Dog and Baby problem.

Factual Questions
1

We have a six-year-old Lab/Shorthaired Pointer mix. She’s usually very well-tempered, although she’s a bit of a loud watchdog when people pass by the house.

Some old friends of ours have recently moved back to town bringing with them a baby. Now, whenever they bring the baby over, the dog goes nuts. She whines, she barks, she runs around.

We’ve tried paying attention to the dog, even more attention to the dog than the baby. We’ve let the dog smell and even lick the baby, which she will do, but then go back to whining and barking. She will also calm down momentarily when given a treat or quiet down if I take her for a walk, but the moment we come back, she acts up around the baby again.

The strangest part is that through all of this, she’s wagging her tail as if she’s happy and upset at the same time. Anyone have any ideas what we can do?

2

Ahhhhh! Keep the dog away from the baby! It sounds like your dog sees the baby as a threat. Even with close supervision, the dog could do terrible damage to the baby. I’d remove the dog from the situation, or at least keep her on a leash whenever the baby is nearby to prevent injury. When the dog eventually gets used to the baby and calms down, reward her for doing so.

Don’t let the dog get into biting distance of the baby! Even the best dog will react instinctively to a perceived threat.

3

I have one word for you: FOOD.

For most animals food remards will come in first above all other behavior. Above barking, jumping, whining, chewing on shoes, etc. Food is number one.
Start usig some basic “sit”, “stay”, and “lay down” training routines before your friends come over. Use food rewards when the dog does what you want it to do. Then when they come over with the little one only reward the dog when it is being still. It might take a few visits for the dog to understand that if it is still and quiet during the visit it will get treats, but it will happen. And make sure you ignore the pooch when it acts up. You want the dog to equate a visit from the baby as a positive experience. Make sure you are in control of the situation, don’t let Fido be the alpha male here.

And if that doesn’t work you may have to visit them at their place or put the dog outside when they come over.

4

Not an expert here but just wondering what might be the result of asking for one of the infants used blankets and keep it around the house so the dog can get used to the scent of the child.

5

I’m with Holly on this one. Put some distance between dog and baby. You can’t predict what will happen, but you can take steps to prevent tragedy.

6

Does the puppy laydown put her paws out ahead of her and keep her butt in the air when she does it? Sort of the way she stretches in the morning?

If so, she may believe she’s got a new pack mate, and wants to play. Unfortunately, “playing” for a dog can mean pain for the baby. Bring her to a stay when the baby is over, and tell her “no” when she whines. Sharply. Don’t comfort her until she’s quiet, and does the eye-roll-seeking approval thing.

Odds are against anything worse than nips and knock downs, but those are bad enough. You may want to leash her and keep her by your side while the baby is over.

7

Dogs and babies…bad combo…if your dog is not used to children. Holly is correct. Do not let it get in bitng distance…but don’t make it feel even more threatened. Holding it back makes it feel like…the dog is being threatened by this strange new ‘thing’. If the baby is old enough, let it pet the dog. Making sure it does not pull the dog’s fur or anything. But perhaps if the child…sort of interacts with the dog ie: petting, giving treats (being a safe distance away of course) the dog may start to like the child. (I’m very young…I’m NOT an expert!)

8

The part that worries me most is this:

Tail-wagging may be a sign of happiness or aggression. I just can’t see any situation in which it’s worthwhile to risk the baby’s life for the sake of the dog. Trust me; I’ve been there: it only takes a second for a dog to permanently maim a child, even if carefully supervised. Even a “good dog” can bite if she perceives a threat. I think it’s obvious that this dog sees the baby as a threat.

Please, either put the dog in another room or outside, or keep her on a leash so she cannot reach the baby. I agree that it’s wise to reward the dog for behaving well (being calm). I also think it’s a good idea to familiarize the dog with the baby’s scent by borrowing a blanket, and treating the presence of the baby as a positive thing for the dog.

But, please keep the dog away from the baby. My baby (now ten years old) has permanent scars all over his face, a badly scarred ear, and severe vision problems in his right eye (one eight of an inch closer, and he’d have lost that eye altogether) because he was suddenly and ferociously attacked by a “good dog”. This happened under close supervision- we were less than three feet away- and the dog had never shown any signs of aggression before. Please don’t take that risk.

9

There are actually people who go around and help you prepare your pet for a new baby - perhaps you could ask your vet about it & they could give you some help regarding children who visit…

Ditto to Bare’s comment about asking for one of the baby’s blankets and keeping it around to get her/him used to the smell.

Another thing you can try - before the baby gets to the toddler stage…every once and a while tug on an ear, or tail or grab a handful of skin & fur and give a tug (not hard!) - reward the dog with praise and pats and a treat (if you happen to have one on you) for not reacting. We’ve did this with our nutball Aussie mix (she’s reallllly high energy and gets wound up quickly) and she’s really tolorant and calm around kids and laid back about having an ear yanked by a toddler, etc.

You might also want to work on socializing your dog - right now, it seems your dog is accustomed to being the center of attention and being the only other member of your pack - getting it out to the park or into an obediance class where it learns to be around other dogs can make a world of difference as well as far as your dog’s security and level of comfort when something new suddenly appears in it’s “den.”

:slight_smile:
meg

10

I’m gonna back up bashere, here. If you dog is giving the classic “play bow”, she probably sees the baby as a pup and playmate. (A Lab cross… probably a “play bow”.) There are also some other body language clues, licking the baby’s ears, rolling on her back, “yippy” barks and growls (even growls- theatrical non-threatening growls- can be good with dogs), stiff legged hopping.

Now I’m gonna back up Holly. Tail-wagging can be either happiness or aggression. Long, sweeping wags = happy. Short, slow twitches = stress, which can easily turn to aggression. And like bashere said, even play nips and bumps can turn bad, fast.

Is the baby a baby baby, or sitting up and moving around? If the baby is moving around, your dog could get a sock in the eye.

Both my boys were around dogs from the first day. (Two dogs were ours, and the neighbors’ dogs, and other family dogs.) Nothing bad has happened yet. Of course the boys don’t get to play with my sister’s older dog, she’s kinda crabby. And they never get to play with dogs we don’t know. And there’s always an adult around to “referee”. There’s alot of rough play with my older son, but when either he or the dog has had enough, they get split up. The one-year-old hugs, and pats, and smacks, and pulls on the dogs. He gets to play with the dogs who like him anyway (untill the dog has had enough), and the rest just avoid him. So dogs and babies can be well matched.

You might consider taking you dog to Obedience Training. It’s never too late. And being around other dogs and strange people might help her in new situations. (Like a new baby being around.) Training also helps you to de-code your dog’s behavior, so you can tell what she’s going to do.

If you and your wife (I guessed here, didn’t check your profile, and don’t know your gender) are not 100% sure of your dog (and if you were you wouldn’t be posting your question here) and both of the baby’s parents are not 100% comfortable with the baby being around the dog, don’t let the dog around the baby. Odds are in your favor that nothing will ever happen, but they were also in Holly’s favor, and that didn’t turn out so well. (Holly, I’m not down-playing your experience in any way. It was tragic, and I’m sorry for you and your son.)