Good and bad signs from dogs when there is a new baby

[Sharon, RN]

Those couple of "a dog nipped at/bit my child" threads got me thinking. Obviously, a dog biting a baby/child is a bad sign, but what are other bad signs? And, just as important, what are good signs?

I have 3 dogs and a 3 1/2 month old. Nothing has happened (yet). I'm hyper vigilant about the dogs not being alone near the baby. They have sniffed the baby, 1 dog has licked behind the baby's ear, but that's about it. One of my dogs seemed a little stressed when the baby cried for the first few days, but now seems fine.

What should I be looking for, discouraging, or encouraging?

(I'm sorry if this post seems random, I'm really tired! lol)

TIA!

[lifeguard]

I found I didn't need to worry about the dogs much until ds was mobile. Before that I just would not allow them to 'play' (the dogs with each other that is) when he was on the floor.

Once he was mobile he became quickly apparent our old girl is no longer as patient as she use to be. If she showed signs of impatience (grumbling & such) we would immediately make her get up & go lie somewhere else. If he persisted in bugging her we put her in another room.

We've tried to make it clear from the get go that dogs are not to be intolerant of the baby but we are also making it clear with ds (though he is learning slower than the dogs) that he must be gentle with them. We always are right with them & if anyone is getting stressed or we cannot be right there the dogs are put out of reach of the baby.

[tessa_s212]

DS isn't big enough to be a nuisance to the animals yet - but when he does come of that age, I plan to make it VERY clear to DS that animals are to be treated gently. I will never punish a dog for growling at a child that *I* was not watching and was making the dog uncomfortable.

NOW is the time to start teaching the dogs how to be gentle with the baby, as well. It will be so muche easier now rather than later when baby is mobile. When baby is in stationary play things (bouncers, jumperoos, play mats), you can have little training sessions with the dogs to practice obedience around the baby. To not jump, stratch, lick, etc.

Warning signs of course are "stink eye" (if you watch closely enough, you'll also see the dog's corner of its lip twitch or be pulled back a cm or so), stiffening up, trying to walk away, or pinning its ears back. If you have a dog that is nervous around the baby, you will have to be extra vigilant in getting the dog used to the child (condition the dog to think of the baby as a good thing - any time he comes near the baby, he gets a treat!), AND when the child becomes mobile, being extra vigilant to protect the nervous dog from the child.

[mamallama]

I agree about not punishing dogs for growling at children--wise advice.

When my first child became mobile, I had an elderly dog, an older dog, and an adult dog. The elderly dog was the most difficult. He was hard of hearing. He slept deeply. He was arthritic. Fortunately (for me,) he also had the highest degree of bite inhibition. My biggest concern was keeping him safe from my baby's probing fingers.

My other two required vigilance, but to a lesser degree. They could/would get up and move. If you have older/elderly dogs, you will have different issues.

Tessa gave a good summary of things to look for.

My best advice: give the dogs a space away from the baby. For us, that was our bedroom with a babygate across the door. Our dogs would just go to the bedroom when they'd had enough. I put up the gate when necessary.

[Sharon, RN]

Thanks for the great advice. :-)

My dogs are young- 2 of them are about 2 1/2 YO, the other one is about 1 1/2 YO.

So, is sniffing the baby ok? I NEVER let them do it unless I'm holding the baby. I can be on the floor with the baby, and if I tell the dogs to sit or move, they do.