# Herding Children



## staceys607 (Mar 8, 2010)

I am new here and need some help. I have a 5 1/2 year old male GSD whom I have had since a puppy. I have lived the last year and a half or so (since my daughter started walking) with my daughter and dog seperated by a gate. While he loves her and is patient with her at meal and feeding times, he will not leave her alone if they are together. He barks at her, mouths her (does not bite) and uses his body to move her where he wants her to go. I have had a trainer observe him and she thinks he is no threat to her but is obviously trying to herd her. Are there any methods that I can break him of this? I have tried trainers, anti-anxiety medications, letting her feed him (he is very patient with this), excersise, but nothing seems to work or break his "focus" on her. We have a huge yard that we can't all play in because he will not leave her alone. I now have a 5 month old baby too and I am at my wits end with keeping everyone seperated and safe. Help please!


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## lovemybuddy (Oct 26, 2009)

How frustrating! The first thing I would try is the "leave it" command. Does he know "leave it" yet? If not, teach him it this way: Put a treat in your palm, with your hand open. Let him sniff the treat, but when he goes to take it, close your hand and say, "No, leave it." Do this a few times, until he is leaving the treat completely alone. When he leaves it completely alone, tell him good boy and treat him with a _different_ treat. Then place the treat that was in your hand on the floor, giving the same "leave it" command. If he goes toward the treat, say, "No, leave it." When he leaves it alone, treat him with a different treat. (Or, if you use the clicker, click and treat when he leaves it alone.) He should quickly figure out that "leave it" means don't look at, touch, go near, whatever object you are telling him to leave. You can then use the leave it command with your daughter. Let them be in the same room, but closely monitor your dog's behavior with her. At first, if he merely looks at your daughter, tell him to leave it. The second he looks away from your daughter and at you, tell him, "Good leave it. Good boy." And give him a treat. (Or click and treat if he is trained with a clicker.) The most important thing here is the timing. Once you say "leave it", the second he looks away from what you want him to leave, go crazy with praise and treats. 

Obviously, your goal is going to be to have your dog and children together in the same space/room without him herding them, so the next thing I would try after teaching him that the children are "leave its" is to put him in a down/stay while the children run/crawl around the room.

To teach him this, put your dog in a down position, tell him to stay, and plop a bunch of treats in front of him, just out of his reach. Sit down next to him, holding on to his collar, and have your daughter start walking slowly around the room. When he stays, tell the dog "good" and give him a treat, then immediately say, "Stay." Start with telling him "good", treating, and saying "stay" again every 10 seconds or so. If it looks like he wants to get up and go after your daughter, but hasn't gotten up yet, distract him by saying "good", give him a treat, then say "stay." If he does start to get up, say, "No, stay." When he's doing good, paying more attention to his treats and you than your daughter, you can then ask your daughter to start walking faster around the room, then eventually running around the room, the whole time you are holding on to the dog's collar to ensure your daughter's safety, telling him "good", treating him, and reminding him he's in a stay. Do this several times a day. You will start to see your dog looking at your daughter, then looking toward you for a command and treat. When he gets really good, you can have your daughter start running around him, throwing toys near him. 

He'll eventually get that herding the kids is not his job, and that you have the kids and him all under control. 

I have a crazy 5 year old who Buddy has learned to be so good with. These are the things I did to teach him that it's ok if the kids are running wild around him, that they are allowed to do that. I praise and treat constantly, purposely catch Buddy being good, and go about nuts when he actually lays down on his own, calmly, while the children are running around.

Once your dog is really good at leaving the kids alone, then I'd start letting your daughter give him treats, but make sure he works for the treats.  Even if it's the simplest of commands, like a sit, make sure he obeys her before he gets his treat from her. 

Good luck!!!!!


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

How much exercise does your dog get? Maybe he needs more (both mental and physical) - like training classes (agility, herding, OB, etc), more walks/runs, etc.


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## staceys607 (Mar 8, 2010)

lovemybuddy
thank you for the training tips - I will definintely give them a try. My daughter can make him listen with treats and he will sit and or lay down for her and I do have her feeding him now too - and he handles that very well. The other day she was sitting at the table holding two cheese curls and asking him which one he wanted (about an inch away from his nose) - he didn't try to grab one and he waited for her to drop it. 
I do worry because he gets very focused on her when they are together(like he probably would herding sheep) and I and the trainer had a hard time redirecting him to respond to us. My other issue is just plain time - until we get home from work, feed kids, give baths, etc it's time for bed. 
mspiker03
Truthfully its been a long winter and we are all ready to get out for some excersise. I know he is not getting the excersise he needs but there is not much more I can do. That's one of the biggest reasons we thought about finding a new home for him. Before the kids came he had plenty of excersise but now I know he doesn't get enough.


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

mspiker03 said:


> How much exercise does your dog get? Maybe he needs more (both mental and physical) - like training classes (agility, herding, OB, etc), more walks/runs, etc.


My thoughts exactly.


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## lovemybuddy (Oct 26, 2009)

staceys607 said:


> lovemybuddy
> thank you for the training tips - I will definintely give them a try. My daughter can make him listen with treats and he will sit and or lay down for her and I do have her feeding him now too - and he handles that very well. The other day she was sitting at the table holding two cheese curls and asking him which one he wanted (about an inch away from his nose) - he didn't try to grab one and he waited for her to drop it.
> I do worry because he gets very focused on her when they are together(like he probably would herding sheep) and I and the trainer had a hard time redirecting him to respond to us. My other issue is just plain time - until we get home from work, feed kids, give baths, etc it's time for bed.
> mspiker03
> Truthfully its been a long winter and we are all ready to get out for some excersise. I know he is not getting the excersise he needs but there is not much more I can do. That's one of the biggest reasons we thought about finding a new home for him. Before the kids came he had plenty of excersise but now I know he doesn't get enough.


Oh, good, I'm glad he's obeying your daughter's commands. That is so polite that he didn't try to grab the cheese curl!!!  I think you guys are going to be fine. 

Buddy is great with my oldest son and my youngest son, but somehow the middle one, he likes to roughhouse more with. In the house, they're fine, but I have to be outside with the two of them to make sure Buddy is behaving and not jumping on him. So maybe just you being right there and correcting the herding immediately is all it will take. And I'm wondering if a quick spritz with a water bottle with help redirect his focus back on you. I hate to use the water bottle as a crutch, but it's amazing how well Buddy obeys when the water bottle is simply in the room, lol!! 

As far as exercise, it seems like Buddy can never get enough. I'm absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, trying to get him exhausted. lol My dh takes him for a walk and afterward plays fetch for about 15-20 minutes every morning about 6 a.m. Is that possible at all for you guys? Then, during the day, I walk Buddy and play more with him, my sons play more with him when they get home from school. He's a very mellow dog, but with endless energy to burn. I'll even take him with me in the car different places to drain his energy. And I bet even if you can get in 15-30 minutes of training a night, when the kids go to bed, that might help drain his energy (I can imagine how exhausted you are yourself by that time, though!!) 

I think spring/summer is going to help a lot. 

Keep us updated on how you guys are doing!!!

~Eileen


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