Introducing Dogs and Babies

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My son Eric and our dog Sheba - 1978

Other article on Preventing dog bites on Children:

Preventing Dog Bites in Children

Emails From People Whose Dogs Have Attacked Children

Preventing Dog Bites in Children eBook

I get many emails from people who own dogs and are about to add a baby to their family. These people love their dogs but want to make sure that the dog learns to accept the presence of a new member to the family. They ask what issues need to be considered to keep their new baby safe.

Many dogs do learn to live with babies (some cannot). This article will give you a few ideas to think about with your dog and your new baby.

Before we get into steps to take to be sure your baby remains safe I need to point out a few facts:

• On average in America there are 1,200 to 2,000 children killed by their parents every year. Over the past 16 years fatal attacks from dogs have averaged between 15 and 18 per year.
  
  
• Only about 25 children (between birth and 11 months) were killed by dogs in this country from 1979 to 1988. (Voith, 1984)
  
  
• It is felt that most children are killed by dogs as a result of predatory issues and not rank drive or pack issues. Predatory behavior is increased as the number of dogs in a family increases.
  
  
• Most dogs that kill children have not exhibited prior aggression tendencies (Pinckney and Kennedy, 1982).
  
  
• Most attacks on children are against older boys.
  
  
• Between 1989 and 1994 there were 109 dog related fatalities in America, 57% of them were children under 10 years of age. (Sacks and coworkers 1996b)

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So with this said, the truth is there is about 100 times more chance of a child being killed by a parent or relative rather than a dog. The unfortunate fact is that the news media sensationalizes the death of a child as a result of a pet attack. These same people call for additional laws on breed bans and additional laws controlling our pets.

If a dog has never been around babies before they may not look at a baby as a human. To insure their baby’s safety, owners need to step back and take a look at their dog’s temperament. They have to ask some questions:

1- Has the dog ever been aggressive to strangers?
2- Has the dog ever been aggressive to strange children?
3- Has the dog ever been aggressive to smaller animals?

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you need to be very careful with this dog around a new baby. If the answer to one of these questions is “yes,” this does not mean that this dog cannot learn to accept a baby. It simply means that you need to be very careful and not make any mistakes.

I like to tell people that dog training is not rocket science. Training a dog is pretty much common sense.

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Here are the things to consider when a new baby is going to come into a home:

1 - Make sure the dog is fully obedience trained. If you have questions on this you should refer to my training video titled Basic Dog Obedience. The dog should be trained well enough that you can tell it to go lay down on his rug, or in his crate. This means that the dog will go and stay there.

I believe that this kind of training should be done motivationally. In other words, teach the dog to do it for a food or a toy reward. But once the dog understands the command it needs to be reinforced with a prong collar correction if the dog does not mind. I call prong collars “power steering on dogs.” They allow small people to control good-sized dogs.

2 - Get a dog crate and crate train the dog. The crate should NEVER be in the bedroom. If the dog becomes overly excited when the baby cries it can be put in the crate. Give it a bone or a rubber Kong with a little cream cheese or peanut butter in middle to keep him interested and busy.

3 - Never allow the dog in the baby’s bedroom - not even when you are present. The bedrooms (including your own) should always be off limits. This is especially true of the baby’s room.

4 - The dog should NEVER be allowed to be near the baby when it is not being supervised - not even for one minute.

5- Once the baby is born they will bring a blanket with the baby scent home (or a dirty baby diaper) to wrap a doll in. When this is laid on the floor the dog is corrected for going near it. It cannot even go and smell it.

6- When you bring the baby home it is a good idea to have it be a nice quiet introduction. Mom should first meet the dog without the baby.

7- Homecoming should not be a loud party. When the baby is brought in, the dog should be placed in a “down-stay” several feet from where mom and baby are sitting.

The dog IS NOT ALLOWED to smell the baby. Dogs have an excellent sense of smell. There is no reason to allow the dog to come up and smell the baby as soon as it gets home from the hospital. The dog can smell the baby from across the room without any problem.

If there is any concern about the obedience and control of the dog at any time the baby is present, it should either be on leash or in a dog crate.

6 - Get the dog a selection of new dog toys before the baby comes home. Some people will keep the toys available in a basket in the living room. Others prefer to allow the dog to know that there are new toys but they control when the dog gets access to them. They don't get bored with the toys.

 

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People ask, “When can their dog be allowed to come up and smell or lick the baby?” I cannot and would not answer this question.

Allowing a dog to lick a baby is a dangerous thing to do. Although this is usually a sign of acceptance and submission, one never knows exactly what the dog has been licking just before licking the baby.

I also just saw an add on TV where a dog was drinking from the toilet when the owner came home from work, then the dog runs down and gives the owner a big lick on the chops. Have you ever watched a dog lick its own butt? Pretty disgusting.

For those pet owners who feel their dog cannot accept a baby or may be too dangerous around the baby, there is always a dog crate and or an outside dog kennel. I have owned a lot of dogs in my life that I would never allow around babies. I recognized the problems with these dogs and just never let them near my boys.

On the other hand I have had many dogs who indeed were part of my family.

So the bottom line is that introducing a dog to a new baby revolves around common sense and being a responsible pet owner.

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QUESTION:

I am going to be having a baby in August and I am concerned that my husband needs to find a new home for his dog. He has a 2 year old Bull Dog mix which doesn't like children and some adults. The dog will lunge at them while they are petting him. I was sitting with my niece, who was on the floor in front of him petting him when after about a minute of it he lunged at her. What I need help with is after we have him neutered will he still react to children in this way or mine?

