Dog growled at baby :-( Not sure what to do...

S

Sunny08

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 September 2008
Messages
1,073
Location
Kent
Visit site
I've had my beagle for almost 7 years and owned him since a puppy. When I first got him it was just him and I and all was very easy going. during this time I have met and married my husband and we now have an 8mth old son as well as another dog who is a 2 year old lurcher.

I never leave the baby and the dogs in the same room alone, but we live in an open planned bungalow so inevitably the dogs and baby are often in the same room with myself or my husband. whilst eating our lunch today, my son who is learning to crawl, was pulling himself round the room and went to play with my beagles tail. now he didn't grab it or pull on it, just batted it a bit, my beagle turned round and gave him a warning growl. I instantly told him off and he ran to his basket. I was furious and followed him, and shouted at him at which point he snarled at me - something he has never, never done before.

Now I know in the heat of the moment maybe I handled this wrong, and I also accept that I as an owner should have ensured a greater distance between the dog and my baby. but i can completely honestly say I never expected him to ever react in any form of agressive way toward my son, he has always been the most laid back, dopey, kind and loving dog.

I keep going through my mind what should I do now. My son is getting more and more mobile and is fascinated by the dogs. Very soon he will be crawling and walking everywhere and he can't understand what a dog will or will not tolerate, so whatever I do this has shown me I need to do something. I keep thinking it only takes one bite for a lot of harm to be done and in any case involving dogs biting children you always hear the owner saying 'well they never have behaved like that before'. Firstly I have taken this as a reminded that no dog is completely trust worthy and however much part of our family the dog is, he is still an animal with animal instincts. Now I keep thinking is this family environment the right place now for my beagle. My alternative is to shut him in our porch whenever the baby is around which again seems very unfair. Or am I blowing this out of proportion...

I am aware of my own foolishness in this and just trying to protect my son, whilst also trying to think of the best thing for my very, very much loved Beagle.

Any advice or experiences welcomed but please be constructive!
 
invest in baby gates....

i know you said its open plan but there has to be a way to divide dogs and baby???

i dont consider it to be your dogs fault tbh.... they are probably just warning your son off??...

I dont disagree with the way you handled it - at all - the dog should know never to bite your child but its upto you to keep them apart as from now on its not your dogs fault if they get mithered bya child....

dont shut the dogs out - just divide them - baby gates!.... they can then get away from your child if needby - bu still be part of the family/not totally shut out imo!
 
Thats the problem really our living area is just one very big room, the conservatory/ porch area is the only place they can really be divided off. We already have a baby gate between the main room and our kitchen but the dogs will jump this or howl if shut in there and can see us, but are ok if the door is shut.

I agree entirely that it is not the dogs fault, he only reacted on instinct
 
noodle_ said:
invest in baby gates....

I dont disagree with the way you handled it - at all - the dog should know never to bite your child but its upto you to keep them apart as from now on its not your dogs fault if they get mithered bya child....
Click to expand...

How would a dog know not to bite, doesn't matter what dog or how well behaved at the end of the day it's still an animal and unpredictable and at the same time no matter how old the child, it shouldn't be allowed to poke or pull the dog. For all the dog knew the baby was going to pull and hurt, it was a warning grumble not a snap.

He probably snarled at you because he ran off when you initially told him off then you went after him and had a go, he then felt threatened and maybe vulnerable.

You need to ensure the dog has a place to go to get away from the baby, have you thought about or do you already have a crate where he can have his own space? Not necessarily shut in it but so it's there if he wants it?

Also don't shut him away from the baby totally, the pair of them need to learn how to get along together, so he needs to get used to the baby and the baby not be allowed to aggravate the dog. Perhaps make sure you still give the dog some one to one time with you as he's used to it being just you two.

Certainly wouldn't go around thinking that he can't be a family dog, you've had him for seven years. I don't agree with moving one out to have the other so would be looking for suitable ways to integrate the two - not saying that is what you're doing by the way.

