I'm a foster carer (of humans!!) and Kiz can sometimes be nervous of the new young people I have in so she has a cage that she goes into for security. I tell all kids that when she's in her cage she is to be left alone - no if's, buts or maybe's. It's in my kitchen so I can keep an eye on her when the kids are about. If they do pester her I then put consequences in place.
Kiara has never shown any signs of aggression just worry and nerves so her cage is her sanctuary. She usually only goes in for a couple of days then comes out of herself.

This may be a short term idea to give her time and space to relax while you find her a good new home but I agree that your son should never be left alone with her.

good post
argh what a nightmare situation! well done on opening your heart to a dog in need, but it does seem to be a disaster waiting to happen
have you explained to your son what would happen to the DOG if she was to have a bad reaction to him? of course i dont want you to scare monger him, but perhaps explaining about dogs, that are fearful, and feel they MUST bite to protect themselves end up, in a not so nice place, perhaps you could tell him she would be in prison for the rest of her life?
i think sometimes children cant see how their actions might affect themselves, but he may see a different perspective if you explain what could happen to the dog if he doesnt listen to you?

Take your son with you to the trainer. Often, someone the child doesn't know will have more influence than Mothers do. Pre-warn the trainer and ask her to gently give out some horror stories of dogs being PTS because of young children provoking them. Also, if the trainer will agree, let your son do the training with the trainer supervising, of course. Often youngsters can be redirected into working with the dog rather than against them if they are given the chance.

Have a child no-go area at home that can become your dog's safe zone. It may be a large crate, a quiet corner, but it's imperative that when she goes there that no one pesters her. This entails some child training, of course, but your child will benefit also.

This is a 'knife-edge' situation that needs a competent and experience dog trainer/behaviourist to assess and guide in person after seeing what exactly is happening. It may well be that the advice is to re-home if the situation is as bad as you say, but better that than risking the dog's nervousness developing into aggression with the result that far from rescuing her you will have signed her death warrant.

The very best of luck and I truly do hope that a behaviourist (at the very earliest you can get one in) can help.

Really hope the trainer manages to help and since your son is so interested in the dog, it might turn out better than you're probably envisaging at present

I think the idea of separating your son and the dog as much as possible is a sensible one, and the dog of course does need a 'safe space' where she can relax totally.

Baby gates are a fab idea


Do keep us posted

Hi and thanks again for all the advice,

I know that the majority of you suggested we rehome her again but we still have her with us and at the moment things are starting to settle. My son is beginning to leave her alone a lot more as the novelty is slowly wearing off. We have also been making use of the Wii as a distraction for the time being!

We have an extra high stairgate on our kitchen now and if I feel things are getting too hyper I have been putting her out there to have her own space. However, this is rarely happening and only for 10 minutes or so. I've also been letting my son help me care for her at feeding times etc. We have a sticker chart and 'dog rules' in place on the wall (for my son, not the dog ). Kizzy herself seems to be a little less nervous and we've had a bit of tail wagging and lots of excitement when the boys get home from school.

I have a dog behaviourist coming on Wednesday to assess her temperment and to give me some pointers on the issue of her having a go at the occasional dog. Providing that goes well we'll be signing up for an 8 week training course to improve her recall etc. She has said to me that Kizzy may be experiencing a phantom pregnancy due to the termination she had, which would explain the change in her behaviour to other dogs. Not forgetting the fact that she's had huge changes in her life all around the same time.

Anyway, thought I'd just give you an update and let you know that for the time being we're hanging in there and it's hopefully paying off.

All sounds promising. Good luck for Wednesday - let us know how you all get on

Am so glad to read this and think you are FAB

Sounds as though it's all starting to calm down and I'm sure a good behaviourist will only help even more

Thanks so much for the update, am smiling over your post

Were foster carers too, I think the above post is a very useful idea, I don't do this as our dogs are so child friendly I really need a cage for the kids to have peace but if I did have a nervouse dog, a bolt hole is a great idea for the dog to relax
Sounds good xxxxxxxx All the best