Anyone been in situation where anxious dog snapping and growling at baby? What did you do?

[Sarahsb]

I would really like some constructive advice.

I have other children but also a 1 yr old dd.
One of our dogs has always been rather highly strung and vey anxious. This has been getting worse over the last few years and unfortunately has led to him being unable to cope with noise and bustle of walking 1 year old.

He has started snapping ans growling at the baby even if he hasn't touched him and is just walking towards him. He runs away as soon as baby cries etc.

He basically hides in his crate all day, which is no life for a dog.

I have spoken to a behaviourist who said that although he can help us to manage the dogs behaviour, he is so anxious that he can't guarantee anything won't happen.

I don't feel that I can risk the possibility of anyting happening as our house is small so unless dog is in crate, it isn't safe. Dh wants to manage behaviour but he isn't at home all day trying to keep very active baby away from dog in a small house. I am treading on eggshells worrying about it.

Please only give constructive advice and experience as dont want a thread about how wrong it is to rehome a dog. I agree but ultimately my baby's safety has to come first.

I think this is manageable but that depends hugely on you having the mindset and commitment to following the problem through.

Your expectations need to be realigned perhaps - no dog can or should be expected to tolerate children invading its space. However, its possible to live a comfortable life with careful management of the situation, provided you accept and understand your dog's limitations.

No time to write more detail but I would say you need to think carefully about the level of commitment you are prepared to offer. It is doable but only if you can give 100% to resolving the problem. If you can't then you need to rethink the whole thing.

I would love to know wht you mean in more detail when you have time.

We can work on it but obviously constrained my family life.

Also I agree about a dog being allowed more space but equally by baby should be able to walk past the dog without being growled at.
We have another dog who is absolutely fine.

Dog is scared of baby. Babies are unpredictable and frightening. Dog cannot covey this verbally so relies on body language to communicate. Growling is last resort before biting if body language is not effective in telling you he isn't happy with the situation. By allowing child to approach dog you are leaving dog with no alternatives.

You cannot expect dog to be ok with this unless you teach dog baby is a good thing and meantime give dog the space it desperately needs.

If the expert is concerned and worries that training won't curb the behaviour I would be taking the advice very seriously. It's a personal decision but I would not keep a dog that was aggressive around children.

As an aside have you tried Adaptil collars/diffusers? It might be worth a try along other ideas.

I agree. But behaviourist says he is so anxious normally even without baby that it is hard. Baby isn't allowed to approach dog but the baby does need to be able to move from room to room without dog growling me worrying.

Dog just retreats into crate which also doesn't seem fair.
Thanks for opinion.

Behaviourist suggested Bach rescue remedy which we will try in meantime.

Dogs express stress by looking away, moving away, lip licking, yawning, lifting a paw, staring, a tight muzzle, hard eyes then eventually if this is ineffective growling and biting. Most DC and many adults do not notice there's a problem until dog is at biting stage. Identifying stress signals earlier and acting to help dog feel safe can alleviate huge amount of stress from dog and reduce likelihood of bites.

Could your dog be rehomed? I just think the current situation is not tenable for either your DC or your dog.

Sorry, I realise this is probably just what you do not want to hear......

Bach is waste of time. Need more positive action here. Is behaviourist APBC member, did they visit home and assess dog there?

I'd look to re-home him tbh. Sorry but better than the alternatives. Do you have any friends/family who could try a temporary basis?

Has the behaviourist not given you any advice in how to manage it?

Slightly different as my dog growls at dh. We've been told that every time dh leaves the room, enters the room, walk past the dog that dh has to throw treats to the dog so dog associates dh moving about with nice things happening. Our dog is also scared and anxious.

At any growling or other signs of unease from the dog dh isn't to approach any further but is to back off without making eye contact.

We're not to tell the dog off for growling, growling is a dogs fairly polite way of saing he's not happy. If he's told not to do that he may go straight to biting.

Can you use a Baskerville muzzle while seeing how it goes?

I am not making excuses but life is pretty hectic ans baby full on. So usually watching him to make sure he isn't almost killing himself!! So never have time to look at dogs signal but agree that would give warning.

