This is my oldest Grandson and Elsa over 9 years ago. Elsa adores babies and has a hard time controling her licker; but even still I am right there to stop any closer movement. Having a dog that loves babies is a great thing; but you still have to be so very careful, always.
You’ve got through the baby stage; you’ve acclimated your dog to the presence of your new baby. But now, your little one is moving around. There is no more containing that little driven bundle; they are on the move. Just when you thought that everything was great; your dog has gotten use to the baby being around. They don’t freak out everytime the baby cries or screams and peace is back in your home…or so you thought.
Typically this is when I would get the frantic call from parents. “I think my dog is going to bite my baby,” the distraught parent says. I would always try to get to these calls asap. I’d move around appointments if I could and try to get there quickly. Time is extremely important in these cases and I needed to see what was going on. My immediate advice was to keep the two separated until I could get there.
When I enter a home for a new canine consultation; I am very aloof, I don’t look, touch or talk to the dog in the home. I do a lot of watching and especially in these type of cases. I want to see how my clients and their dog behave naturally, when I’m not there. So I watch quietly unless I need to step in for safety sake. And believe me I’ve had to do that many times.
The number one issue where problems arise with mobile babies and dogs is lack of supervision. It is a parent’s job to protect both their baby and their dog. The utmost of care needs to be taken when babies and dogs are in the same room. What that means is that you, the parents need to physically step in and stop any advances from your baby towards your dog. Dogs have large mouths with very large teeth that can inflict a great deal of damage to a child. Babies and children are bitten often by family dogs. And typically it is the fault of the caregiver.
Having children and dogs together is a HUGE responsibility. (This is why it is often a good idea to wait until your youngest child is around 6-7 years of age before adding a dog to your home.) When your baby approaches your dog and you do not physically stop them; your dog will step up. If you fail your dog by not controlling your baby; your dog is left to do it themselves. Having your dog discipline your baby is never a desired outcome.
Our dogs are just that, dogs. And as such they will discipline or intervene as a dog will. This means growling, snapping, biting, pinning and muzzle butting. When a dog growls at an approaching baby, the baby doesn’t know what that means. If you are not supervising, then you won’t even know that your dog has warned the baby. It is always the dog that pays for the humans failure.
Dog and baby interactions need 100% supervision. And even more important is that you need to be inbetween the two.
NEVER allow your baby to freely approach your dog.
NEVER allow your baby to crawl on your dog.
NEVER leave your baby and dog alone, not for a second.
Use baby gates and start early so that your dog gets use to being behind one.
Step in and show your dog that you have their back and will protect them.
Take the pressure off of your dog’s need to protect themselves.
Always err on the side of caution.
Dogs can injure babies totally by accident. They have strong feet, nails and big hard heads.
If you cannot watch your dog and baby interacting at the level of 100%, remove your dog from the room.
Busy making dinner? Put your baby in a pack’n play beside you. Make sure that if they can stand up, that they cannot grab your dog’s face.
Baby’s cannot control their grip for quite a while; DO NOT let them pet the dog without their hand in yours.
I could go on and on about how much safety needs to be implemented when your baby starts to move with a dog in the home. Hopefully you get how much care is needed. Accidents happen, but most are avoidable with the proper amount of supervision.
I have had many parents who break down and cry when I explain how much supervision is required. It is very emotional when we are discussing family dog’s biting the baby; and the parents feel like failures because they weren’t doing enough. I explain that now they know, now they are equipped to deal with their interactions. I empower the parents to do the job right. I never leave with people feeling like they can’t do it.
Safety first, always. And when babies are concerned, you can NEVER be too safe.