Advice on 7 year old dog and a new baby

[jo982]

Hi all,
We have a baby due in a few months, my partner has a shar pei that has never been around young children, the dog is 7 years old and is not friendly at all to visitors, it took the dog a few months to warm to me.
From 8 weeks old it was always my partner and the dog, he got the dog after a divorce and as just the two of them for close to 3.5 years she has a close bond with partner, never been overly socialised with visitors and as a breed I understand they can be weary of strangers.

We have lived together for a couple of years, and when ever we have visitors she has to go in the kitchen out the way. We have tried alsorts to get her used to visitors, but nothing has worked. She is happy and content the rest of the time. But we have started setting up some bits pass time in lockdown, bouncer we bought for example has a musical chime she goes absolutely loopy, barking and going scatty around the room.

We have some real concerns when baby comes home.
So I am asking now so we have time to put things into place.

Does anyone have shar pei experience and a new baby any advice greatly appreciated.

I know from research that the breed is not the most child friendly and can be a bit quirky and she is definitely quirky already.

Now.....let me think....er....um.......which is more important, the dog or the baby? It's a hard one...........ah....I've got it! Get rid of the dog!!

I'm a massive dog lover but your baby has to come first. Will your partner even consider re-homing the dog?

Everyone thought my friend’s Rottweiler would be a nightmare with her new baby. It was a spoilt, bargy dog, but adores the baby and has been angelic with it (even throughout the toddler stage).

Join a shar pei group on Facebook? Breed groups tend to be fonts of breed specific knowledge and probably have other members with similar experiences of introducing dogs to babies

I say that as a member of a very active dog breed (not shar pei) group and it's so helpful

A quick google on Shar Peis shows me this:

The Shar-Pei is a devoted family dog who is protective of his family, including children. To best teach him to get along with kids, he should be raised with them; if he doesn't live with them, he should be exposed to children as he grows up. Because he is such an independent breed, he's best suited to families with children 10 and older who know how to treat a pet respectfully.

As with every breed, you should always teach children how to approach and touch dogs, and always supervise any interactions between dogs and young children to prevent any biting or ear or tail pulling on the part of either party. Teach your child never to approach any dog while he's eating or sleeping or to try to take the dog's food away. No dog, no matter how friendly, should ever be left unsupervised with a child.

In order to provide the best chances for getting along with other dogs and animals, the Shar-Pei should be raised with them from an early age. Since he tends to be aggressive with other canines, supervision is essential.

dogtime.com/dog-breeds/chinese-shar-pei#/slide/1

My knowledge on the breed is limited but I think they're more people-friendly than dog-friendly.

Have you played a recording of a baby crying? If you have, how does she react to that?

The baby will come first, and we have agreed already that if she will not settle or get on with baby, she will go.
But before that decision is made we were looking for advice if anyone has knowledge of baby and resident dog, especially such a independent breed such as a shar pei.

Obviously if she reacts badly dog will go immediately.

But the idea suggested of recording of baby crying is a good one, and we will give it a go

No particular shar pei receptive but generally you can tilt things in your favour with smells. So when baby is born, bring home something that smells of baby and put it in their space so they can smell baby in their home, on you etc before baby is there. Let the dog notice the baby in their own time and give lots of praise/rewards for calm behaviour around baby.

@jo982

The baby will come first, and we have agreed already that if she will not settle or get on with baby, she will go. But before that decision is made we were looking for advice if anyone has knowledge of baby and resident dog, especially such a independent breed such as a shar pei.

Obviously if she reacts badly dog will go immediately.

But the idea suggested of recording of baby crying is a good one, and we will give it a go

I would gradually increase the volume on the recording (you don’t want to give her a fright) and see if she will eat treats whilst it’s playing.