My dog and my new grandson

I have read the thread twice and I still do not see why the dog needs to meet the baby YET.

Keep them apart until the baby is older.

Meet your Pro trainer and also keep reading up on the subject but I can't see the urgency.

I think it would be better to wait for at least until the baby is over a year old. It is too risky.
I don't agree that bad habits will be formed if they don't meet before . Why? That doesn't make any sense.

When my youngest GD was a baby we went to visit a friend who has the most adorable gentle King Charles Cavalier.
Unhappily the dog began to growl in a very threatening manner.
My friend removed the dog. She could only think that it was because her dog had never met a baby before.

The other GD;s with me were age 2 and 5 and the dog was fine with them.
Give time for this matter and don't rush

Is the dog excited or is she anxious? Excessive licking can be a sign of stress. I wouldn’t take the risk.

I think you mean Cesar Milan Bluebelle, he advocates a dominance method of training which is not necessarily the best way forward. But not all behaviourists use that method at all .

*But my question wasn’t “do you think my dog and grandson need to meet”
My question was do you have any tips to stop my dog getting so excited and trying to get too close and lick my grandson.*

I think you ve been given lots of tips, mainly put your dog behind a stair gate when your baby is there and listen to your husband and your son in law I m glad you’re seeing a professional although I believe some are better than others I always though Caesar Malone (is that his name) was some guru but read recently that there are question marks over him acting cruelly with some dogs and doubts about his knowledge anyway back on track I ve no idea why you asked unprofessional grannies their view when you have such strong views yourself
Listen to the pro
Good luck

BlueBelle
But my question wasn’t “do you think my dog and grandson need to meet”
My question was do you have any tips to stop my dog getting so excited and trying to get too close and lick my grandson.

I am so shocked at the level of lack of understanding on this thread and unwillingness to read my posts correctly.

I will trust only the professional who will be visiting us in the middle of October when my grandson is next here.
I must say, the behaviourist I spoke to earlier, NEVER suggested I keep them apart he said how important it was to do this properly, which I think is what I have been trying to say all along.

I appreciate some people don’t like the thought of dogs and children/babies mixing but I know just what a difference a dog can make to a child’s life if they have a responsible and safe relationship.

I wish you luck scentia.

"But what if she has never really met him properly?" - what the heck does that mean? The dog does not have to meet him at all. Poor baby has no choice - it is you who wants to make them meet. The child's own father is pulling the dog away.

Again I come back to: my dog is not allowed to hurt my grandson - my point is that you cannot stop that happening unless the two are apart. Your confidence that you are able to do that is quite frightening, and entirely misguided.

Children and babies are unpredictable and terrible things happen. Please put this baby first. The whole premise behind all you are saying is so very wrong. It implies that you are able to predict what your dog will or will not do - you can't. It is the work of a fleeting moment for a child to be maimed; and it is simply not worth the risk.

No nannagramps dogs and children don’t have to be kept apart Dogs and tiny babies do

scentia you have your yes very clear views and have no intention to change from them, you are convinced the dog and tiny baby need to meet The father and your husband obviously don’t think that and it doesn’t matter if every post on here says they, don’t you are not going to change your mind, so I have no understanding why you asked on here because you are very closed to a different point of view

Dogs and babies don’t mix even if you are in the same room it can take just a second for something to happen why on earth risk it at this tender age listen to the men in your family

I think Scentia you’re doing the right thing in being proactive . The baby doesn’t need to learn to interact with the dog right now but of course it will have to. Visiting or living with you , makes no difference.

You don’t want to wait for the child to become fearful. There’s no reason with proper supervision they can’t be introduced .

Sadly , your thoughtful post has attracted the responses of those that think dogs and children should be kept separately . I disagree with them wholeheartedly .

Summerlove

I know there is no need to deal with the dog at this time, but surely I can’t be more clear on my views as I wrote yesterday. See below.

Surely it is best to get the rules sorted now before he is of an age to be learning how to behave around her

Scentia, I actually have read the full thread, thank you, but perhaps you aren’t as clear as you think.
I’m glad you’ve sorted a behavouralist, But I maintain that the child and dog are not required to learn to work with each other. There are ways around it. Also, Your grandchild is very new, and it’s obvious even your husband and son-in-law have issues with this set up that you currently have. The baby does not need to learn how to deal with the dog at this point in time.

