If a dog shows his teeth or growls at a child, he's clearly feeling uncomfortable and aggressive. But it's unwise to wait until you see these dramatic behaviors. It's much safer to learn to recognize your dog's early, subtle warnings.
Message. In most cases, when a dog bares his teeth he is sending you a clear message to back off. Think of bared teeth as a warning: "I am going to use these teeth if you don't stop it." This behavior may be a precursor to more serious aggression.
There are multiple reasons that a dog may exhibit aggression toward family members. The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
It is quite normal for a dog to show its teeth, but it's not always a desired trait. Think of it from your dog's point of view. Showing his teeth is the only way he has of communicating to you that he's not in the best of moods and it is a sign he wants you to back off and leave him alone.
An aggressive growl will be accompanied by snarling and snapping, while a playful growl is just a sound, accompanied by relaxed body movements (no tension).
Yes, it's normal for dogs to bare their teeth when they smile. The bigger problem is that people often misinterpret a toothy smile as aggression and become scared, Haug says.
Simply reward your dog with wonderful things like treats, toys, and games when children are around. For example, if a child comes up to your dog on a walk, feed your dog treats while the child pets them. In no time, your dog will look forward to encountering kids while you're out on the town.
The Root of the Behavior
Recent studies by animal psychologists have confirmed that dogs do in fact experience jealousy when their owners display affection toward other animals, new partners, kids, or even inanimate objects.
A simple test you can try is to remove the child from the situation and then see if the dog comes back to the child for more attention. This will tell you if the dog was enjoying the interaction (comes back for more), or just tolerating it (stays away, or leaves the scene).
Most dog aggression towards children is fear based, though many dogs will also show aspects of food, possessive and territorial aggression as well. According to the CDC, 800,000 people seek medical attention for dog bites each year, half of which are children.
If it was a quick bite, remove your child, and don't try to punish your dog. Bring the dog into another room or place them in their crate. Of course, if it's a more violent situation, do whatever it takes to get your child away from the dog.
Nipping the kids can mean a few different things. Some dogs might nip at kids who are running by because they're overly excited in the situation. There's also fear-based nipping. And dogs might also nip or bite when they're guarding resources or territory.
Some dogs show a “submissive grin” when they're feeling extremely submissive. They pull their lips up vertically and display their front teeth (canines and incisors). This signal is almost always accompanied by an overall submissive body posture, such as a lowered head, yelping or whining, and squinty eyes.
Most mouthing is normal dog behavior. But some dogs bite out of fear or frustration, and this type of biting can indicate problems with aggression. It's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between normal play mouthing and mouthing that precedes aggressive behavior.
It can be said that dogs often act differently around babies, and they seem to treat them with extra care to make sure that they don't get hurt. Dogs tend to be more protective of babies and small children as well, but that doesn't mean that dogs really understand what babies are or what we call them.
Use praise and treats to help the dog associate the baby with good things. Don't reward attention-seeking behaviour like barking, jumping and begging. Include the dog in walks and playtime with baby. Let the dog get used to the baby gradually and at her own pace.
A lack of early socialization: Dogs who aren't exposed to children as puppies may become fearful when they meet them later in life. When they encounter children for the first time as adult dogs, they may be extremely frightened by the unfamiliar size, smells, noises, and movements of children.
Every dog should be taught from the beginning to be gentle around a baby. A dog responds to his humans' verbal cues and body language with an infant. Thus, when owners display a calm, protective demeanor, the dog can learn to be sensitive and cautious.
Some dogs choose to run and hide when they're frightened. Others learn they can lunge, growl, snap or bark to make children go away.
Studies show that smiling at your dog can boost his or her levels of oxytocin, also called “the love hormone” for its role in building attachment and trust. On top of that, new research suggests that seeing a human smile might even cause dogs to ignore their natural instincts in favor of our puppy love—pun intended.
Science proves that part of the canine brain is associated with positive emotions and they do, indeed, feel love for their human companions.