Dogs and Kids

Ender likes to jump at people. It's one of his more annoying habits. We've been trying to break him of it since we first got him. Let's just say progress has been slow. Apparently, there has been some improvement as random strangers have been stopping us at the street saying, oh Ender's so good now! hahaha.

Before, Ender used to completely lose his shit when someone tried to pet him. It's like he has this sixth sense of when someone is thinking about it and and he'll just go for it with all legs up in the air. Now he can at least maintain a sit for a few minutes. I can tell he's trying reaaally hard because after a while he starts shaking and then whining from keeping all the crazy in.

The weird thing is that he is completely fine with children. Which is good because children LOVE him. I've often theorized why Ender is fine with kids. It might be that we are hyper vigilant of his behavior during these interactions, but it might also be that most kids who want to pet Ender are absolutely fearless.

Anyways, based on our previous experiences, I have come up with some advice for kid+parent and dog interaction:

Step 1: Ask for permission
In an ideal world, everyone should ask. However, as a parent, you especially need to ask. This sets a good example for your child so that they can ask on their own and it also allows the owner to say no or lay down some ground rules. We tell people that Ender will lick their child's excessively and if they don't like that or if it scares their child, then they shouldn't pet him.

Step 2: Don't hover
If you already gave your child permission to pet the dog, don't hover around nervously. That makes it an unpleasant experience for everyone, including the dog. When the parent is nervously hovering in the background, it makes me unsure (wait, should I say no? should I walk away?) and the the dog unsure (wait, lick, not lick, half lick?) and we will probably not enjoy your child's presence very much.

Step 3: Help facilitate initial kid/dog interaction
I enjoy parents who help facilitate initial kid/dog interaction. Mostly it's because small children weird me out a little and I don't feel like I should be the one disciplining your child. Some examples include "no honey, you can't ride that doggy like a pony" or "no baby, you shouldn't try to poke that doggy in the eye."

Step 4: Offer up some encouragement
Some kids get really shy when it's time to step up and actually do the petting. Parents need to either seize the moment and give a little encouragement or just walk away. Nothing is worse when you have the parent going "come on, it's okay, come on, go, it's okay, come on, it's okay, come on come on...." and the kid is beginning to resist more and more. Because that just leaves me and Ender sitting there feeling awkward.

Step 5: Let your kid enjoy the moment
Once your kid has pet the dog without getting its face bitten off and has established some kind of rapport with the dog, it's okay to just let them do their thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm still watching like a hawk and you should too, but sometimes the conversation is just between the kid and dog, so who am I to interrupt.