Rehoming dog after baby

[woofwoof101]

Hello, looking for some advice please - delicate subject and already feeling very upset by the whole thing so please kind words and support only.

we have an English bulldog, 5 years old, have had him since he was a pup. Then had baby December 2024. Dog a bit wary of baby initially but we just kept them seperate/never left them unsupervised and all settled after a while.

before Christmas baby started mobilising more, crawling about and pulling self up to stand at the side of furniture. On one occasion I was playing with baby on floor and dog was on sofa (corner sofa). Baby pulled self up to stand at far end of sofa and dog quickly turned around and snapped at him. No contact made, no injury etc and since then if baby is on floor dog is in bed (under stairs in hallway).

kitchen and living room are open plan except for a half wall with walkway, baby becoming more mobile so we put a mesh baby gate across the entrance to the walkway so baby can mobilise and dog can be contained. At the weekend the dog snapped at baby through the mesh safety gate - baby was on other side and had pulled up to stand against the wall - again no contact made due to distance but it’s very much unsettled me and my husband.

there have been lots of tears over the weekend and our immediate reaction is that we need to rehome him but it is absolutely breaking our hearts. We know baby is only going to get more mobile/inquisitive and we don’t want anything to happen to him, but our dog is our family - we jokingly refer to him as our first born.

I’ve suggested to my husband to get a dog behaviour specialist, to get a dog walker to take dog out at specific times of the day when I know we are usually at home, take baby up to room to play/out more etc but he says all trust is gone. I do agree and I suppose I’m clutching at straws to try and keep them both at home safe and happy.

I don’t know what I’m asking for - I have to reiterate that these were complete unprovoked incidents while we were in the room, it’s not a case of baby and dog being left alone. Dog has been opportunistic and I’m just wondering am I mad to consider anything possible to keep him home or do I need to accept that rehoming is our only option?

again we already feel devastated/guilty/every emotion under the sun so support and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I think rehoming the dog is the only smart option at this point. To be honest, I would have had to rehome it after the first incident you mentioned. Even if they were "unprovoked incidents" as you described, what if baby does something that dog considers to be "provocative"? That doesn't bear thinking about.

Being in the room isn’t actively supervising.

I appreciate the way it reads it sounds flippant. Either me or my partner have always been within arms reach of the baby

deep down I know this, I think I’m just grasping at any hope right now

You should rehome for your dogs happiness and your babies safety.

This is so sad but it's the right decision. A friend had to do the same - she had a dachshund that was essentially her baby until a real baby came along. The dachshund was wildly jealous and would bark madly if she was holding the baby. Final straw came when another friend came to visit with a toddler and the dog had to be restrained when it saw it's owner playing with yet another child.

Thank you for sharing, that’s an awful situation for everyone to be involved in. I know deep down jts the right decision :(

Thing is if you wait until he actually hurt the baby you'll have to have him pts as no one will legally rehome him. Would also be unethical to rehome privately. Even if people don't have kids you'd have to be totally straight with them incase they have kids visit. What was the dog like with babies before yours came along?
Heart tells me get a trainer in. Head tells me if he snapped at child twice when he hadn't actually even been touched then it too risky.

I had a rescue collie. Never had an issue just nervous. One day my nephew who was 8 at the time was running in our garden. Coilie ran out there and attacked him. We never saw it coming she was fine with our kids and babies. He was OK as he had a puffer coat on but still had some serious bites and had to have hospital treatment. Could have been so much worse. I had the collie PTS the same day. Trust was gone. Wasn't fair on her or us. Vet agreed with no obvious triggers we couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again.

On the other hand our rhodesian ridgeback once growled at our baby. That was my fault because I hadn't realised baby had crawled so close to her. But the difference was the RR gave a warning growl and then moved far away from the child. And that was years ago. I learned my lesson and now they're best friends.

Tough choices ahead for you

the only likely reason I would rehome one of my pets is a scenario just like this. If I can’t keep my child safe, the pet needs to go to a home without children.

if the dog harms your child or any child, not only would that be horrible, but you might be forced to put the dog down. It is better to find a more appropriate environment where the dog can feel safe and children can be safe.

