To rehome my dogs?

[toughdecision]

I've NCed for this and apologies in advance for the rambling nature of this post. Am trying not to dripfeed.
DD is 8 months old. My dogs are 9 years old and I've owned them since they were 8 weeks old, they are 5 months apart in age.
One of my dogs has growled and challenged my DD on a number of occasions, she's never bitten anyone before (she has mouthed me when she was a lot younger, when I was grooming her as she hates it. I don't groom her now at all, I send her to the groomers every 2 months for a short clip to keep her coat in check). I'm worried she might bite my DD although she has shown affection towards her as well at times.
I have been removing my DD when the dog has growled/challenged and locked the dogs in their sleeping area. I spoke to a behaviourist at a shelter this week and she said I shouldn't remove my DD as this is sending the wrong message to the dog, that what she is doing is okay, she says I should leave DD where she is and correct the dog's behaviour by banging 2 saucepans above her head and this will show her I'm pack leader. I tried banging a biscuit tin when the other dog was barking incessantly and she did stop but my DD was sobbing because the noise was so loud.
I'm very nervous about not removing DD as I do feel it's putting her at risk.
I'm waiting for the shelter to get back to me as I'd want them to be rehomed together as they've never been apart from each other for longer than a few hours if they are at the groomers separately or at the vets.
At the moment, they don't have much of a life. They spend a lot of time in their sleeping area because of the growling and they never get walked anymore as I can't manage them and the pushchair on my own (I have to go down steps to get out of my house and they are very unruly on the lead) and my DH doesn't feel they need to be walked as they're quite sedate breeds and he thinks they're happy [sceptical]. They used to spend all their time being fussed and loved, now they're just being told to constantly move or get in their bed.
But when I look at them, I can't imagine them not being here or with us, they've been our babies for so long.
I've talked to friends and family in RL and I'm getting very mixed opinions, they all know how we feel about them.
DH doesn't really want to rehome but feels that it's making me very stressed out (which it is) and it would take away that anxiety for me.
I really don't know what to do. I feel guilty for keeping them as their quality of life has decreased as they never get walked anymore and they confined a lot of the time but then I also feel guilty if I rehome them that I've not tried hard enough.
I also can't rehome them separately or get rid of one because they are very attached to one another, when we do take them out if one of us crosses the road before the other and they're separated, they are desparate to get to one another. They are in excellent health for their ages and although they are unruly on the lead, they are small dogs and are very affectionate and friendly (apart from the growling dog with my DD).

I worded that wrong - they do understand death etc - but not their own future if that makes sense. They live for the moment and that moment should be happy - not full of stress, misrery and pain.

Oh man if my wine glass wasn't on the table I would hit my head on it.

Growling is NOT a signal that the dog is going to rip your head off. It is a back off, it is a warning. If your dog doesn't growl at you to express leave me alone, give me a minute, however you want to interpret it, then you can start being massively over the top.

Growling can indicate pain, discomfort, annoyance, boredom, a million things.

And I wasn't implying that because it growled it was ready to attack

Wasn't aimed at you Moomin

again, charlearose has articulated what I have badly tried to.

Ok snow I just read my post back and realised I hadn't been clear on that point

I'd love a dog but atm I know I don't have the time needed to train and care for one.

Is it better to wait until the dc are a bit older and can understand you need to give a dog space etc rather than getting one during the toddler years?

Perhaps OP would like to come to "work" with me tomorrow. We have 33 dogs at the moment. 28 cats. Not to mention the rabbits and guineas. By the end of the week there will be nothing I can do to prevent 5 dogs being "put to sleep", isn't that a kind way of saying killed because someone got bored of them.

If it was me I would get a dog while the kids are young. If you can commit to being a parent to an extra kid (the dog) and teaching them all to get along. It can be fantastic for children to grow up with a dog.

A good rescue centre will match your families requirements with a dog that will fit in. If you have little ones (U5) they will probably recommend an older dog and most people don't want an older dog but they are generally great with kids. If you have older children, pre-teen/teen an energetic dog could be brilliant for your situation.

It depends very much on your children and home (i.e. garden/yard/no outside space).

