Anyone with dogs??

[Mummytobe2014]

With every case on the news just recently with these poor babies/toddlers being attacked and killed in their homes by the pet dogs, those with dogs does this worry you?

We have two dogs and my mum/dad keep asking if we will get rid of them as they worry about what cld happen. Im 37 weeks pregnant and its not something i considered.

Obviously it goes without saying that the dogs wld never be left with lo without supervision.

Im just curious on others thoughts??

I also have a dog and I'm 38 weeks pregnant. She is also our baby and part of the family so there is no way we would consider getting rid of her.

We are also not planning to leave them unsupervised but also planning on letting our dog have a good sniff about the baby so she accepts them as part of the pack.

I've a Springer spaniel, he was my first baby. Now have 4 children and he's been wonderful with them all. My ddhas had him dressed in her fancy dress outfits. I've never had to worry about him. He would often sit and guard them when they were in the Moses basket.
I think it depends on each individual dog really. My mum had a yorkie and that was evil. Would never leave a child unattended with it.
It's probably best to be over cautious at the outset.

We brought baby home without dog being around for a few days to let us all settle in. Seemed to work well too.

We have 2 dogs, they are working dogs so exceptionally well trained. They would not be left alone with a baby.

They are not a dangerous breed and they are sufficiently exercised and cared for so an incident would be very unlikely, but even so I would not leave them alone with a young child.

Thats basically what i said to my dad but he wasnt having any of it. Im getting frustrated having to defend it all the time.
He doesnt understand how they r part of our family and even tho he grew up with dogs he doesnt agree that dogs should be part of a family unit so he feels we shouldnt keep them.
Their worry is now getting to me...

I think the most recent tragidy is so fresh and that dog wasnt classed as a dangerous breed so they say that its a worry fof them.

Disclaimer: I don't have dogs or children!
But I'm pg and we definitely want to get a dog when it's possible. Having watched various family and friends dogs with new babies, I do think that in general they tend to 'know' and be very gentle and protective with babies. Obviously I'd still be overcautious in the beginning and never leave the dog/babies where they could reach each other (think my niece does more damage to the dog than the other way round!) but unless you've got dogs you know don't like children or are aggressive I wouldn't worry?

There's more to these stories. The latest one, the dad apparently rescued the dog from the previous owner who was going to destroy it, only a few months ago. So the dog was new to the family AND there must've been a reason for the previous owner wanting it PTS.

We have a dog, we've had her from age 10 weeks and she's now 16 yo (!!). She's lovely and soft with DD1 but we still have and will continue to exercise caution. Before bringing DD1 home my DH brought back one of her worn baby clothes for the dog to smell. We've continued to give her attention and care as previously.

My partner has 2 girls from a previous who r 8 & 11 now so the dogs have been round kids for few yrs just not babies, but they love the girls and have never showed any agression. I wasnt worried but it keeps being brought up which is making me anxious and annoyed.
We would never leave the baby with the dogs or in reach when me or dp isnt around but this didnt seem enough for them.

Our dog was so jealous of DD when we brought her home. We could have got rid of her, but she was also my baby too. We made sure they were never alone - ever.
It wasn't too tricky, even though it took a while, but now DD and the dog are best friends. Whenever DD cries the dog is the first to rush to her side, they cuddle up together and she has tolerated all manner of prodding and dressing up!
Having said all of that I don't think you should ever trust a dog totally.
If you love your dogs and you can give them time to adjust, then it can be fine.

Hi stevie your so right there is always more to these stories, i hadnt really seen much about this one so was unaware it was a recent rescue! Which is similar to one not too long ago but the girl was slightly older.
We r going to bring home something that smells of baby first as dp will be coming home before me at some point and their routine will remain the same as will the care etc
Its jst hard when your mum and dad are sitting there telling me what they think we should do and making me feel bad for keeping them.

