Dog behavior question...

[driver8]

We adopted our dog, Buddy, last year from the local shelter. One of the reasons we adopted him is that he is great with kids, and has been wonderful with our two small children. He loves people and I have only heard him growl and bark at one person, my wife's dipshit uncle.

Today, one of my wife's friends stopped by and had her 3 daughters with her. Like I said, Buddy has always been great with kids, but today he started barking at the youngest daughter (she is 4). The poor child was scared to death and my wife had to shut Buddy outside.

He has never done anything like this before. Is it a dominance behavior? What should we do to prevent this from happening again?

[MadMaddie]

1. Did the child approach Buddy in an aggressive manner?

There are always two sides of the story...

Sometimes dogs just like humans don't like certain people....it happens.

As a general rule for my two dogs....I make my dogs sit....and then I make sure the parent and the child ask permission to pet them....especially if they are new to the dogs....

Perhaps you should contact a trainer...referenced by someone you know...to inquire about other methods...

Good luck...