Dogs and mobile infants...

[lilith1]

We live with a almost 10 year old female Weimaraner, and a 4 year old male Rhodeshian Ridgeback. (Everyone is 'fixed'.) DS is 11 months old, crawling and ready for his first walking adventures.

As for now a large portion of the living room area is blocked off and DS can play and crawl there, but it's getting smaller by the week... he is more active now and wants to explore.

The weim has never been around kids (DS is the first one). She did great while he wasn't mobile, was protective, interested and not a sign of trouble. In the last month I saw twice a kind of tension that made me extremely uncomfortable. Usually, I lock them up when crawl around freely. A couple of times I let them out, I am right next to DS to get everyone used to the situation.

The Ridgeback just lies down somewhere and doesn't seem to care as long as he can see everything. The weim has never shown tension toward humans, but is extremely aggressive toward other dogs.
I love her dearly, she has been with me for a long time and been through a lot of changes with me.

I like to give her a chance but at the same time I don't want to take chances. Adoption would not be an option, she is older, had extensive surgery (ACL) just last year and needs meds on a constant basis. Let's be honest, most people don't adopt a dog with these conditions. Is it fair to the dog to shut her out of all family life suddenly? Probably not, but safety first.

Temperatures go well above 100 degrees here in the summer, outside wouldn't be an option either.

And in January I am expecting DS #2.

I guess I am looking for experiences from other parents. Thank for reading and sharing.

[lucyem]

We have labs and kid safety was never our problem. We had to keep everyone apart for dog safety as the boys got older and tried to rough house with the dogs. We just set up gates. Kept dogs on one side and kids on the other. They could only mix when we were there to keep a close eye on everyone.

[betsyj]

I have a dog with very painful arthritic hips. We supervise supervise supervise at all times. We also redirect redirect redirect. Our son is now 15 mos and old enough to understand some direction from us and we practice gentle touches all the time.

And, we make sure to give the dog lots of one on one time when our little one is napping.

[lifeguard]

We have a gate between the kitchen & livingroom/diningroom. Most of the time we're right here & the dogs stay on this side of the gate with us. But if the dogs are being a little bit more active then I like or I'm not in the mood to watch so carefully or our old girl is just tired/grumpy the dog(s) go in the kitchen so ds can not touch them.

That said, since ds started moving (a few months ago) I have been working on the older dog (who gets grumpy sometimes 'cause she's old) to get up & move to another spot (preferably her bed) when ds is touching her & she doesn't like it. She always gives a warning grumble if she's not in the mood & then I make her get up & move. As ds is understanding more I am teaching him that he canNOT touch the dogs when they are on their beds - but he's not there yet.

My hope is that everyone will no the dogs are not touched when on their bed & then the dogs can go there & rest easy that they won't be unexpectantly bothered (the old girl sleeps deeply & it's the unexpected tail pulls that cause the most tension for her).

Keep a close eye & keep the interactions to manageable chunks. You don't need to be on edge all day but allowing everyone to live together without gates for a little bit everyday will help everyone get used to how to do that.

The nice thing about the gate is the dogs are still pretty much right with us but they are more relaxed 'cause they know ds cannot crawl over to them.

[angie7]

When my twins were that age, I gated off my dogs in the kitchen and let my twins have run of the living room and dining room. My dogs are very social, well trained and well mannered dogs but I didn't want any chances until my girls were old enough to understand how to treat a dog. Once they started walking and understanding what I was saying to them, things got easier and everyone gets along.

[lilith1]

Thanks for all your thoughts. It makes me feel better that I'm not the only one who feels the need to gate off the dogs. I guess I will hunt for some gates around the house

[Sailor]

Well, has she ever been aggressive towards humans? Dog aggression doesn't translate over as human aggression.

I don't know what you mean by "tension" ... it could be that she's just getting used to a new, small, entity crawling around, being mobile. It's hard to really say what is going on without actually being there in person.

If you're really concerned, you could bring in a behaviorist (a good one) who would observe the dog and your ds. It's just too hard to diagnose online.

I'm expecting my first, and have a GSD. In my case, I'm not worried about him at all. I'm more worried about teaching my child good doggy manners! But, if I were in your situation and sensed tension ... I'd call in a behaviorist, just in case.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I am very glad to hear you aren't giving her away or shutting her in the backyard. Thank for committed to making this work for all the beings in your care humanely as possible.

[mamallama]

I had a 10yo greyhound and an 8yo dobie mix when my first was born. It sounds like a very similar situation--my dogs and I were very close, they were both on daily meds, my g'hound had fragile health...giving them up or shutting them out wasn't an option at all.

I had to pay close attention, but was totally do-able.

Older dogs tend to sleep a lot. Mine didn't much mind being gated in my bedroom. We have a small house, so they were still in the hub, but they were safe from my toddlers. When the gate was open, they used the bedroom as a retreat when they needed it. When the gate was shut and they wanted out, I was almost always able to let them out right away.

You will be ok--just take it one step at a time.

[Noelle C.]

You can either work on training her to get used to a child (yes, this is actual training, not just "Here's a kid get used to it), or use gates to keep them separated at all times you are not literally within arm's reach.