Thank you for sharing this. These are the conversations me and my husband are having, we know we can’t risk our child’s safety. Ours is first child he’s been around apart from out on walks/in parks etc and never any issues but I appreciate it’s very different at home in his safe space. Logically I know what the answer is but emotionally i am distraught. I am so sorry you went through this ❤️

Thank you I appreciate your advice. I know this just clutching at straws but I know what the answer is :(

PLEASE rehome your dog as soon as possible. There is no choice at all. You have to (and you do know that).

Just to say I absolutely love my animals but I have zero regrets. Kids come first. Is there any chance you have a family member that loves him that would take him?
Rehoming animals isn't that easy now. Lots of dog shelters have waiting lists and will ask you to keep the dog whilst they find a new home. So I'd check out the timelines and realities of rehoming as part of your process.

I have been a dog lover and owner for many years and in this current situation. with a small toddler already on scene, and a dog already snapping, I would definitely rehome the dog.

English bulldogs are powerful and it’s too risky. They tend to hang on when they bite too.

Normally I would advise getting the expert help in but there isn’t sufficient time for the intervention of a behaviourist now it’s reached this point.

My mum has mentioned about doing like a shared care type set up, she’s not in a position to take him full time but certainly a few days a week she would be happy to take him. Then just back to our house in evenings for dinner/walks/bed etc though I don’t know how realistic this is. This is what we have been saying too - awful decision to make but the risk of my child getting hurt outweighs everything

I love dogs but there is absolutely no way any dog should be put ahead of a babies safety. I don’t even think I’d consider a trainer in this instance. The dog is just not trustworthy around babies.

Be very careful rehoming that this is understood and he does not end up in this situation again. I’m very sorry your dog and family are in this situation, it is utterly heartbreaking.

Your dog is still quite young. Rehoming would be for the best. We had an elderly dog, too old to be able to rehome, and had to keep him and our baby/toddler apart. It was stressful and horrible for everyone. Obviously your priority has to be your child but its no kind of life for a dog to be constantly kept on the other side of barriers or in other rooms.

Yes we would be completely transparent with whoever we are rehoming him to, thank you for your advice. I know this just trying to find some sort of magic way to keep us all together but I know realistically it’s not possible

This is something we have thought about too, as much as our baby’s safety is absolute priority we also want the dog to have a good life and as you said being separated constantly isn’t fair on him. Thank you for your advice

I agree, re-home. I had similar issues with one of my dogs when baby started walking. Head down, growling and walking away, in our case. Dog clearly couldn't cope with a baby on the move. Just make sure you go through a breed specific rescue to ensure the dog gets the best home possible.

Could you give him to a dog sitter to look after for a year or so until the baby is a bit older? Perhaps at the moment the dog feels he is the alpha over the baby as the baby is smaller/ shorter than him when crawling. Whenever the baby wants to stand up the dog perceives the baby as trying to become the alpha and he is fighting for his position. Once the baby is older and no longer crawling, the dog may accept that the baby is alpha and will play nice.

Do you have any friends or family members (besides mum) who you think would like to have him? I only ask because I have experience of sending a dog back to a rescue and it absolutely tormented me not knowing what had happened to her. If you knew where Ddog goes you would probably feel much happier?

I'm so sorry OP, but for your baby's sake, for your dog's same and your own peace of mind, you should definitely rehome him before the unthinkable happens.

Hi OP, I’ve been in this situation and it was absolutely heartbreaking. No incidents like you’ve had but I knew it was a possibility and that was enough for us to have our dog rehomed when baby was a few weeks old. It was so difficult but the right decision for us as a family and for our dog. It wouldn’t have been fair for him to be under that constant stress and for us all to be on edge. He’s how living a happy life with a lovely couple.
It’s hard but you’d never be able to live with yourself if DC was ever injured. Wishing you the best.

As an English Bulldog, your dog is a valuable and popular breed, so you should be able to rehome him through breed rescue. Contact his breeder first, though; good breeders will often help with rehoming, as they might know someone who is waiting for one of their dogs, and wants one from this doggy family. But be crystal clear about the situation, because dog breeders can tend to always take the dog's side in any dispute.