should I be worried?

[user765]

We have a staffie cross who we rescued three years ago and now have a 4 month old baby.

It goes without saying that dog and baby will never be alone together but so far the dog has been going fine with baby. However it seems that in some stories of dog attacks the dog has been a family pet who had lived with the baby/child without any issues but suddenly randomly turned.

Is there anyone out there who has a baby and a staffie or similar dog who could share their experiences?

Thanks

Firstly please don't think that because your dog is a Staffie it's any more risk than any other breed. That's simply not true.

I'm going to give you some links.

www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/b/babiesanddogs/

www.liamjperkfoundation.org/

www.apbc.org.uk/info/dog_safety_information

I've had two children come along into our household and I can tell you that the most difficult and dangerous stage is from when they become mobile until they are around preschool age. The unpredictable nature of a child's movements is really stressful for dogs (remember, they communicate almost entirely using body language, so wobbly jerky toddlers are confusing and frightening to dogs) and one of my dogs in particular was quite stressed by this stage. By three the DC understood the rules clearly (no patting tops of heads, no entering dog beds, no climbing onto furniture if the dog is already there, always ask parents if they want the dog to be moved anywhere etc), although obviously can't be left unsupervised.

It's tricky but not impossible and the most important thing of all is to teach your child to respect all dogs. Learn to identify dog body language so you can spot the stress signals way before you get to growling and biting levels. Learn how dogs learn and why they behave the way they do by reading the above links and structure your home safely with gates or crates.

Dogs and children are wonderful together and it is so worth the effort to be safe.

Also just to add that no dog ever "randomly turns". I can guarantee you that these dogs have been showing stress signals which have gone completely unnoticed. The other common scenario is when the adults have been allowing children to mistreat the dog (pulling, climbing, dressing up, manhandling and not respecting the dog's space) and one day these poor dogs are ill or in pain or have just had enough and they bite - that's purely the fault of the owner for allowing them to be subjected to bad treatment because "the dog's so great with kids".

Thanks for your post - it has made feel a bit more confident. We have baby gates in place already and have ideas about how to keep the dog separate but happy. I think all the news stories recently have made me stress about it more.

The media reporting is a big problem. For example, the tragic case of the little girl earlier this week was worded very badly on the radio. The dog had been rehomed from a rescue organisation which had 'assured the parents it was safe with children'. NO DOG is 'safe with children', even those who are used to them and have lived with them, without adequate supervision. Reporting like this does nothing to help educate the public. In fact it simply reinforces this idea that we should reasonably expect dogs to tolerate anything our DC inflict on them, which is hugely erroneous and unfair and will lead to more events such as this one.

It sounds like you have a good idea of the precautions you need to take but those links are really good sources on information to keep as references. Good luck :)