Supervision is only useful if you know what to look for. Read up and learn the dog signals that show s/he is unhappy - starting points are lip licking, wide eyes with lots of white and looking away.

You need to learn to read your dog for the signs that say your dog isn't happy. By the time the dog growls you will have already missed up to 20 signals from your dog that s/he isn't happy with the situation. If you get to a snap or bite, then you really haven't been watching at all. The dog should NEVER have to tolerate anything.

The dog needs a place to escape to where the baby (and especially toddler and older) can't and isn't allowed to go to, and it needs to be accessable at all times.

Also, bare in mind, that babies make some strange noises, and are (relatively) unpredictable and for a lot of dogs that's unnerving. Baby toys often make odd noises too which can cause dogs to either investigate or worry about them

Hundreds and hundreds of families bring home babies to homes with dogs every year. That doesn't lessen the recent tragedy, but it does mean it is completely possible if you are careful and responsible.

I think you need to be really brutally honest with yourself about your dogs' current behaviour right now? Are they ever snappy? Defensive around food? Toys? If you have even the slightest niggle about anything then find yourself a good trainer (www.apbc.org.uk/) to get a plan in place.

Get a reliable dog walker - friend or paid - on call, and get the dog used to them, so the dog can get exercised even if you're having a crap week with the baby. Tired dogs tend to be much better behaved!

Think through situations as far as you can - if baby is going to sleep in a Moses basket in the lounge/cot in the hall etc, is there a way of shutting the dog away from them so you can make yourself some lunch/answer the door etc. Install dog/child gates if needs be (you'll need them by the time you have a toddler anyhow!). Consider stair gates from Day 1 if your dog ever goes upstairs.

And prepare yourself to get to the end of the day and realise you've spent all day feeding, exercising and bagging poo!

The previous poster makes a lot of really good points. Something I'll add which is worth remembering, is that babies and children are tiny and less resilient to injury. I think some people have visions of a dog attacking their child so dismiss the risk as it is very unlikely. However, even a quick nip from a small dog if in just the wrong place could be catastrophic.

Absolutely don't get rid of your dogs if you don't want to, but perhaps consider adjusting your living space to remove any risk of your dogs being in unsupervised contact with your baby. If you are sensible about the fact that dogs are animals and that babies are also fairly unpredictable then you should be able to easily keep everyone safe and happy.

I have 2 dogs, a 2.3yo DS toddler & a 4 week old DD baby. A lot of good advice has been given already but the main thing that helped me when DS was born was having a safe place i could put him down quickly where the dogs couldnt reach/get to him so i could answer the door, go to the loo etc. this was a travel cot downstairs and his main cot upstairs.

Now the dogs are in more danger of being attacked by the toddler

I am worried about this too. Got 3 months left to go, and although I know what we're going to do to manage the situation, the stories make me really nervous.

For me, it's important there is no break in our dog's routine wrt walks etc, and we have a crate that we used when we were first training him, so he will be kept in that whilst the baby is around. I am not taking any chances.

We have a dog im pg with #1. We won't be gettin rid of her. she is a spaniel and very tolerant around small children, however I will make sure they are never unattended together. I dont think she would ever do anything but you cant be 100% sure and should be careful.

Another family member has a spaniel that was rehomed to them after snapping at a toddler. It wont be going anywhere near baby...

I have 3 dogs a boxer and 2 staffies. I'm pregnant , when baby comes along I will get gate to keep dogs out of room baby is, even if I'm there. All it takes is a moment of lapsed concentration and as someone pointed out even a small nip could cause serious if not fatal damage to a baby

I don't believe breed has anything to do, even a JRT killed a baby a few years ago, so it does not have to be powerful dogs. Small ones can be just a deadly. I also don't think it matters how well you know the dog or how great you have brought it up
I know someone who's loving family pet turned on their 8 year old son and pinned him to the ground snarling , this dog had bed brought up with this child and they were best friend. The owners took dog to be PTS immediately but thought it so strange got a post Morton done , turns out the dog had a brain tumor which the vets believe had caused him to attack the child, not really the dogs fault, it's brain was not working the same.

