Dog nipping

[Louiselouie0890]

So a young baby grabbed at a dog the wrong way and the dog went to bite at baby but baby was whisked away and now I'm torn. Yes dog was "defending" so to say but surely I can't have a baby round it now? Just for clarification the dogs lovely I don't want to complain about the dog it was not in an agressive manner just more get off me type thing and obviously a baby doesn't know not to do it. Am I right? Am I over reacting or not reacting enough?

Is it your dog that you want to train better? Or are you the parent of the child?

I feel for you, my dog has form for doing this and we've just got a baby. We're basically making sure to keep them apart but also doing some "don't nip" training with baby in a snowsuit so dog couldn't hurt her. Helps that it's our baby, we couldn't ask anyone else for theirs for this.

Dogs and small children do not mix.
I'm in Oz. The recent stats released here say 84 percent of child dog bites are delivered by a dog the child knows already well-family close relatives friends..Thats based on hospital admissions. Most bites are to the face.
Either keep them separated-baby gates different rooms etc- or consider using a muzzle if they have to be in the same area,do not just stick a muzzle on the dog and still let the child approach though....its not fair on either small creature and they can still bruise quite badly using the muzzle as a weapon when they are forced into reaction.

If your dog has already shown a high enough level of discomfort to deliver a warning snap you've set her up to fail.
A baby should never be allowed to grab at a dog imo they aren't toys and this is an entirely normal response from a scared dog.

doggonesafe.com/Dog_bite_prevention_for_parents

www.dogsandbabieslearning.com/2010/03/27/do-dogs-bite-out-of-the-blue/

Both the parents of the baby and the dog owners need to understand that this situation happened because they allowed a dog and small baby close enough to worry each other and failed to recognise the danger of the scenario.

Almost all dogs will not have snapped without warning - they will have given plenty of signals first t show how unhappy they were. Personally I would not have brought these two together at all because I think it is asking for trouble and not fair on wither - but at the first sign the dog was anything less than 100% comfortable the baby or dog should have been removed. The dog would then have learned to trust that it's early warning signs are enough. Instead the dog has learned that early warning signs are ignored and snapping is what works.

Early warning signs:

• blinking
• licking lips
• turning head to one side
• blinking
• trying to turn body away
• freezing
• ears held further back on the skull

I don't know if you are the owner, parent or a bystander but if you bring these two together again then beforehand please make sure you know what to look for in a dog that is unhappy/uncomfortable.

You can't have a young baby that grabs around this dog, or any dog.
If the baby is too young to understand this then it's not safe for either.