Dogs behaviour around baby, help please?

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Farma

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I have a 4 month baby and have 2 JRTs, who are both angels with the baby, mainly they just try to play with him and lick him but I have noticed lately that the older dog runs to the baby when he cries to lay next to him until I pick him up. The only thing is that the last few weeks I have noticed that he is trembling while he lays there.
I have had this dog for 8 years and he is very confident amongst people and other dogs etc but also becomes very upset if he ever thinks he might be in trouble, so much so that if I hadn't had him from a pup I would wonder what on earth had happened to him ( he probably has been told off about 3 times in 8 years as he is just such a good dog) just wondering why the baby crying would upset him and if anyone else can decipher the behaviour or has experienced anything similar?
Thanks x
 
I was of the understanding that terrier types can overly react to the sounds that babies make.

You sound very switched on to your dogs actions and feelings, I would definitely be treating it as a warning sign and not let the dogs have actual access to your baby.

I am someone who allowed my dogs access to my children but in this situation I would be very careful. They are not little for long and I am sure when your son is older he will have a fab relationship with your dog :)
 
LJR said:
I was of the understanding that terrier types can overly react to the sounds that babies make.

You sound very switched on to your dogs actions and feelings, I would definitely be treating it as a warning sign and not let the dogs have actual access to your baby.

I am someone who allowed my dogs access to my children but in this situation I would be very careful. They are not little for long and I am sure when your son is older he will have a fab relationship with your dog :)
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Thanks for that, I don't know much about dog behaviour really so appreciate any advice. Definitely don't want to be ignorant and then regret it!!!
 
Farma said:
Thanks for that, I don't know much about dog behaviour really so appreciate any advice. Definitely don't want to be ignorant and then regret it!!!
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Neither do I, however I am pretty sure you know your dogs very, very well :) It's just something to think about :)
 
For whatever reason, your dog is anxious when the baby cries. Please keep them separate at all times, or this could end very badly.

I had to rehome our lovely collie/whippet cross because he hated the new baby crying, he'd have done anything to make the noise stop. Our other dog, a JRT, was brilliant and welcomed the new baby from the start.
 
I would also see this as an anxious/stressed behaviour and would avoid allowing the dogs and the baby with access to each other. A baby's cry can also trigger a dog's predatory instincts and to all intents and purposes may appear like live prey or a squeaky toy to a dog.
 
I also agree that you dog is becoming stressed by the baby crying and you have to be extremely careful. Baby gates, a park and any other means of keeping them separate unless you are closely supervising the situation are all useful. You may also want to try Adaptil and/or Zylkene to help your dog adjust.
 
Your dogs should not be in a situation where they can get to lay next to your baby when she cries before you can get there! Lots of options including putting baby in a raised cot or pram or a play pen, and/or use of baby gates, crates, doggy play pens etc, depending on the set up of your home, baby age etc.
 
WorkingGSD said:
I would also see this as an anxious/stressed behaviour and would avoid allowing the dogs and the baby with access to each other. A baby's cry can also trigger a dog's predatory instincts and to all intents and purposes may appear like live prey or a squeaky toy to a dog.
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This ^^^

Often a baby's cry can sound very much like an injured animal to a dog. Terriers, especially Jack Russells, are renown for having a high prey drive, even the most docile, human devoted JRT can turn its attention in a second and revert to type, if faced with what it perceives as prey. Even another dog squealing or crying can stimulate another dog to attack it, believing it's prey or weak.

My exOH's JRT is an out and out gentleman in all situations, however, at the age of 3, (rather late for a JRT) he came across his first rat and immediately reverted to type, turning into the natural predator his instincts told him he was. Unfortunately he made a school boy error and caught the rat by its tail, receiving a bite to his nose which necessitated a trip to the vet to reduce his hugely swollen face but not before he fully dispatched the rat of course. He has never made the same mistake since.

I have also witnessed a pack of dogs attack a subordinate member, when it became entangled in a plastic garden fence and squealed out in shock/surprise, rather than any physical injury. There were about 9 dogs in total. The others immediately acted like a pack of wild dogs, as opposed to being the family pets they were,(?) and set upon the unfortunate one with a vengeance. I was horrified. It took the owners, their friend and I, to separate the ensuing melee. Thankfully, due to our intervention, none of the dogs were seriously injured, although I left feeling all the dogs were living in an extremely unstable and volatile environment. An environment I wouldn't wish to live in

I think it is imperative you keep baby and dogs separate for the time being at least farma, and never ever should they be left alone together, not even for a second.
 
Please keep them seperate, and don't let them lick the baby. I am no hygiene freak but have you seen what else they lick? My son grew up with terriers and both he and my stepson have been bitten through people not seeing the trigger coming, thankfully neither seriously, and that was when they were 3/4. As a baby the dogs did not have access.
 
chillipup said:
This ^^^

Often a baby's cry can sound very much like an injured animal to a dog. Terriers, especially Jack Russells, are renown for having a high prey drive, even the most docile, human devoted JRT can turn its attention in a second and revert to type, if faced with what it perceives as prey. Even another dog squealing or crying can stimulate another dog to attack it, believing it's prey or weak.

My exOH's JRT is an out and out gentleman in all situations, however, at the age of 3, (rather late for a JRT) he came across his first rat and immediately reverted to type, turning into the natural predator his instincts told him he was. Unfortunately he made a school boy error and caught the rat by its tail, receiving a bite to his nose which necessitated a trip to the vet to reduce his hugely swollen face but not before he fully dispatched the rat of course. He has never made the same mistake since.

I have also witnessed a pack of dogs attack a subordinate member, when it became entangled in a plastic garden fence and squealed out in shock/surprise, rather than any physical injury. There were about 9 dogs in total. The others immediately acted like a pack of wild dogs, as opposed to being the family pets they were,(?) and set upon the unfortunate one with a vengeance. I was horrified. It took the owners, their friend and I, to separate the ensuing melee. Thankfully, due to our intervention, none of the dogs were seriously injured, although I left feeling all the dogs were living in an extremely unstable and volatile environment. An environment I wouldn't wish to live in

I think it is imperative you keep baby and dogs separate for the time being at least farma, and never ever should they be left alone together, not even for a second.
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Chillipup - my lurcher and b-in-laws labrador ripped a harrier hound in half here once, over a dying rabbit. It was truly horrible and nothing I ever want to see again, they are always potential pack dogs and killers even when they are the sweetest dogs around.
 
Clodagh said:
Chillipup - my lurcher and b-in-laws labrador ripped a harrier hound in half here once, over a dying rabbit. It was truly horrible and nothing I ever want to see again, they are always potential pack dogs and killers even when they are the sweetest dogs around.
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Oh, how awful Clodagh, you're absolutely right, I think we often forget just how closely related our pet dogs still are to their wild ancestors.
 
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