I want to ask about our dogs and crawling baby. We have a 9 month old boy and two Maltese shitzus (4&2) since my sons been crawling he goes up to the dogs and they have both snapped once each! After people to advise who may have dealt with this.
Read tips on introducing your dog to your baby
- I can’t believe How many people just get rid of their dog. Both kids and dogs need to learn what is and isn’t ok. If you teach the dog not to snap and teach the child not to go in its face then the problem is solved my dog can growl at my youngest when she is annoying her everytime she growled the dog was told no and put outside and my daughter was told no and put away from the dog. When kids start doing new things then it is something everyone including child parents and animals need to learnt to adapt to. My two dont leave each other alone now and the dog never growls she just gets up and goes outside when my daughter is annoying her or if she does growl (normally when sick or in pain) my daughter knows that she is telling her enough and leaves her alone for a little bit.
- It’s a hard choice but any dog that snapped at my child would be gone. My mum has those dogs and they have snapped several times at my daughter for nothing, They are kept away from her at all times now. If my own dog had ever snapped then I would have removed the dog from my home. When those dogs are in pairs they gang up too.. My mums do the same. The baby is new to them and they are Boss, it’s hard because the dogs are just being dogs it’s not their fault, but the baby doesn’t know that. For me it’s not worth the risk but it a personal choice for everyone.
- Dogs usually give off warnings, they may just feel a little annoyed by Bub’s attention, I would stay very close to them when they’re together, if you notice your dogs getting agitated remove bub from them. Encourage gentle pats and teach bub to stay away from their face. And tell the dogs firmly NO if they growl or snarl near bub
- Get in a behaviourist, they can help you work through the issues, dogs and babies can be complicated. It’s hard to teach a 9mth old to allow the dogs personal space, but make sure you dont let him pull at their face, feet, tails, hair etc. Snapping is a warning sign to get out of my face/space, it will lead onto actual biting if not addressed.
- Firstly, it’s not the dogs fault. I had a play pen when I couldn’t actively supervise or had to do something like cook dinner. Make sure the dogs are well exercised, and teach them boundaries. Then it’s up to you to make sure the baby learns to be gentle with the dogs, not pull hair etc. We’ve always involved my pom and now they happily play, he will growl if she steps on him by accident – which I totally understand!!
- We had a similar problem with one of my dogs (shes a jack russell) constantly growling at my bub when he was crawling. I would get upset with the dog and she would be sent to her bed (which was already established as a place she would go to when she’d done the wrong thing). Now my son is walking they are best friends. I think it was something to do with being at the same level.
- Perhaps a dog behaviouralist may be able to help you..?
- I would put them outside unless you are right there to keep them away from him.
- Um no hesitation there, put the dog outside, keep it outside. If something happened you would NEVER forgive yourself. Why even risk it. If a dog snaps at all for any reason, I would be worried
- I really disagree with getting rid of the dogs because you now have a crawling baby or because one dog snapped.
- Firstly as the owner you need to control the situation and put in the training. I would keep them separated and not allow him to crawl near the dogs. So make sure while you are holding baby and have control over the situation you introduce them and show both baby and dogs what the acceptable behaviour is. It takes time but will get easier.. I have a german shepherd and she now understands she is not to walk near or touch my baby unless I allow her to touch him.. Baby doesn’t understand of course so when he crawls towards her I move baby away again.. This is my second child. My dog also came before my 4 year old
- My parents Maltese Shitzu did this also. The vet said he saw the crawling baby as another puppy and was asserting his ground. We just kept an eye when my son was crawling as to not surprise the puppy or just appear.
- My pup has done this, she is 7 years old and very placid and old. My bub (7month old boy) comes up to my dog and it’s usually him that causes it. My dog has done it twice and it was a very deep snarl and snap. Bub had an ear tho one time and a bit of hair the other time. If he’s not pulling the pups hair then they play happy together (she walks up and licks him and sits next to him) her fault if you ask me haha she should no not to sit next to him!
- Baby gates to keep dogs out of certain rooms.
- That breed is well known for being like that. Please be careful.
- Teach your son to be gentle, and pop dogs outside or away from Bub where possible. As a dog groomer id recommend shaving them all off completely regularly so he can’t grab any hair and yank on it, have done this with many dogs at owners request for this exact reason! It’ll only be short term until bub learns gentle and dogs learn not to snap!
- unfortunately i find that breed to be non child friendly without getting rid of them you will have to keep them seperated from bub until bub is old enough to know not to go near them. i hope you get the answers you needed and good luck with it
- My dog snapped at my daughter when she was first learning to crawl, I think it was because he was threatened by her moving around and taking “his space”. The dogs are no longer allowed inside and I’m always watching when the kids are outside playing with them. It’s just a matter of teaching the dogs that the baby is above them in the family pack. Good luck! You could always talk to a vet too, they may be able to give you some good training tips.
- My mum had a small dog that wasnt very tolerable of young children and our little shitzu was the same
- I had to give my maltese shitzu away as when i had my first child she would be at the windiw looking outside and he was biting n snarling at the glass!maybe not ur case maybe try dog training school!and just keep an eye out it would be horrible if something happens to ur child!best of luck to u!
- I have a little maltese. She’s an indoor dog. When my son was at the age of crawling I taught him very quickly not to touch the dog but my dog also learnt quickly to stay away as he used to pull her fur. I would try to section off part of the house for the dogs using a gate or something. Soon they will all be best friends. My son drives my dog nuts but she loves playing with him
- Keep the dog outside and maybe let them in when he’s asleep?
- As he gets older he’ll learn to be more gentle. Our 18 month old is great with our ridgeback/staffy x and while he’s never snapped at him I would never leave them alone together. Dogs are dogs!
- Little dogs can sometimes be a bit more snappy especially if they are used to ruling the roost.
- Seperate the dogs from the child. You cant expect a dog to put up with a child pulling their fur and annoying them no matter how dosile the dog may be. Try a child gate to keep them apart or put the dog outside
- Maybe try holding your son in you lap, calling over the dogs and teaching your son to pat gently, and praising your dogs when they sit there without snapping. This way your a very close and can intervene if necessary. Maybe keep dogs outside when your son is awake until you are more confident about your sons safety.
- Its a hard situation but your child has to come first 100%.
- The dogs are most likely not doing it to be vicious but they still can’t be trusted. .can u use baby gates to seperate the dogs from the baby? Or have them outside until bubs is in bed? And definitely do not leave bubs alone with them..
- I have 2 big dogs. One is a German shepherd, and she is the best so very placid and our daughter can get away with doing pretty much anything to her. Our other one is a cattle dog, who is skittish by nature. She has growled and once snaped at our daughter. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck growled deeply over her and took her outside immediately. She only grumbles and gets up and moves away now.
- You need to show the dogs that your child is above them in pack order. Feed your child before them, throw food onto the ground for them from babys highchair/plate. I suggest research into things to help bring your child above them in the pack.
- Just be careful when separating the dogs from your child, this could form jealously and make the situation worse. Controlled environments are better.
- Put the dogs outside and hire a professional to come and help. Babies must stress some dogs out. If you have any doubts for your child’s safety then re home the dogs. And always have yourself between the dogs as baby.
- I’d separate them for a bit then gradually start introducing them together 1 dog at a time and make sure u enforce good behaviour from both dog and child, they’re both learning remember My dog is huge and could really do some damage but I’ve never treated him different and have introduced him gradually to each of my children and I’ve just had my 3rd. He’s only snapped twice in 7yrs and once was because my daughter went near his food and that’s my fault not his and the other was when he was asleep and my son poked him in his manhood (which I don’t blame him lol) but he’s never made contact and the look on his face when he realised it was 1 of the kids was horror and guilt. Just take it slowly
- I would never hesitate to get rid of a dog if I had a flicker of doubt that it might have a go at my child. You would never forgive yourself if something happened.
- I kept my dogs away from my son until he understood how to treat them, just after my daughter was born one died, so the other (Moco) spent more time with us, hes only snapped ay her once, it was a warning, hes old and didnt hear her sneak up on him, he got sent to his bed, not really in trouble because it wasnt vicious, if they pull his hair he just walks away to his area.
- Make sure the dogs have their own area away from your son, make sure they know he is above them in the pecking order, and teach him how to treat them just like you teach him not to pull your hair.
