My dog isn't getting along with my 1yr old...HELP!!?

Question

Recently I've notice that my dog has been a bit temperamental with my baby. One time in the high chair my son was reaching toward the dog and she snapped at him. He pulled his had away. I didn't see what happened, but heard it. On another day my son was laying with me in the chair and leaned over to the dog that was laying on the floor and the dog growled under her breath. My son is about to turn a year old and is starting to really move around the house (crawling). Today, as the baby crawled by the dog, she barked and snapped at him. I got so scared and my husband smacked the dog. Is there anything I can do to make this work. I've had this dog (Lab/Shepard/greyhound mix) for almost 10 years. She has been a great dog, but has seemed more aggressive toward other dogs since my husband came into my life. What can I do to make the dog more accepting of the baby. I don't want to get rid of the dog, but I'm afraid for my baby.

Answer 1

There are a lot of strategies you can use, training techniques. The biggest thing to remember is that you need to make being around the baby REALLY PLEASANT for the dog. So, when the baby is around, treats fall from the sky, mom talks in a happy voice! Never punish the dog, or she will associate the baby with being punished. Spend some extra special time with the dog each day so she does not feel neglected.
You will also need to teach your baby to have respect for the dog and her boundaries, not to pull ears or tail, etc. No baby and dog should be left alone together unsupervised.

Answer 2

Difficult problem. It's hard enough having a 1 yr old to care for. Makes it more difficult if you have to deal with the potential harm of the child by a dog you love. It would be next to impossible to find another home for a 10 yr old dog. If you have a family member or friend who would take the dog and give her a great home, that would be best.
However, I did deal with the problem when my son was born. My dog started growling at him when he started crawling. So, I was careful to never leave the dog and child alone. I also let the dog know that this was not acceptable behavior. He growled, he was put in a crate. I would not hit the dog for growling or snapping though. That will make things worse. My dog got over the growling by the time my son was walking and I never had another problem with him. I still never left the two alone together, but that should be the case with any dog and child even if the dog seems to love the child.
Your decision here is can you monitor the situation so the dog is never given the chance to hurt your child? Keep the dog in a crate or in another room or outside. Only allow the dog around the child when you can watch 100% of the time.

Answer 3

Right now, there is a heirarchy to your family and what the dog is telling the 1 year old is "I outrank you - so don't get in my space" the growling, the barking, the snapping is all the dog telling you all that he out-ranks the baby.

You need to reverse that thinking in your dog. First and foremost, the dog should not be allowed near the baby. You always need to make sure of that. As the baby is becoming more mobile, it might be worth having the dog on a leash - even in the house - so that behaviour can be corrected immediately. Spanking a dog does nothing but scare them - it doesn't register on a genetic level that they have done anything wrong. It's just going to make the dog fearful and may associate the baby with spanking and things can go downhill from there very quickly.

I would take a look at Cesar Millan - he recently trained two rottweilers not to "play" (roughly) with the neice of the owner.
He is on the National Geographic channel and you can watch clips of his there if you don't get the TV show. You can also purchase his DVDs.

But first and foremost, when the dog acts this way - you need to step inbetween them and growl Noooooooo to her. If you can do so safely while holding the baby, that would make the baby seem like it too was scolding the dog.

I would also see about a personal behaviourist/trainer in your area that could come to your home and give you some pointers on how to deal with this.

Answer 4

I had a similar problem with my new born 3 years ago. I had had my Lab for about 10 years and was always laid back and nice. He never liked my baby at all. My dog went through exactly what your talking about, we smacked him and everything. Finally, we found out that if we made our baby smell differently with like a lotion or something like that, the dog backed off, and left the baby alone. Dogs noses are extremely sensitive to strong smell. I hope your problem is solved, I don't know what I'd do without my dog!

Answer 5

get rid of the dog. See if a friend and take him or her so you can visit. Maybe if it is just temporary. If you don't want to do that, maybe try obediance school or hiring a trainer to come t your home. If you dog has already snapped and growled at your baby there is no telling what will happen next. He or she could attack without warning and maul your baby. Especially since your baby will be crawling soon and may grab the dogs ears/tail etc. Don't take the chance! your baby is much more important then your dog, no matter how long you have had him or her!

Answer 6

That's unbelievable- You "don't know what you'd do without your DOG" in the above answer????? What about what you would do if something happened to your CHILD???? This is a no brainer- I wouldn't even take the time to try to re-train the dog (another above answer)- suppose something happened in the meantime? Could you forgive yourself? No? Find a nice CHILDLESS home for your aging dog and look forward to the day in a few years when you and your family can raise a new puppy TOGETHER. One who will love your child and grow with him'her. And please try to wait until your youngest child- if you have more- is at least 4 or 5 so they can understand how to treat an animal.

Answer 7

IDK CANT HELP YOU I JUST WANT POINTS