I am generalising massively of course.

That must be gutting for you Snow :( I am lucky that where I am is no kill. However we have 20 feral cats coming in next week. I have no idea how the shelter will cope for space or money - all need to be neutered, vaccinated and tamed :( Not cheap or easy.

Where are you Skinned? We are not RSPCA thank God but we are almost 100% dependent on donations and I try, to the point of driving family and friends insane, to get the animals adopted, or at least fostered. It is obviously impossible though to save them all. I have 8 (!) at the moment (dogs) and I am due another on Tuesday.

I have a range of ages dc's 17, 9 18months and another due in feb so won't be considering it until the baby is here and settled.

My grandad has always had older rescue dogs so I think we will probably go down that route when the time is right.

So if growling is a warning to 'leave me alone / back off' then the OP should very much err on the side of caution and remove her baby from the dog's vicinity... Or no Snowflake ? It may be that the dog couldn't / wouldnt do any harm but who'd risk it with their baby just for the sake of a dog's mental state?
I actually think, OP, that you shouldn't rehome your dogs. I think that after 9 years you would miss them terribly and feel guilty. And that's if they were to find a home. The alternative would be awful.
I also agree though that they shouldn't pull on the lead, have you tried halties?
Start taking them for walks again, with DD - really good point from another poster that it will mean your dogs will associate your DD with something good and also see that she is part of the family now but no threat to them. The more you do it the more you will get used to it.
Don't listen to everyone demonising you though, your dilemma is valid and you are obviously genuinely concerned for your DD and your dogs.

Should we steer clear of the RSPCA ?

Congrats Moomin.

Perhaps wait until your new baby has settled into the family and consider getting a calm older rescue dog? Can be great for the kids and you have older ones that can take on some responsibility of walks, training etc. Not to mention you'll be quite used to clearing up poop

I wouldn't touch the RSPCA with a 4 million foot bargepole. Independent rescue all the way.

Decide on a breed and don't BUY it, approach an independent rescue. (Almost every dog breed has a rescue dedicated to that particular breed). They can match you with the perfect dog. It can/will take time (which is why most people choose to just buy one) but if you can wait then you can get a dog that fits in with your family perfectly and you will wonder how you ever lived without it

I am in Hungary! What is interesting is we actually export dogs and cats to other european countries such as Germany and Swizerland where there are very few strays, and they are begging for shelter puppies.

We are also dependent on donations and the shelter runs at a massive loss. I have no idea how it keeps going. Me and the vet pay ourselves for some of the more expensive treatments and medicines and I am rehomeing/fostering a lot to medical and vet students.

By export I mean they to to shelters in other countries with waiting lists!!!!! Not selling them for profit! Just finding new, loving homes :) Even some old toy bitches that had been abandoned (once they had served their use from a puppy mill) found nice homes in Germany :)

Skinned - why would they want shelter animals? Genuine question. I wish it was like that here.

You must be doing an absolutely fantastic job. I applaud you. Do you have any connection with any shelters in UK?

Is there not a backstreet breeding culture in germany/sweden?

I am out of internet time on my dongle! Good to talk to all the normal people who don't believe animals are accessories. Take care.

Years ago when we got a cat from a rescue centre there was a ddb, it must have been about 6 foot stood up. Dp thought it was lovely but I think a smaller breed would probably be better.

I know we have a rescue centre close to us that rehomed retired greyhounds, my sister has always wanted one. my grandads always had dogs of the Heinz verity and my fil had Rottweilers for years and now has a staffy, but he has lots of experiance training bigger dogs.

There seem to be an awful lot of people getting shirty about the idea of these dogs being rehomed 'just because a baby has come along'. Hmmm...well, a baby is infinitely more important than a pet dog, and frankly, if a dog poses ANY hint of a risk to a child, then the dog most certainly does become disposable. Dogs are NOT human, and they don't think like humans, no matter how much dog owners like to think they do. The dogs can be rehomed. As long as they're taken to a shelter that will care for them until they find a new home, what's the big deal?
op If you feel that rehoming them is the best thing for your baby, yourself and your dogs, you should do it. You have no reason to feel guilty