We brought a six month old husky home this friday night. We did not have our two toddlers (2 and 3 1/2) with us for the weekend. During the first few days we brought the husky to petsmart and out in public a lot. He was great with kids, licking everyone and super friendly. He did not show a mean side to him at all. When our toddlers finally came home, to meet the dog for the first time, the husky was very skidish. We had him on a leash and walked the kids up very slow and calm. He yipped at growled at them and even lunged at them. It was scary because we have read nothing but good things about husky's. We sat with him in front of the door on a leash so he could watch them play and get to know them a little better. At times, when the kids got a little more "wild" he would bark and lunge forward towards them again. We have had the kids feed him treats out of their hand and pet him slow but still he shows signs of aggression and fear towards them. The dog is at work with me at my own business right next to our house, customers are in and out all day and he licks everyone and is such a lover. We were heartbroken when he did not show the same signs of love and affection that he has offered to everyone else to our toddlers. Does any one have any suggestions to get us to fully trust the kids and the dog together? We know we can not leave them a lone. We are planning on working with both the kids behavior towards the dog and the dog towards the kids. Just looking for anyone's insight and input on this matter. It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

I can relate. Nook runs for his crate when my 20 month old comes into the room; yet he is perfectly at ease and playful around my 6 year old. A lot of dogs are like that with the very young humans. I don't know if it's a matter of not wanting to mess with alpha mommy's/daddy's baby or if it's because young humans seem very odd to them with their small size, high pitched voice, natural exuberance, and often less than smooth movements. Then there is the possibility that he was traumatized by a small child, since (unsupervised) kids will pull ears and tails and just generally be a nuisance from the dog's point of view. Either way, if he is growling at them, then better to be safe than sorry and be extra vigilant with supervision until they are old enough to understand a dog's body language. Does he have a crate or other "safe place" he can go hang out when the kids are making him nervous?

Thank you for the prompt response. Yes we do have a crate for him. Which he goes in but has not run to. He does not run from toddlers as if afraid, he runs towards them as if he is going to jump on them. We luckily have had him on a leash to stop him doing whatever it was he planned. He doesn't seem like he is going to necessarily bite them or cause a lot of harm, But it is still a little scary and we don't fully trust him getting close yet. We have put the dog in the crate and laid on the floor in his view so he could see that the kids mean well and showed them lots of love and affection. We had the boys feed him treats into the crate to try and let Alpine know that they are not here to hurt him. He seems to not be as bother by the 3 1/2 yr old as much as our 2 yr old. We plan on picking up some baby gates to allow the kids to play in their room and keep the dog out so he will still see them playing but we won't have to worry about standing there holding his leash so he doesn't run into their room. We suspect that this is just going to be a process and a learning experiene for us all. We hope eventually my husband, myself, our two boys, our two cats and our new amazing husky alpine can all live in harmony.

I have had huskies for many years and have seen them around kids of all different ages, including two of my own who are now age 16 and 11. My kids were born into our home with an existing husky. I personally have never seen behavior like you are describing. He is still very young and new to your home to be exhibiting real signs of aggression without fear, in my opinion. If he is fearful or intimidated in any way, I would understand this behavior.

I do, however, have concerns with you keeping him away from the kids for too long. If separating them becomes the "easy fix" and they are not ever really acclimated to one another, they may learn to merely exist together, which in the long run will create more problems. Problems such as the dog not really knowing the pack order of the small people, or the kids not learning to respect his food bowl, or the dog not learning how to relax in a chaotic room full of pre-schoolers!

I will be the first to agree that there will be many times when the dog and the kids need a "time-out" from one another. You will need to learn the signs when this needs to happen. But make sure that you are spending the next few weeks letting the dog and the kids really get to know each other. Perhaps instead of having the dog meet the kids with the dog on a leash you should let the dog meet one of the kids as you hold the child in your arms but allow the dog the ability to sniff and meet that child without him feeling like he is trapped by his leash.

Also, if this behavior is really scary to you don't forget nearly every community have a reputable dog trainer that will come into your home and evaluate the dog's interaction with your kids.

Good luck!

Alpine is fine when the kids are calm laying down and not playing. He seems to be not bothered by our three year old its the 2 year old that he mostly reacts too. Its almost a bark in fear as he sometimes does lunge towards him (with his tail wagging an no fur raised) but sometimes he will turn from him. We have gone on family walks together, we allow the dog to watch the kids as much as possible. He has been present in the bathroom during baths, walks into their bedrooms when we kiss them goodnight. We are using the leash to just try and control the situation if something does happen. Perhaps we are being a little fearful but we want to make sure that neither child or the dog hurts one another. We did notice that Alpine does not like when either kid cries. OR if they run. Its hard because we know kids play and it seems that Alpine will want to play with them but just don't trust the situation yet.

We really don't think he is a mean dog at all, he licks every customer at our business and out in public. He does not seem bothered by kids at all out in public. Its mostly when the boys play in the house and are a little more active that he demonstrates the behavior.