Someone will probably have some better advice but hope that helps :)

ETA:Another option other than a crate or baby gate are those dog play pens? Dogs can still be near you/see you etc but will be separate
 
Mabey teach your dogs/distract them - - give them chews/bones/kongs stuffed etc and make them think "their time" outside/away from you is wonderful?!

The "away" command could be usefull too?

Personally I would be dividing them up and teaching the dogs not to howl etc..
 
Keep apart except when in a supervised manner. Just remember, no of course your son does not understand right now but its a relatively short amount of time before he will understand more and more boundries can be put in place and things will ease off. Make sure you dont unwittingly build a resentment towards your son from the dogs perspective by segregating too much. They can still be in the same room together under your supervision to make sure no tail grabbing etc goes on.
Also if this is very out of character for your dog, including the growl at you, have you considered he's in pain or under the weather maybe? Give him a good check over and keep an eye on him. Maybe he's hurt his tail or something?
 
Do you have a playpen for your son? Do people even still ever use them (God, I'm showing my age now!) I'm not saying your son has to go in it all the time but it might be useful for you to have him contained when you need to turn your back for a moment - as all busy mothers do have to from time to time!
 
domane said:
Do you have a playpen for your son? Do people even still ever use them (God, I'm showing my age now!) I'm not saying your son has to go in it all the time but it might be useful for you to have him contained when you need to turn your back for a moment - as all busy mothers do have to from time to time!
Click to expand...

No I don't but as we are in a bungalow my sons bedroom is opposite our living room and so if I do need to turn my back for a second that room is completely decked out to totally safe for him to do whatever he will! I'll also put him in there if I am distracted by something i.e. on the phone etc.
 
We have four dogs and a 4 month old baby. So far it's all going very well but I can understand why a dog might give a warning growl if the baby pinched it, pulled its tail or inadvertently hurt it in some way. Planning ahead we have a pen in the living room for the baby, so the dogs can be free, and a room divider in my office so the baby can crawl around safely. In between they also get a lot of supervised time together so the dogs don't feel left out and the baby eventually starts to learn how to react.

You can get room dividers in very long lengths and they adjust to all sorts of distances. We got ours off e-bay.
 
Baby gates would be a good investment so they both are divided and have their own personal space.

Try not to worry too much. Could your dog be feeling left out? Or trying to re-arrange the pecking order in the family? Does he get daily walks and bonding time with you?

I don't think you should lock him away as it might just make the matter worse. Try putting them in the same room together whilst your there for a short period of time. You need to keep socialising them with each other so he learns how to behave correctly. Locking him away won't do you any favours as he won't learn how to behave correctly. When he behaves reward and praise him, if he doesn't they react promptly and tell him no.

Your baby's a new member of the family and it's a new situation for your dog so he just needs to learn the boundaries.

It's a dog's natural instinct. I.e. a mother dog will snarl, growl at her pups to warn them... I'm not saying it's acceptable but it's what he understands.

He'll soon start learning :)
 
The dog gave a warning, he did not "bite" which is effectively what you want, its the next best thing to the dog jumping up and swiftly retreating to somewhere and obviously a heck of a lot better than a bite (you now know) that the dog is not entirely comfortable with a little crawling thing around him, you may find him to be alot more tolerant once the baby is less crawley.
I think what you did in regard to a "no" was correct and sending him to bed, the following him and further chastising was pushing a little to far imo.
In this instance when my baby was making a bee line for the dog I would have made my way to the baby to scoop it up off the floor.
If I was otherwise occupied then the baby would be in a (baby pen) and at times when you want him crawling unrestricted then dogs in conservatorey, if you leave kongs and bones as suggested (only in the shut off area) and pick them up and box them when you release the dogs.

