Infants and pets?

Question

We have a 13 months old baby girl and a 4 year old German Mini Schnauzer that has been with us since eight weeks old. I try to keep the two separated due to my fear of the dog biting the baby. The dog has never bitten anyone and is generally a very well trained house dog...he sees himself as a member of the family and only after the arrival of the baby last year has he been restricted to certain areas in the house to to hygiene reason etc. Now the rest of the family members start asking why the dog can't get close to the baby and they tell me that it is not fair to the dog. I am just so afraid that something will happen because babies can be rough sometimes (pulling hair, pinching nose, biting feet...lol) I love the dog, too...but am not sure how to overcome my paranoia. Has anyone ever had something bad happen with their dogs interacting with small children? Should we consider giving the dog away? That would break everyones heart and make me feel awful!!

Answer 1

We have 2 dogs that were 7 and 4 yrs old when we had our first child. We never kept our dogs and child seperated when our baby was starting to crawl around and walk. Our dogs have been really good with both of our kids. They don't play with them, but there has never been any kind of aggressive behavior, even thru the toddler "pulling hair and ears" phase. Our dogs had enuf sense to stay clear of the kids when they were at that age.

I would think that by deliberately separating your dog and child, you could possibly be creating a jealous feeling from your dog over the child, which IMO, would be worse in the long run.

I would suggest having some supervised "play time" with your child and the dog. See how your dog behaves with the baby. You may find that it will be fine and you have worried over something that just doesn't exisit. Either way, young children and dogs should always be supervised together and if you must leave the room, one of them must go with you.

At least test the waters with your child and dog together. You just won't know until you try and you could be pleasantly surprised.

Answer 2

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T GIVE HIM AWAY, sorry about the yelling lol. Don't give the dog away. He is a member of your family too. If you had two children and they were fighting you wouldn't give one away right, it is the same thing. Just don't leave the dog alone with the baby but you can let your daughter and your doggie interact with each other. Actually the more time you spend letting your daughter and dog get to know each other the better. You actually decrease the chances of something going bad if you teach your daughter how to treat a dog (it is never to early to start). If you see your dog getting stressed out then take the dog to another room to let him get a break and calm down. The big thing is just don't leave them alone together. You can have a dog with a baby plenty of people do and it works out fine. The only time to consider rehoming a dog is if it is already aggressive towards children and you have a baby otherwise the best thing to do is just give your dog lots of love and attention and introduce them to each other and watch them play. If baby gets to rough with the dog she is old enough to tell her how to be nice.

Answer 3

Read "Marley & Me" and see how their beloved Labrador reacted to their new children. Your dog may just be your childs best protection :) they can grow up to be best friends.

We always had animals in my house since I can remember and I never had any encounters when I was a young child. I'd never leave them unsupervised though. You are right that babies can be tough on the animals and the animal of course doesnt understand why he/she is being beaten on. LOL. Just watch them and see how it works out.

I wouldnt give the dog away just because of this. When you took him on at 8weeks you were adopting for life. It's not fair to "throw out" a dog when he no longer meets your needs. He may live to be 15 years old with you and still be a huge part of the family as all my pets were/are.

Good luck!

Answer 4

A new study has found that infants raised with dogs in the house have less allergies than children raised in pet free homes.

You are being pretty paranoid and keeping the two apart only makes the adaptation harder.

Start with very supervised time, pick a time when you are on the floor playing with your daughter and let the dog in the room.

Keep allowing more time together and don't forget to punish them both if she pulls fur and he yelps/growls.

Good luck.

Answer 5

I have always had dogs around my kids. You just need to supervise..that's all. If your dog has no diseases, there is no reason for him to be separated. Your child wont catch anything from him. I really think that if you can't get over your fear, which is irrational, you should find the dog a new home. It's sad really,,,this thinking is why there are so many wonderful dogs in shelters.

Just another note on germs etc....your indoor air is dirtier then your dog.

Answer 6

Separation is not a long term solution. Training is. Find a local reputable dog trainer who can work with you to train your dog.
With the right effort you shouldn't have to give the family pet away.

Answer 7

How unfair you are being to this dog. Use caution with children and dogs yes, but do not isolate the poor dog!
You should have taken pet ownership more seriously when you bought your dog. Poor thing, you don't deserve him and you are setting a poor example for your child!

Answer 8

Don't keep the dog away, you are giving it the impression that something is wrong with the baby and that will make the dog want to attack. just supervise when they are together and don't let any growling come fom you dog under any circumstance.

Answer 9

no not yet first check a few things like try putting your hand around the food too see if it gets agresive /&can you pull on its tail ,ears &fur without it nipping at you if so then introduce the two slowley it should be just fine

Answer 10

WELL GET THE BABY A FAKE PET THAT THEYLL LOVE AND JUST TELL THE BABY NO IF THEY TRY TO GET NEAR THE PUPPY AND WATCH THEM CARFULLY AND DONT LET THE BABY HOLD IT THEY COULD KILL IT THAT WAY