Dog aggression and baby

[WorriedMummy2013]

I'm worried sick. I posted in parenting before I noticed this bit of the forum. Can anyone offer any suggestions on what I should do? Here's my original thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1792652-Dog-aggression-what-do-I-do

Long shot OP but if you happen to be in France I know a British accredited dog behaviourist I can recommend who will travel.

Any idiot should know that punishing a dog only leads to the behaviour worsening. Ffs I've no training and I can work that out! My dogs are PART of my family - they aren't to be 'got rid of'. That's how they ended up as rescues in the first place. My youngest had had 5 homes by the time she was 9 months!

Good luck OP - I'm sure you can make this work.

Surely though more dogs co-exist aappily within families with children than not? I mean, the norm is that basically everyone gets on and it's all fine.
So it's not making headlines, and you never get to hear about it.

More children are hurt or killed by being in cars than by dogs, but again, the answer is not to get rid of the cars, is it?

You do a realistic risk assessment and you learn to manage the situation so that everyone is happy.

It's not that hard to do, otherwise nobody would ever have kids and dogs.

I also don't get why there is the implication that the OP is dead on her feet because of having a newborn; she hasn't stated this anywhere at all.
For the record, one of the things that I enjoyed most when ds was a baby was the opportunity to do really long walks with our dogs while he was in his pram. Ds got lots of fresh air (whatever the weather!), dog got lots of walks, it was great!

OP you've had lots of great advice on this thread, I hope you'll find a way to make it work for you and your family (which of course includes her dog) :)

My husband spoke to the behaviourist used by our vet today. He said that whenever the dog misbehaves we should take it by the scruff of the neck and hold it to the floor until it submits. :( Apparantly this will sort out his behaviour.

Please please do not do that under any circumstances. You will crush your relationship and also probably get bitten (and quite rightly so)

O dear god what the f is wrong with that person?

your vet recommended that person?? I hope you didn't pay them any money!!

I recommend you get in touch with the dogs trust - they have specialist trainers who i am sure will be more than happy to advise.

If you do that, you will destroy what trust your dog has in you. You have hd some good advice on this thread - i hope you manage to sort things.

Don't worry, I have no intention of doing that. Unfortunately, where I live in rural Sweden, that is a fairly common way of dealing with dogs. It's not the first time I've come across it. We're looking to see if we can find someone better, but there's not much around these parts plus the country closes down for July.

In the meantime, if I'm sat on the sofa with the baby and the dog snarls/shows his teeth how should I respond?

Try Eva Bertilsson
or Annica Blixt

Both positive trainers in Sweden who will give the correct advice and help you further.

Re snarling dog try to keep the distance so the dog does not have to snarl and growl.

Make your dog a cosy and quiet area away from any fussing. Reward him when he's quiet and being calm etc. I praise my dogs v regularly when they are showing the desired behaviours and its rare that I get any problems.

Thanks for those links. My husband is hoping to make contact with someone closer to home tomorrow, but if that doesn't pan out I'll contact one of them.

That sounds like the sort of rubbish they 'train' in France as well.

A couple of easy positive things you can try while you wait for help are an Adaptil collar/diffuser which can make a significant difference to some stressed dogs and NILIF (nothing in life is free: ask your dog for a simple behaviour before any interaction, so before he gets his food he has to sit, before you open the door he has to do a down, before he gets a cuddle he has to give a paw. He can still get loads and loads of cuddles, btw, but just ask him to do something for you first. The structure of this exercise seems to reasure a lot of anxious and stressed dogs.).

Also get a crate or stair gate or room divider and keep dog and baby appart so you can reward the dog for staying quietly in his part of the house.

I do separate my dog and my DD entirely. I have baby gates, and when DD was under a year she had one of those enormous playpens so they were in the same room but apart.

I also trained my dog to move away from DD if she comes to the gate.

It's not an ideal situation but my beloved dog is 12 and only snapped once, when DD touched her side, which was so out of character I took her to the vets where she was diagnosed with bladder cancer. She is terminal but her symptoms are medically managed so she is totally pain free and living a totally normal life for now.

But she is old, and at some point the meds will stop working and I will have to make the worst decision, and I will, but I separate them to protect them both in the meantime. We have a playroom so it works well for us because I'm swapping between there and the rest of the house all day so the dog still gets plenty of company and attention.

Separation is not impossible but it requires a lot of careful consideration to make sure the dog does not become isolated.

Please, everyone with children and dogs watch this video here. Shows you the very subtle, easy to miss warning signs poachedeggs talks about.

Excellent video neepsandtatties, the best I've ever seen on this subject as the dog's signals are subtle but common and it's all explained very well. I have saved it in my favourites.

I feel a bit more confident in what we're doing today. I watched that video and our dog was showing those signals and we were aware of them. So we're not complete failures as dog owners.

My husband took the dog to another vets this morning. He was really understanding and thinks we're doing and have been doing everything right. The dog was scared and avoiding. We reassured and praised his good behaviour. Over the weeks he was very slowly gaining confidence around the baby and was beginning to approach and sniff his feet and had even sat besides me on occassion when I was holding the baby. Given time this would have gotten better and better.

It's just very unfortunate that a momentary lapse of attention from my mum has set him back to the beginning. Except that now he's even more scared because the baby isn't just 'there' anymore. The baby has now literally been in his face. The vet says to carry on as we were, make sure both are safe and given plenty of time and understanding and the dog will be fine. Also the vet thinks his teeth might be bothering him as a couple are loose, so he's still there now getting them fixed. He does have a history of being a grumpy sod when he's uncomfortable, so I don't think hurty teeth has helped.

Thank you all for your advice and support.

I will never understand these threads.

What a gamble you take in keeping that dog.

Unbelievable.

Really? You don't understand responsibility, commitment, loyalty and reluctance to throw another living creature out on the scrap heap like a pair of old boots?

Unbelievable.

No-one said to throw the dog on a scrapheap. You are over reacting.

So what do you think happens to old dogs with a history of snapping at babies when their owners don't want them anymore then? Nice little doggy retirement home?

There are options that include PTS or rehoming to a home without children.

Or course you are obviously one of those fruitcakes that puts a dog before the safety of a child, so there is really no point in engaging with you.

Did you mean to be so rude?

errr...Yes. Why did you?

There are hundreds and hundreds of young dogs with no issues waiting in rescues to be rehomed, why would OP's dog, with a history of 'aggression' be rehomed over them?

The dog would either spend the rest of it's days in rescue or would be PTS, neither of which the OP wants, and good on her for that.

She is being very sensible, taking all the correct precautions and seeking the right advise. In time the dog and baby will rub along nicely and OP will be left wondering what all the fuss was about and feeling massively proud of herself and her dog She's made the right call, imo.

I do wonder what your animal behavior qualifications are Confused? And why do you never share your expertise with us on other dog behavior threads?

Anyone who puts the responsibility to a pet, as equal to their responsibility to their own childs safety, doesnt deserve to have children.

You wouldnt keep another person in the house that was aggressive to your baby

I haven't been rude to anyone.