Dog snapped at baby, help!

[MilkyCuppa]

Desperately need advice!

I have a 9yo female Pekingese. My baby is 10mo. The dog loves the baby, sits close to him and licks him. On a few occasions the baby has pulled the dog and the dog hasn’t minded. Obviously I discourage this. But over the last few weeks since the baby started to crawl the dog has lunged at him a couple of times. Usually because the dog is next to me and the baby has approached. I resolved this by cuddling the dog while someone else holds the baby, then sending the dog to lie down while I play with the baby.

However the dog has now snapped at the baby unprovoked. The baby crawled up to the dog while she was sitting watching me prepare her dinner, and the dog snapped at the baby’s face and left a pink scratch on his cheek.

There are several issues here. The dog has recently been on a low fat diet prescribed by the vet and always seems very hungry. The dinner was a rare treat of roast chicken. The dog is old and achy and not used to children. Also I’m really struggling with the baby due to him being high needs, clingy and not sleeping. We’re all exhausted with his constant crying and clinging to me. The dog hasn’t had sufficient attention or walks because I can barely cope with the baby. And she has a history of being barky and snappy with other dogs, I keep her on a lead. She has also snapped at an adult’s face in the past - about three years ago she bit DH on the cheek when she was on my lap and he approached.

I immediately considered having the dog PTS. I genuinely love her and it’s breaking my heart but I have to protect my child. I’m worried that if I don’t get rid of her Social Services will attempt to take my child because I haven’t safeguarded him. And I feel sick just thinking about the damage she could have done if I hadn’t been nearby and grabbed the baby. Rehoming isn’t an option, not just because she’s old and bites, but also because she adores me and will pine away.

I fully accept that my dog’s behaviour is due to a lack of training and supervision on my part. I’ve treated her like my baby. Is there anything else I can do before considering having her PTS?

[Chesneyhawkes1]

I don't agree the dog needs to be pts, but it's not a traumatic death is it. It's the kindest thing we do for our old and ill pets.

[MilkyCuppa]

@TTCI it isn’t cruel for a dog to be PTS if it’s dangerous to a child, getting older, has a history of biting and is unlikely to be successfully rehomed. I agree it shouldn’t be the first option and all efforts should be made to train the dog and improve the situation. But when it’s unsafe for the dog to remain in the home, PTS is kinder than just abandoning an elderly dog.

I don’t let the baby harass the dog, which you’d know if you’d RTFT. The dog has four bedrooms, kitchen and lounge that she’s free to go into at any time, with beds set up for her in two of those rooms and a window seat in the porch for her to look out. She mostly chooses to sit right next to me and until now I haven’t seen fit to banish her. It’s impossible to not have the baby around while preparing the dog’s dinner, you can’t leave a baby unsupervised.

[cowfacemonkey]

To be fair MilkyCuppa you seem to have made up your mind not to train or improve the situation. If you want to PTS that's up to you but do so knowing you didn't put in the necessary work to prevent it. Anyway I'm out, you've had some good advice on this thread but have only come back to respond with reasons why it's all too hard or not possible.

[MilkyCuppa]

I can’t see anywhere I’ve said that I’ve made up my mind not to train or improve the situation?

[Starryskiesinthesky]

I would agree, you seem to have made your mind up that this is not cruel. It is.

[cowfacemonkey]

And I see nothing in your posts that shows any plan of action or intention to manage the situation or take on board advice, just whining about it being too hard and about everything you can't do.

[MaderiaCycle]

Baby gates, baby gates, baby gates. Get that dog out of the room whilst the baby is there. A split second and this ends in tragedy. The dog can have attention when the baby is in bed or in another room with DH. It makes me angry you don’t want to hurt the dogs feelings but would put your own child at risk

[MaderiaCycle]

You don’t need to have the dog around whilst you’re preparing it’s dinner.

[tabulahrasa]

“It’s impossible to not have the baby around while preparing the dog’s dinner, you can’t leave a baby unsupervised.”

But he wasn’t being supervised...being in the same room is pointless if you’re not going to stop him doing something potentially dangerous.

Dogs are always potentially dangerous to babies, babies are unpredictable and fragile and dogs are animals and have their own instincts and reactions.

You do have to always assume any dog is a risk around a baby...

[Greyhorses]

Sounds like an owner who has no clue about dog behaviour combined with a dog who’s a bit spoilt and been left to get away with possessive and aggressive behaviour for too long (often the case with little cute things, I bet if it was a Shepherd you would have dealt with this years ago)

Anyway you have two options.

1. Get a qualified behaviourist. Follow all steps to the letter and hope you can manage the two together. I can almost guarantee that it would involve keeping both baby and dog seperate so be prepared for lots of baby gates or a crate. Personally I would never ever let this dog within a few feet of my child again, she’s clearly screaming out to you that shes not happy and you’ve ignored it over and over again. To be honest this shows that you can’t read her langauage sufficiently to keep everybody safe.
   
2. Put to sleep. Not cruel but a viable option for an old dog who is clearly unhappy in its current living situation.

[Costacoffeeplease]

Is it more cruel to PTS, or put behind a stair gate for 10 mins? Especially with a good treat or stuffed kong?

