Dogs and babies...

Wow. I know my greyhounds are fabulous with children (even though I dont have any myself) but I would never EVER let them get into the sort of proximity shown in those photos - one sudden movement, quick nip, the baby could be fatally injured and it would all be the poor dogs fault :( :( :(

I grew up with boxers when I was very small, they were extremely protective of me and my sister but luckily my mum has more than her fair share of common sense and it was never a problem
 
It was a long time ago, nearly 26 years now, but we had two BCs and a Dobbie when I had our first boy, maybe we were lucky but we never had a problem with the dogs and the boys, used common sense around them, the collies needed watching more than the Dobbie who was soft as butter. Boys were tought to respect the dogs and were in general never left alone with the dogs.
The last BC we had was very protective of children, any children, which could be somewhat embarrassing at times, jumping into next doors garden to put herself between adults running down the garden yelling, in play at the kids in a paddling pool��
 
I don't think it's got anything to do with 'trusting' the dog. Do I trust my dog? Yes, of course I do. I take all sorts of liberties with him. However, I do these in the full knowledge that he is first and foremost a dog - and I trust that he will remain so, and react accordingly. I will therefore not put him in a position where his behaving like a dog might end up getting someone hurt, least of all a baby or small child.

Bit of common sense goes a long way IMO - that, and remembering what your dog actually is. Which is to say, a dog!
 
I dont really care about licking faces/ proximity when supervised but leaving a baby in with the dog on its own is pretty irresponsible- if your dog nips the baby, but leaves a facial scar, how would you feel? Would your child ever forgive you for living with disfigurement?
Or if baby starts crawling and graps a sore bit, dog growls and baby pulls - even the most placed dog might bite..
 
SusieT said:
I dont really care about licking faces/ proximity when supervised but leaving a baby in with the dog on its own is pretty irresponsible- if your dog nips the baby, but leaves a facial scar, how would you feel? Would your child ever forgive you for living with disfigurement?
Or if baby starts crawling and graps a sore bit, dog growls and baby pulls - even the most placed dog might bite..
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if the dog is supervised or not - if they suddenly snap, you wouldn't have time to prevent a tragedy from happening whether you were stood next to them or not. At the very least, like you say, it could be superficial wounds leading to scars or it could be the unthinkable. But either way, why anyone would let a dog lick a baby's face is beyond me. Not least because of the bacteria and thought of where a dog has been licking prior...
 
I have to say, the pictures of a vulnerable baby so close to a dog are very concerning to me. A dog is still a dog no matter how trustworthy and no baby should ever be put at that kind of risk. If the dog snapped, there's no saying what damage could be done. I don't particularly like it when my dog licks my face, let alone the face of a baby.
 
Moomin1 said:
It doesn't matter if the dog is supervised or not - if they suddenly snap, you wouldn't have time to prevent a tragedy from happening whether you were stood next to them or not. At the very least, like you say, it could be superficial wounds leading to scars or it could be the unthinkable. But either way, why anyone would let a dog lick a baby's face is beyond me. Not least because of the bacteria and thought of where a dog has been licking prior...
Click to expand...

The thing is, where does it end?

When do you leave your child and dog alone together? Once the child is a teenager?
 
SpringArising said:
The thing is, where does it end?

When do you leave your child and dog alone together? Once the child is a teenager?
Click to expand...

When they are old enough to be responsible and when they are big enough to be at less risk of serious harm if the dog did turn. One nip could easily kill a small baby before anyone had time to do anything about it. Personally I wouldn't even leave an 8 yr old alone with a dog, but that's just me.
 
SpringArising said:
The thing is, where does it end?

When do you leave your child and dog alone together? Once the child is a teenager?
Click to expand...

Another response; I'd probably consider it to be safe when the relationship is reached where the dog accepts and follows the child's instructions, and sees its place in the pack as being next one down. It would depend upon the dog, I suppose. I've had many dogs, and some which lived indoors, that I would never leave with another adult, far less a child.

Alec.
 
SpringArising said:
The thing is, where does it end?

When do you leave your child and dog alone together? Once the child is a teenager?
Click to expand...

Depends on the dog and child, surely.

I'd cheerfully walk out of the room for a short time, leaving my dog and 6 year old nephew - I know them both, and they cheerfully and peacefully ignore one another! Spud is happy snoozing in his bed, while little L plays quietly with his toys. I might feel differently about a rowdier child or dog.

I used to take our big old lab out for long walks with my friends of a similar age and their dogs, from the age of 11 or so. All of our dogs were under better control than some you see being walked by grown adults.

You have to make judgements based on your own common sense.
 
SpringArising said:
Under no circumstances, whatsoever?

Even if both were in the living room and you needed to nip into the kitchen?
Click to expand...

Nope. Unless I could completely trust that child not to go near the dog, and the dog was fast asleep. But even then, I would only leave for a matter of seconds if that.
 