So knowing this if never leave any dog alone with a child , it's just too risky , and yes often a bad past can be to blame but famil pets do turn too and the famous last words are

He has never done that before

It only takes once, don't risk it. Get stair gates and keep dogs away at all times, yes it might upset them being shut out but the child of course has to take priority.

I won't get rid of my dogs, but they will no longer have freedom to roam house while child is awake and downstairs. My dogs don't get up stairs anyway .

I'm 38 weeks pregnant and we have a dog.

She's pretty well behaved, although does get excited when playing with toys. We worked hard at keeping games in the kitchen and being quiet and calm in the living room which seems to have worked.

Ultimately it's about finding a solution that keeps the child safe and the dog happy. We have a playpen that we use as a room divider when small children come around (ones who don't like to be licked!) and will use this to put the baby behind if it's on it's playmat etc, so we can all be in the same room, but separated in necessary!

Thanks everyone, completely agree with all posts and some very valid advice has been given.
My dogs r kept in the kitchen to sleep and this is their area which is seperated by a gate and we will be getting a gate for the stairs altho our dogs r not allowed upstairs and have never been upstairs but to be on the safe side we will get one. We r both sensible people andhave thought about these things and i wld never leave them alone with baby. Our hse is pretty small so its not difficult to get dogs into kitchen if i need to pop upstairs etc..
Op makes a very good point about a small bite being catastrophic!
I have also heard of illness making pets turn so will be mindful of this too.
With regards to their routine they sleep all day and my dp walks them later on this wint change, the only thing which will change for them will be getting woken up more by the baby but im hopeful they will quickly get used to it.
The playpen idea down stairs makes good sense as its a safe place to put baby down so will look into this too.
Thank you for all your posts i really appreciate your help/advice

I would never get rid of my two huge hulking brutes who don't have a brain cell between them they were my babies first and foremost however
i will not be leaving them in the same room as baby EVER and we have invested in kiddie gates/stair gates and have had them up for a while so i can easily separate dogs from baby i would advise doing the same best money i have spent so far
Our home is all on one floor so baby's room is off limits and have been teaching them this for months only a few more weeks to go till LO arrives have also done pushchair training basically a doll in the buggy with a youtube clip of a screaming baby on my phone hidden behind the doll and walking with pushchair etc they don't pay any attention to it anymore

If however you do chose to "get rid" please find a nice rescue or family member to take them don't advertise for free etc or give them to strangers

If the comments about when are you getting rid of them are annoying you my favorite reply (family hate my animals) "getting rid of them? no i'm getting another!" (really sarcastic) they don't comment anymore :)

Thanks Ferrets i have told my mum today how i felt and she apologised for my dads tactlessness!
The pram/doll training is a very good idea and something i will do asap.
I would never rehome my dogs to jst anyone trust me on that, their pedigree bulldogs and sadly they cld end up in wrong hands too easily - iv seen it! i love them way too much for that! I absolutly do not want to rehome them and we will do everything to ensure this does not happen.

God they wld have a heart attack if i said we were getting another one lol

I have two big rottweiler cross dogs. Although they are boisterous I couldn't be without them.

I would only consider parting with them if they showed signs of agression to either myself, my partner or my baby. They will never be left alone with baby and they will be taught their place in the pack.

I have 2 massive dogs and a 7mo DS. There have never been any problems, dogs showed no interest in baby - they are getting mroe interested now that he's eating and dropping food on the floor

There's a lot more on this in the Doghouse section, but just to point out that 'pack' theory has pretty much been discredited, so be very wary of any trainer talking about your need to assert your and your baby's dominance/place in the pack over your dog. Dogs know that they are dogs, we are humans,and babies are humans.

That's not to say that they don't need boundaries, clear and consistent instructions, and company.