Yes dog could be rehomed. Would not use centre but would rehome from home. He is an absolutely gorgeous dog who loves attention and a cuddle but this house is just too hectic and noisy for him..
Our other dog loves the baby and is happy. Baby is very gently with them and never prods and pokes etc!

It's so hard.

We do get baby to hand feed him treats and he is fine with him then.

It's just when baby is walking round loudly like babies do.

I've had two children go through this stage with an anxious dog. Hay to give more help but you will need to commit for success. Will be back later.

tbh i love dogs and dont have children but i would look at rehoming the dog. its not fair for it to.be in a situation where it is so anxious, your baby isnt old enough to teach how to.behave properly around dogs, and it will only take the baby stumbling and falling on the dog to have the worst outcone possible. i would try to find a family member who could take the dog in for me for the dogs own good

If you are dead set on rehoming your dog, which you sound as if you are, please do NOT rehome privately. Use a reputable rescue. Sadly, dogs given up because of DC are very common - the rescue will have seen this before many, many times.

A reputable rescue will ensure your dog's next home is thoroughly vetted, homechecked and is suitable for a dog which gets stressed around DC. They will also offer lifetime backup. As an example, we fostered dogs last year whose owner went into hospital around six years after she adopted them - a private rehoming can never offer this. What happens if the private rehoming breaks down, they change their mind, their marriage breaks up, they get made redundant? Believe me, a dog with a history of growling at DC will have a very poor prognosis in the pound. Also, without wanting to worry you unduly, private rehomings can end up with dogs being used for various unsavoury purposes. Reputable rescues will have far more resources at their disposal to find a good forever home - many will have national links for advertising, transport, homechecking etc. plus access to behaviourists, and experienced volunteers to support adopters. Private rehomers, no matter how well-meaning rarely have the experience or expertise to place the dog in a safe long term environment.

We had a springer spanial beautiful dog, good and faithful to my DH followed him everywhere did everything he said a perfect dog, but as soon as he went to work me and our 3 DCs were not welcome in our own home he used to lie on the stairs if we tried to move him he went for us . If the children even walked past him he used to snap and go for them. In the end he had to go some dogs you just can not trust.

Ok, am going to try and answer in more detail but you need to involve a qualified behaviourist, and by that I mean an APBC member. You also need to accept that nobody can guarantee your dog will never bite apart from you, by managing him properly. Nobody can 'fix' him, although lots can be done to help him feel happier and more relaxed.

Do not be angry with him. He has no other way of explaining that he's scared of the baby. You need to make time to look for his signals, it won't take long before you are familiar with them. Google Liam James Perk Foundation for help with this. You will probably find that he's not as relaxed as he seems with many situations.

Fistly you need to secure the situation, and the crate is a good start. I think it's anthropomorphic to dismiss his use of the crate as not being fair to him. He's chosen to go to his refuge rather than have a confrontation with your DC. You should be encouraging and reinforcing this by rewarding him with food treats when he goes there, and if you need to close him in always give him a stuffed Kong or something to keep him occupied. The golden golden rule is that nobody takes him out of the crate, he is called out with a treat. Children, even those he appears to love, are not to approach or play near the crate. I would also suggest a stairgate across the doorway of the room in which his crate is, so you can quickly close him away to answer the door or phone, change a nappy or nip to the loo. It needs to be convenient for you to do this.

I recommend clicker training as an excellent way to train dogs to feel calm and to counter condition them. So, get yourself familiar with it, lots online or Karen Pryor has written a superb basic guide to clicker training.

Use clicker training to reward desirable behaviour such as choosing to walk away from children instead of growling, choosing to look at them, or remaining quiet in the crate as children pass.

You should undertake a programme of this nature with appropriate behavioural support, you must never leave him unsupervised with any child, you must never allow children to invade his space or pet him in ways he is uncomfortable with (refer to body language, DC often pet dogs on their head which most actually dislike), you must commit to spending time and effort on this process and you will be rewarded with children who respect and understand dogs and who will be safer in the home and elsewhere as a result and a dog who is much less miserable.