It is up to you where you go from here, I personally dont see this as an aggressive dog, he is simply intolerant/uncomfortable and is letting it be know the only way he knows how (his communication), bit like us saying "get lost/get out of my space. No doubt he would have done the same to a puppy.
 
this is my worst nightmare. We had baby before we got puppy, our daughter is 8 month too and is into everything. from day 1 baby and puppy have been completely besotted with each other! Baby pulls ears and tails, puts them in her mouth.. and puppy just lays and lets her!! Puppy licks and nibbles which we tell her not too but she still manages to sneak a couple in, puppy gets destressed when baby cries.. its all very cute so I think its easy to get too relaxed with the situation, puppy has a crate and uses it quite a lot and I make sure they both get time with me and OH on their own.. and so far so good!! I bet you feel awful :( try not to get down about it.. thers some fab advice here, your dog wasnt being nasty just a warning - if ther anything like my two they won't see themselves as different species!! hehe :) hope it works out for you!! x
 
I personally think your dog behaved in the correct way- he let you and the kid know that he was uncomfortable with the situation he was in. Saying no is all well and good- telling the dog off further when it has gone to its bed is IMO pointless.

When i was a baby- my mum heard me squealing, came in to find my hand in the dogs mouth- dog spat out my hand and sloped off- there was not even a tooth mark on me- it was just the dog saying "enough is enough"- I was terrible for pulling her ears/tail!
 
jules1982 said:
Try one of these, http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/sp+s...om-divider-in-baby-and-childrens-safety+A5702
Click to expand...

thats brilliant, thank you!
We sat down and had a talk about it last night and decided to get a room divider - must admit it hadn't occurred to us before that ou could buy them.

Can I also add that dog walked across babies path when baby batted tail, then dog growled - I didn't let the baby make a beeline for the dog, I always scoop him before he gets there!
 
We are just past this stage (my son is 3 now) and our russell is terrible for growling and grumbling at the other dogs as well as child! We treated her exactly the same as you (in fact i have an unused room divider if you want it) but the real breakthrough came when we "trained" my son to feed Susie treats for sitting on command etc (commands said by me obviously!!!) He also gave her her dinner etc. It seemed to really make her realise that he is a mini person and not an odd shaped dog :rolleyes: Now he is getting to the ball throwing stage and she thinks the sun shines out of his backside :D

And as an interesting aside - we also took on a rescue whippet last year who had grown up with children as a puppy. He is UNBELIEVABLY patient with all kids, even strange ones and will let them do anything to him (although I put a stop to it when it goes too far)
 
Sunny08 said:
We already have a baby gate between the main room and our kitchen but the dogs will jump this or howl if shut in there and can see us, but are ok if the door is shut.
Click to expand...

You can train your dogs to stay - once the other side of the baby gate - and of course howling can be ignored, and will eventually cease.
 
Last edited:
Booboos playpen looks superb. I have a more normal size playpen http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lindam-Ba...Baby_Nursery_Furniture_ET&hash=item4aaf456e59 which I picked up for £30 from our local paper. When my daughter was very young I used to put her in it. However now she is 13months & very mobile I have swapped things around & the playpen is now around the dogs bed.

I have a very elderly labrador x who is rather deaf & moves a great deal slower than the baby. Whenever possible I leave the gate open so she is free to come & go to her own bed (in corner of kitchen) but when baby is on the move & I am busy doing something I can just shut the gate & the dog is free to sleep in peace. I also make sure that baby never crawls into dog bed - its the dogs space & not hers whether the dog is there or not.

This compromise works well as it means everybody can be in the same room. After years of the dog being the most loved member of the family it seems harsh to suddenly make her accept being shut in another room.

You will have to be strict with little hands poking through the bars but its amazing how quickly they learn a strong 'no' if you are consistent enough.
 
A room divider is good! :) Maybe a crate for the dog and a playpen for the child until they are of an age to understand more?? Whatever you do, do NOT tell the dog off for growling....the growl is the warning that precedes further action...ie the bite. If you tell the dog off for the growl and inhibit that action you risk the dog going straight for the bite......I have sadly seen it many times.

Do not allow the situation to arise whereby the dog feels the need to growl; by now you should know your dog! Unfortunately, kids take time to 'train' to become dog friendly!! In the interim, they are best kept apart.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top