Q: I have a 4-year old female Dalmatian. My ex-husband began training the dog, using simple commands such as sit and stay, but now that he is no longer here, I am having a terrible time with her. I have a 4-year old and a 6-year old who both enjoy playing with her, but are like kids--wildly excited when the dog gets too close. Being a single mom, I barely have enough time to spend "training" my children, and really do not have time for obedience school, not to mention the monetary demands for this. She has not been spayed, and I have been told that this may calm her a little. She is an outside dog, with a fenced-in back yard. Anytime the children are in the yard playing, or especially if other neighborhood children come over, she jumps all over them and in a manner that is rather embarrassing. What are your suggestions? I'm at the end of my rope.
A: This sounds like a situation where the ends are just not likely to meet. The dog needs you to take her to obedience school, and I can easily understand your difficulty in finding the time. She needs to be spayed, yes. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it is important, especially for a dog that lives with children.
The ages of your kids, and their friends, is also a concern. It's to be expected that a dog living outdoors would become overexcited when little kids come into the yard and start running around. Experts now agree that children younger than school age should never be left alone with any dog. Natural dog behavior, even in a nonaggressive dog, mixed with natural young child behavior, even in a good kids, is a dangerous combination. It requires a parent to train and totally supervise both dogs and kids to make the situation reasonably safe.
If you want to keep the dog, obedience school is a vital step. It is usually quite inexpensive at your local obedience CLUB, where the instructors are dedicated volunteers. You can find the one nearest you on the AKC website at http://www.akc.org and look under AKC Regional Breed Clubs.
Kids have to come first, of course. The only other thing I can suggest is that perhaps your ex-husband could help with the dog.