a toddler who, as I could tell when we picked her up, was quite full on with her as a very young puppy (AKA chasing after her, throwing toys at her, etc) to not being exposed enough to children when young. it can be difficult to get hold of kids when you or your friends don’t have any at hand for socialisation purposes, just sayin’….
In addition, her rather sparkly personality to choose ‘fight’ over ‘flight’ when given the opportunity (the ‘fight’ being a surprisingly loud and rolling bark, for such a little furry person, combined with a moving toward rather than retreating) never quite helped the overall situation.
Until recently, we successfully managed her interactions with kids which mostly took place outside in a park or, well, not at all. As that was her choice, and Wolfgang is allowed to make her own choices (97% of the time). If a kid wanted to say hello to her, I always told them to ask her first. Meaning, see if she wants to approach you and please don’t approach (rush, corner, overwhelm) her. And no, her sniffing you is NOT an invite to touch her and please no petting on the head and so on.
I’m sure there were many children, and parents, who thought I was a bit strict (mean, rude, etc etc….I am German however, so that’s always a great explanation) but I’m determined about being Wolfgang’s safe place and I don’t ever want her to be in a situation where she has to shout about being worried, stressed or fearful (‘shouting’ meaning growling, barking, etc).
So when Wolfgang and I found ourselves moving in with kids, two wonderful little ladies called Zoé and Lola, I prepared myself for many months of gentle counter conditioning work. We put a plan together which included educating the girls on how to read Wolfgang’s body language (spotting early signs of stress so she never felt the need to escalate it), how to respect her space (including never to interrupt her when she’s resting), how she DOES NOT want to be picked up or covered in kisses and how to train with her and even teach her new tricks (building positive association).
And within just a few weeks, not months, Wolfgang was completely at ease with those two little ladies (and yes, there are still some tricky moments when the Wolf has a bad day and the littlest lady cannot control her urge to LOVE her but those are far and few between and always interrupted and redirected well before any negative association may occur).
And then something even more amazing happened; my sparkly little Wolf in a tiny dog suit became an accidental therapy dog. The unthinkable job for Wolfgang, pretty much, considering her previous history with small children. But Wolfgang’s newly found calmness around kids helped little cousin Edda overcome her fear of dogs. Over the period of around four month, this little five year old went from being really scared of every dog, even at a distance, to feeding Wolfgang treats from her hand and even gently petting her (Wolfgang quickly figuring out that this little lady needed a little encouragement and where there’s a treat involved…..).
This moment was quite something. I was, and still am, so very proud of my furry friend and her non-furry sisters.
And it once again shows that you can ‘teach an old dog new tricks’ ❤️ 😉