With a bit of effort and imagination you’d have sorted this before having to ask here - it’s not rocket science - in fact you had 9 months + to prepare for this day, which you knew would come, you could have started preparing the dog for the baby’s arrival a year ago

[hohohobags]

I have a needy dog and a now 2 year old. It's hard op but you need to walk it everyday, this is important to the dog, it's it's stimulation and exercise. It will be good for you all to get fresh air.

I go about 9.30/10am as it's light and not too busy with other walkers.

Baby can go in a sling or pushchair facing you.

[PetiteMamaNoel]

Can I have someone's opinion on a staff cross rescue living with a 3 year old?

The dog has to wear a muzzle outside and has bitten at least 10 people in the last 5 years. Has bitten 2 people this year resulting in hospital admission.

The 3 year old lives in the same house as the dog. Could the dog ever randomly attack the child when the child has lived in the household for 5 months, but has known the child since birth?

[WhyDontYouComeOnOver]

It’s difficult to juggle a dog who’s used to being in the same room and sitting beside me, with a baby who’s into everything

It really isn't.

I don’t want to exclude the dog or lock her out, or prevent her sitting beside me

Then you're going to end up with a bitten baby.

But that means the baby may occasionally touch the dog despite my best efforts to keep them apart

Then you aren't making the best efforts.

[shamofamockery]

whydontyou absolutely spot on.

[crimsonlake]

I am assuming you got a dog pre children? One thing that strikes me is that you are certainly not taking the dog out for a walk often enough, a dog needs regular exercising and mental stimulation outside of the home and is clearly not getting that with you.

[adaline]

I don’t “allow” the baby to approach the dog. There have been a few occasions since he started to crawl when he’s sneaked up to the dog when I wasn’t watching closely enough

I'm sorry to say, but this IS allowing the baby to approach the dog. Unless you are right there and able to move either dog or baby away, you need to keep them separated. You know the dog bites as it's already bitten your husband let you allow your baby to approach the dog unattended!

Your dog might be 9yo but she still needs regular exercise and 1-1 attention from you or your husband? Is she still getting that? Dogs need at least one walk a day and mental stimulation/training. What about frozen kongs, puzzle toys and feeding out of slow feeders/snuffle mats to keep the dog occupied and to tire her out?

It’s impossible to not have the baby around while preparing the dog’s dinner, you can’t leave a baby unsupervised.

It's not at all impossible. Put the baby in a playpen in another room for a while, or put the dog outside/in her crate. Or put the baby in a highchair way out of the dogs reach. I have a dog and he's never in the room with me while I prepare food because he gets too excited. So the solution would be - baby in the room with me, dog behind a babygate in the living room with a chew to keep him quiet. Or, dog outside and baby inside with me.

Did you prepare the dog in any way for the arrival of the baby and you not being available to her 24/7? It sounds like the dog just isn't used to being alone or without you and as such is struggling to settle or do anything without you there with her.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

PetiteMamaNoel you’ve had nearly four pages of answers all telling you the same thing on your actual thread. And that was only in Chat. You’ll get a lot worse in the Doghouse.

Op it’s not rocket science to keep them apart is it? Baby gates everywhere and start taking your dog to the shopping mall when you go for a coffee, I’m sure dogs are allowed in. It’s not a big breed. I take my lab out with me.

[DogInATent]

@PetiteMamaNoel - this needs a thread of its own. But do you really have to ask?

[Thesnobbymiddleclassone]

Personally I'd take to a rehome place.

[Sweepington]

Can baby not go in his sling while you prepare dinner or bring his bouncy chair to the kitchen. He really shouldn’t be on the floor with the dog.

Also I don’t see how having a pen is your last resort after PTS?

[ADastardlyThing]

"Rehoming isn’t an option, not just because she’s old and bites, but also because she adores me and will pine away. "

It's a nice thought, that our dogs simply can't cope without us. And for a little while some probably would struggle. But they adjust, and this dog would probably be better and much happier in a home without unpredictable little ones. Pts seems a very drastic consideration in this situation. 8 years isn't old btw.

Speak to a rescue, a Pekinese would be fairly easy to rehome to a more appropriate home I reckon.

[moredoll]

If it's not possible to re-home the dog then you must pts.
Your child's safety has to be your priority.

[Ihaventgottimeforthis]

When you’re occupied by a task like dogs dinner, put baby in a playpen so it can’t approach the dog.
Can you get a dog walker to take him out for exercise if you can’t manage it yourself at the moment?
You need to establish safe boundaries where dog is not threatened by baby, and you can relax.
Clingy babies are such hard work, a bit of respite when you know they are physically separate will be a relief.
But the dog does need exercise - if you can’t give him that, then rehoming should be considered. It won’t be impossible to find a good home, and if it’s the right one, he will be happy. Dogs really do work in very different ways to humans. He’s attached to you because he feels he has to guard & protect you, it’s quite a tense existence for a dog when they’re not relaxed at home.

[WendyWoofer]

Babies who are crawling should not be around dogs, especially older dogs who have snapped before.

The only choice you have here is to keep baby and dog separate. If not, you are asking for trouble. There's no need to PTS. Just give the dog it's own space, where the baby can't reach him.

Also the dog needs to be exercised. Put baby in buggy, dog on lead and take them for a walk. The fresh air and exercise will do you all good.