I think when Dobiegirl says commonsense used to be more common she hit the nail on the head.
By 10 my kids were walking the dogs, like Spudlet says.
I think when you get home with your new babty you are very hormonol and protective, which is right and natural, and then as you relax you find an easy way to work things. It is a good idea as has been said to sort dogs new restrictions/routines before baby comes though.
I give you I was a pretty dreadful mother, my horse once jumped out over her stable door narrowly missing the pushchair and I was worried as she had scraped her saddle doing it. (blush).
 
I don't even like kids but surely the potential for damage compared to the size of the child is pretty logical? By 8 we were borrowing neighbours dogs for walks with friends and had a great time bit not 8 weeks - I don't see that either dog or baby benefit from close contact at a young age at all, let alone when you weigh up the risks.
 
What is the first reaction of a dog in pain? To protect itself, of course. I have been shown some holds used by the police to restrain a human aggressor which require very little pressure at all. Pressure on one of these nerve points on a dog will instinctively cause it to protect itself with a bite. A small child sitting on a dog's leg when it is in the wrong position could very easily provoke that bite. It's not a matter of trusting the dog but a matter of the child inadvertently triggering a defence reaction in the dog.
 
I probably started leaving the lads and the dogs together for short times unsupervised from the age of about 3 or 4 years.

The lads were extremely well trained on how to behave around dogs, though. There was absolutely no teasing them, or catching them by surprise, or feeding them. Ditto, I knew my dogs, the JRT plus a Cavalier, were very well used to the lads.

Any dog, no matter how angelic, may snap if an unruly child pounces on it whilst it's asleep.
 
Last edited:
Well I'll bite. I've had my dogs since they were each 8 weeks old and know how they tick. When I leave them in the living room with my 2yo son (and the same goes for when he was a baby) to nip to the loo or sort some laundry I have total and utter confidence that they will do him no harm. They aren't terribly interested in him tbh and certainly aren't protective... that would get my hackles up.

Frankly, it does not matter a jot to me whether anyone on here is horrified or not because I am comfortable with my decisions :)

Anyway, OP - I would highly recommend working on key commands such as 'leave it', 'away' and 'bed'. Also, get some baby toys and get your dog used to not being allowed to sniff these or pick them up. If your dog currently has any habits (jumping up, putting paws on people, licking people, sitting on laps etc) which you consider ok when done to an adult but would be not ok for a child... I strongly recommend stamping on these - hard - asap.

Congratulations btw! :D
 
SpringArising said:
The thing is, where does it end?

When do you leave your child and dog alone together? Once the child is a teenager?
Click to expand...

When the child knows when to give the dog it's space, ie when dog is in it's bed, do not disturb.
We rescued a very aggressive GSD at 10 yr old, gave him ground rules and he became our pet, 2 yrs on and my first grandchild is expected, knowing Kaisers history, I spent many a sleepness night worrying, grandson duly arrived and calmly was shown to Kaiser, who went into protective mode, lying beside the settee or travel cot, sounded cute, but not good, if grandson ever needed telling off, I knew Kaiser would go into attack mode, not my grandson, but whoever was doing the telling off, once my grandson started crawling, he was never ever left alone with Kaiser, who a year later reverted to aggressive behaviour due to a brain tumour and was pts, yet my grandson, now 4yr old still remembers his large hairy friend
 
My dog likes to jump up (trying to curb that one) , put her paws on people, lick people and sit on laps! This is why I would not let her loose around a small child.... Often people think small dogs are better around children but actually she is more likely to be overwhelmed by a small child because of her size, and she is pretty lively/bouncy. A saluki might well be easier as they tend to be quieter and calmer generally.
 
I have 3 dogs all live a majority of time in the kitchen with a stair gate up. I walk them twice a day and they come in for sofa cuddles when children go to bed.I am in and out most of the day and have a five year old and a two year old.
My dogs are very good 99% of the time but I would never leave anything to chance they behave differently when I am there to when alone. I love my dogs but as puppy's they have always known the kitchen is there place. And the children are respectful of this and been taught that they never take things from the dogs never feed them and leave them alone when they are sleeping.
When supervised my children love thier dogs stroke them, kiss them (not on thier face) and my two year old even 'trains' them e.g sit lay, in your bed she walks the littlen on the lead. It works for me because they are restricted to one room. Having the run of the house i feel would be an accident waiting to happen no matter how much i trust my dogs i will never trust them 100% as they are an animal and not a robot.
An incident to me doesnt have to mean a bite it could be as simple as a dog rushing past on the stairs or the child falling on the dog.
I would even consider having another dog in my family, it can be done and be lovely but everything worth while is hard work. my children and the dogs adore each other but they each have respect for each other.
I would completely agree that changes need to be made as soon as you find out your expecting if behaviours aren't acceptable and then it won't be so distressing for your dog when the baby arrives. How ever much I love my beautiful animals my babies come first no matter what.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top