ANSWER:

Make your husband an offer.

Either find a new home for the dog or find a new wife.

Question:

Dear Sir;

I have read you site and learned an enormous amount, thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

I have a question that I hope you can provide me with some advise.

I purchased a GSD that has a SH breeding background. The dog was 2 yrs old when I got her and in my opinion the dog had been physically abused and had absolutely no socialization during that time. The previous owners described her as a kennel dog. She can be aggressive with other dogs and people. We have worked very hard with her and she has come a long way, however we are now expecting a baby and I worry about how the dog will react and if I can continue to alter her behavior. When she is put in new situations she will normally react by growling and showing aggressive tenancies. This happened this past weekend with 2 young children who were visiting our home for the weekend. I fear that I might have made the situation worse by correcting that behavior. As the weekend went on she seemed to became more stressed, I tried to provide positive reinforcement for her by having the children hand feed her and giving her positive reinforcement when she was showing proper behavior, but any sudden movements or "typical" kid stuff she would show teeth or growl. It was a very frustrating experience and after a day she simply just ended up spending most of her time in her crate.

It was very frustrating and as a result I just feel that I could never trust this dog to be around a child or any child for that matter. Yes I know that we should and will always supervise, as we do have a lab who I don't have the same worry about as he is a very gentle and composed and confident dog.

My question is, in your opinion can this dog ever be trusted? or would she be better off in an adult home?

Thanks,
Curt

Response:

Hi Curt,

It sounds from your description that your dog has weak nerves and may be a fear biter.  I would not trust this dog with children, period.  I actually don't trust any dog with children as there are too many things that can happen, even with a balanced dog. 

If you do not want to re-home the dog, then I would recommend reading this article, Introducing Dogs and Babies.

Cindy Rhodes

Curt's Reply:

Thanks Cindy for your response .....I had read the link you provided and when I answered yes to all three questions I guess that should have provided me with an obvious answer. I know its hard to judge a dog based on a few paragraphs but she has never shown that she has any intention of biting someone, she will mostly growl and has occasionally shown teeth. Maybe I'm just too emotional about this ...I hate giving up on her, especially knowing that she has had a miserable first couple years.

Is there a way to tell if a dog has weak nerves? With this dog she can sense someone who has confidence and will act accordingly, if the person is the least bit nervous she will show aggression and nervousness. She will follow me around the house and I find this a bit strange as our other dog and any dog I have had in the past is more independent, I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm really struggling with this decision as I do think this dog has a lot of potential.

thanks
Curt

Last Response:

A growl and showing of teeth are a warning, a warning that precedes a bite.

You don’t need to give up on the dog, if you are prepared to keep the dog completely separate from the baby.  I have raised and worked with many dogs in the last 14 years (my son is 14) that have never had physical contact with my own son. 

The fact that your dog follows you around means that she is bonded to you, and possibly looking to you for her confidence.   Dogs with weak nerves need a strong, confident pack leader.

You can use the search our site function to learn more about nerves.  Here’s a bit from one of Ed’s articles.

"If a dog lacks good nerves, it will never be able to handle the stress of serious protection work. Not only that, weak nerves lead to temperament and personality problems. The extreme example of poor nerves is a fear biter. The normal picture of a dog with weak nerves is either a shy dog, or one that easily gets his hair up when he feels threatened.

Dogs with weak nerves are often what I call 'sharp dogs.' These are dogs that are quick to bark at people and can be a little dangerous for strangers to be around. Many people who don't understand canine temperament think that dogs that try to eat chain link when a stranger walks near their kennel is a really tough dog. The fact is that this dog is a little nervy (it lacks strong nerves). This display of kennel aggression is not strength, but rather an aggressive display of avoidance. It's close to the fight or flight syndrome."

http://leerburg.com/terms.htm  here are some of the terms that include weak nerves, strong nerves, etc…

Cindy

Question:

I am having a baby in December.  I have two very sweet but large dogs.  I am not concerned about them being aggressive, they have both been well socialized and have never shown the slightest hint of any sort of aggression towards man, beast, or child.  (I have a Golden Retriever and a Pyrenees mix we think might be part butterfly.)

However, when you get on the floor, my GR goes NUTS.  He takes it as an invitation to play and his tail waggles and knocks things over and he jumps around and tries to engage you in play.  My husband and I have tried very hard to curb this in him (he is about 15 months old), usually by making him down-stay several feet away while someone gets on the floor.  The problem is he gets so excited he can only control himself for a few seconds.  He'll down-stay, then get up a few seconds later, then I'll correct him and put him back, and that'll only last a few seconds.  It's almost like he's trying, he'll "down" and then just get wiggly and get up and then "down" and get wiggly...this can easily go on for 10 or 15 minutes before he just calms down.  (He is neutered.)

He does get a lot of exercise, and is otherwise great, just when someone gets on the floor...and with a new baby, that's likely to be a common scenario!!  Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Amber

Answer:

I think it’s pretty clear that the dog can’t be around the baby, especially when the baby is of the age that he or she is on the floor.  Why take a chance? An injury to a baby is not worth it, whether it’s just overexuberance on the dog’s part or aggression the danger is still there.

We are taking orders for a new DVD that extensively covers the way Ed and I live with dogs in our home. I think it may give you some additional ideas on how to handle your dog with your family. It is called Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet.