What kind of dog is safe for babies?

I absolutely agree with Tanith. Dogs (especially large ones) and small children are not a safe combination. OK, we may know of many instances where they seem to live happily together, but the risk is always present. Dogs become deeply attached to their owners, and even the most docile can become very jealous of the attention paid to children. In addition, the way little children squeal and run about can bring out dogs' hunting instincts. However, it is absolutely no use saying this to dyed-in-the-wool dog devotees, who always insist that their beloved Rottweiler etc would never hurt a fly. My grandchild is due to be taken to visit relatives who own two guard dogs, and it is worrying me very much.

we've lived with dogs for tens of thousands of years and it has now been proved that we share an immune system with them and children brought up with dogs are much healthier, suffering far less from allergies (see 'Gut' the international bestseller by German scientist Guila Enders). Just use common sense as to the breed/mixed breed...puppies like us are born with personalities. Go with your gut!

We have young grandchildren so when we got our 3rd dog after our old spaniel died, we considered which breed would be best with 2 grandchildren with asthma and eczema - it is a very sensible question. We came up with tibetan terrier- they have hair, like ours, not fur like most dogs. So do not shed (less vacuuming for my husband), and are said to be hypoallergenic. They are also brilliant with small children. But I would never leave a dog in a room alone with a child. And definitely prefer dogs to cats as cats carry more harmful diseases than dogs, dogs are trainable and controllable.
Oh, and there are rescue societies for most of the breeds too.

I second what a lot of others say on this subject esp nanandgrampy.Ive always had dogs and in my experience you don't get a bad dog just a bad owner. Puppies take up a lot of your time training clearing up after them and playing with them. Not something you will have a lot of with a newborn. I wouldn't have a puppy the same time as a newborn it's far to much work and time needed for both and puppies need training from day 1. Like the others suggest when you have a toddler of about 3 would be ideal. Congratulations on being a granny soon I bet your super excited.

My DIL is an RSPCA inspector and in her opinion NO dog should be left alone with a child, not even for a nano second!
She's heard and seen too much regarding dogs who are,' and I quote' so gentle and they love kids!!

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Hi acemodar, your question sounds as if your family have little or no experience of owning a dog, so not sure if it's wise to introduce a puppy/dog to the family whilst dealing with a new born. Having said that I totally agree with nannaandgrampy's comments, any pets are a huge commitment but bring great joy to their owners. We have had dogs in various shapes and sizes since my daughters were born and when my grandson was 8 months old Penelope was introduced to the family. He and penny have grown up together and are inseparable, they are both now 10 years old....and soon will have to face the inevitable heartache. Be prepared for lots of love, laughter and tears if you decide to bring a dog into your family.

I would wait until the child is older to trust a dog alongside a baby is unfair on both the dog and the baby they are both unpredictable and hard work.

Get a dog from a reputable rescue. They will have already been tested for temperament and advice will be given on which dogs are suitable for children etc.

Lots of my "well meaning" friends back then told me I would have to get rid of my two Rough Collies who had been treated (admittedly) as children in the previous 10 years, but to echo Nanaandgrampy, we were exactly the same. When I went shopping the two dogs were left with the pram and get a careful eye on people "peeking in the pram". They were like surrogate mothers. When the baby got to crawling it was impressed on him he must not crawl over the dogs, nor poke their eyes, etc. My little grandson is now brought up the same when with us and our dog (who was not actually used to children either) and could be over-boisterous, but they have been fine, and grandson declares to anyone who will listen that he loves Scooby !! He does not have an animal which is a shame so ours is the only experience he has of animals. Its not being with then 24 hours a day but just taking precautions and thinking ahead.

I do agree that it is unwise to get a dog/puppy when a new baby is expected.

However, in defence of dogs, human beings are responsible for the vast number of injuries and deaths that are inflicted on babies and young children.

As I said before, many couples seem to want a dog when they have a baby, as if somehow it makes them into a "proper" family. I wish more people would think about it rather than finding out they made the wrong decision,
when it's too late.

I notice that acemodar hasn't returned to comment

DD2 used our golden retriever as a baby walker as well.

Younger members of the family are usually safe as houses with a dog that's been around the block with the older siblings but we were still vigilant. We didn't have our first Jack Russell until the youngest was five.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Apart from a stuffed one, as jingl said...

If it isn't a wind-up it's a ridiculous question anyway. How can anyone posibly say that any kind of dog is guaranteed to be safe around a baby?

Apparently when I was young I used the family dog as a baby walker, grabbing 2 handfuls of fur and toddling along behind her. When she decided she had had enough, she would walk under the dining table leaving me to bang my head on it!

I also had a lovely collie spaniel cross who adored babies and if they were at the sitting up stage would deliberately go and sit next to them (on one occasion when friends were staying, and their little one was ill she sat by his bed all night)

BUT I still think the OP is a wind up.

I am a massive dog fan and have had dogs all my life. However I truly believe that you can never trust any dog 100% however well trained as there will always be a tipping point. We brought up our three children with firstly a bearded collie, then two springers and latterly a collie/lab cross. The absolute key is that children need to learn about dogs and to understand how to treat them. All our grandchildren are being brought up in dog households and it is wonderful to see the bond between the little ones and the dogs. We have just taken on a guide dog puppy and that is more difficult with small children as a puppy's instinct is to nip and chase...we would not expect to have the small children near such a young puppy unless he is particularly sleepy and even then we would be holding the pup and controlling him very carefully. Children learn so much in life skills from pets, particularly dogs but there needs to be a massive dose of common sense.

We had a dog my whole childhood and I loved him to bits . Our son is allergic to dogs , fortunately we hadn't got a dog when it was discovered . But my DD and SiL got a dog the moment they moved into their home . A one year old rescue Lab who, when the baby was born three years later, decided it was her role to "guard" her and my DD. The oily time she left my daughter's side was food time which is a Labrador's main reason for living !
She still is very protective towards the DGD now four years old and even when I babysit, parks herself on the landing just outside her door .A new baby is expected soon and I wonder what her action will be this time .Labs are wonderful apart from the shedding hairs ! But I too would say that a new baby is not the time to get a new dog and even though this dog is wonderful my DD is fully aware that she is first and foremost an animal that can do unexpected things .

I grew up with a golden retriever and so I made sure my daughter did as well. In fact, when my DD was about 3 years old, I was standing in the kitchen and our goldie was lying in the next room, where I could just see her face. Her expression told me that something was wrong and when I went to look, there was my DD kicking her in the stomach. She hadn't retaliated in any way. That was the only time I ever smacked my daughter, hard, on the legs. When she cried, I said to her "Now you know how much you hurt Penny. Don't you ever hurt her again.". DD remembers it to this day and never did anything like it again. If Penny had retaliated, she would have been blamed. Nanandgrampy's advice is brilliant!

Will the DGC be delivered by caesarean I wonder as the OP seems very certain of the date?
Fur and other things? Does the OP mean teeth, fleas, worms, vet's bills, faeces?
Apparently you can order stuffed replicas of your pets online - even hamsters!
Who'd have thought it.

Perhaps the OP will come back and let us know about the DGC or perhaps he/she is too busy atm

I had an elderly Labrador when DD was born, the dog was super, she loved children, after having been pre owned by a friend who was returning to work so I knew her history. The dog had been brought up with 2 small girls and loved being climbed upon and patted etc by children. I also had a small border terrier, normally I love this breed however ours was snappy and unsafe with the baby, we took him to the vet and discovered he was going blind, again this dog had been pre owned but we did not know his history, he bit my DD on the arm, nothing serious and we had him destroyed, I was gutted and would have like to have found him a home with no children but we tried and could not find one.
I would say don't have a pup with small children, the pups need attention just like a child does, wait until the family is older.

And I would have thought "their fur" would be the least of their worries!

"^My daughter will deliver my first grandchild next week^

I am sure OP will have other things to occupy her "next week" and hope that the question of a dog either for her or her DD can be considered more carefully than the post suggests.

(Strange way of putting it though )

I love dogs, but I would never trust one absolutely and quite frankly the child in the video did not look happy, he looked very unsure of the dog.

If it had fleas, it would be scratching far more than that. That was normal for dogs. NFD

To be honest, why can't we just see a lovely dog trying to make friends with a child? Ok, perhaps not then, agree to differ about dogs then?

I love them myself and all they do for mankind, such as guide dogs, dogs for the deaf, dogs for the disabled, police dogs, army dogs, drug/bomb searching dogs, sled dogs, hospital visiting dogs, sheep dogs, rescue dogs.... there's probably more.