- Yes we also show our daughter to pat
- We moved ours outside. The dogs are snapping g as they would a pup to put them in place not because they want to harm baby. Pups need a safe place to be too
- i would def be getting rid of the dogs as they dont sound very child friendly and he could end up getting bitten
- When our children were very young we had an Alaskan Malamute who bit one on the hand after he was hiding food. We seriously thought about getting rid of him, but in our case, realised it wasn’t totally his fault. This was after speaking to family, friends, dog clubs, a vet etc We did make sure he wasn’t on his own with them and put him in the laundry when other young children were around and we were fine. I’m not sure how similar your circumstances are – good luck
- Getting rid of the dogs is pretty sad. You wouldnt get rid of a child if they were fighting with another child. So you cant get rid of your dogs.
- Get in a dog trainer and deal with the dogs behaviour.
- Dont put the dogs outside their jelousy will become even worse!
- It comes down to training and supervising your son when he’s with them. They aren’t use to him moving towards them. I’m disgusted by so many that would get rid of their dog which is a member of their family so easily. If something your size or bigger came up to you and probably tugged at your skin and such wouldn’t you get grumpy? they don’tknow how to deal with the ssituation and your son doesn’t know that he’s hurting them. It’s a learning curve for both the dogs and your son.
- Just like humans, dog have dislikes, personal space and get overwhelmed. Biting/snapping is usually a last resort.
- With a child of this age, the dogs are trying to assert them selfs as pack leaders so it is best that you are always there. No animal and child should ever be left together unsupervised because both can be unpredictable, regardless of the breed and I have never experienced one breed more guilty than the other.
- Not knowing the circumstances of this situation it is hard to say why it happened, but it is easy to prevent from Happening again – ensure the dogs don’t feel threatened (cornered, smothered, climbed on etc), provide the dogs with a safe ‘out’ where they can get away for some time to them self, make sure the dogs aren’t in a super overactive playful mood when the child is ‘playing’ with them to prevent play biting which can still hurt a child, make sure the child isn’t been rough with the dog (pulling hair, tails, climbing on them), some animals have particular areas that they HATE being touched by anyone and this is often their feet so be aware if your dogs had super sensitive parts, make sure there is no food around when they are together to avoid any food aggression, spend time and sit with your child and show them how to nicely pat and interact with the dogs.
- My mum has two dogs same breed. What we do is that we either keep the dogs locked in a separate section of the house while baby is playing or be always present and close to baby to move them away from the dogs so they don’t get close enough to be able to bite. Your baby will take time to learn how to interact with dogs and dogs are unpredictable and can’t be trusted around babies. All the best I hope that nothing further happens.
- Keep bub away from their food dishes as they may see it as a treat to their
- Coexistence is most definitely possible
- Get rid of the dogs
- We have 2 smaller dogs too (chihuahua Xs), and we tried to keep them separated as much as possible when the kids were little, and only have the dogs around when we were there to supervise. We got baby gates for the kids rooms to keep the dogs out, which gave the kids a place to move around on the ground without the dogs around, and the dogs could feel safe to watch through the gate but be able to get away if they wanted to. When both were together we praised the dogs and children for good behaviour (even just ignoring each other), and always tried to keep the kids away from the dogs food while they were eating. Now that the kids are older (4.5 and 2) they are all quite fine together, however we will usually shut the dogs outside if we have smaller visitors around. The kids help us feed the dogs now too (tip the food into the bowl then leave them to eat, only under our supervision of course) which I think helps the dogs see them as a food source so they will appreciate them more!
- Unfortunately we had the same problem kept telling myself its ok they have to get use to eachother its only new shes just being protective but then she bit mt daughter on the arm and i had no choice we had to get her put down.
- I would not risk having any dog near a baby… it just isn’t worth taking the risk…. a split second is all it takes… if anything happened you would never forgive yourself…. please separate the dog from your baby.
- I would get rid of the dogs. Sorry
- when my kids were that age i always supervised and told my dog to move away if she was unhappy with my kids being so close. My dog knew she would be in trouble if she did anything but never did. My kids are 2.5 and 4 and she will do a little bark to l…See More
- Dog outside or gated out of where baby plays.