If you have read the full thread you will recall this I wrote yesterday.

I never would trust any dog alone with a child no matter what I think of the dogs temperament, but what if she has never really met him properly and then accidentally she is allowed near him and he pulls at her because he hasn’t been taught how to behave neither

Maybe now you will see why I am concerned and my opinion is that they absolutely do need to meet and get used to one another.

Well said Bluebelle

NfkDumpling
I do so hate to see these photos on SM of dogs being mauled by children, that is definitely an incident waiting to happen. This is absolutely why children should be taught how to interact with animals correctly.

Well I ve read the whole thread Scentia and I m dismayed at your anger and swearing at a poster
Why do you keep insisting that the dog and baby need to be together, he is 5 months old for goodness sake, probably sitting/lying in one place at the moment They only visit they don’t live with you so what is so wrong with keeping the dog away from the baby, if I had a dog and a young baby the dog would go behind a baby gate for their visit.
You don’t even have to leave a baby alone you can be in the same room with your back turned for one minute the baby pokes the dog in the eye and it’s immediate reaction is to react in the only way it knows one big ole bite and with a staffie/pit bull etc the jaw locks on the ‘enemy’ why would you even consider wanting them together
Your grandson will get to know the dog when he is older and more able to be equally trained there is no need for an introduction at this age

I don't know if this will reproduce very well, but it just popped up on my FB feed. Not relevant to over eager dogs - more the other way around but worth sharing?

Summerlove
Someone else who would benefit from reading the full thread. I have engaged a professional to help me to get this right, I am aware my dog needs to get further training.
She does not lick him but she tries as her tongue is coming out but she is nowhere near enough to actually lick him.

Luckygirl
But if you are going to shout at me, please take time to read the post correctly. I said my dog is not allowed to hurt my grandson in response to someone’s comment. I have clearly stated that I am not so stupid to think any dog including my own has the ability to attack a child. I want to do this right, and if the right thing to do is keep them separated then that is what I will do, but I don’t believe psychologically that is the best for the dog and it is certainly not the best for the baby. He needs to learn how to interact. If it turns out he doesn’t like the dog then of course I would never make him interact but at the moment that is not possible to see. You are being judgemental about my intelligence and ability to protect my grandson.
I would suggest you go back, read all my posts properly then come back and if you still feel like shouting at me, don’t, as I don’t like being shouted at.

You say I am not letting her lick him read the fucking post properly. She keeps TRYING to lick him but I want her to stop.

But literally in your original post you say “If I say ‘no’ she will not lick but then 5 minutes later she is trying again.” This makes it sound as though the dog does in fact occasionally lick the baby.

As far as them needing to learn to interact, they don’t actually. The baby does not live with you. The dog does. So you can put the dog away while the baby visits, or visit the baby at its own house. In an ideal world, you would teach your dog to interact properly with the baby. But that starts with you saying no, and continually saying no. Even if it gets annoying and hard.

Ftr I am a dog person, and I’m not someone who Thanks the dogs and babies don’t mix. However, dogs that refuse to listen and babies absolutely do not mix. This is on you to train your dog

I was brought up with Staffies when they looked more like pit bulls. Both were very much nanny dogs and protected me. My parents continued to have Staffies and they were the same with my children. But - we never left any of the dogs alone with our children as they weren't used to them, and discouraged licking by removing the baby from the dog not the dog from the baby.

All our dogs have been trained not to lick faces or hands but it is hard for them sometimes with new babies. They naturally want to help care for the pack's new puppy. Luckily puppies and babies grow amazingly quickly.

It is not a judgement - it is a fact. I am distraught when I hear news of another child harmed by a family pet, whose owners were sure would not harm the child.

You do not know that; and it simply is not worth the risk.

Maybe they do not need to interact with each other - why should they if you keep the dog away until the child is old enough to understand that dogs should be treated with circumspection?

Your statements place the dog's needs on a par with the child's.

The main thing is never ever leave a dog alone with a baby,or toddler, my great grand daughter was recently bitten badly on her face, but it was the stupid fathers fault ,my grand daughters partner,he went outside with his sister , to have a cigarette,who was visiting with the dog, and left the little girl who possibly touched or pulled at the dog, no one knows of course as no one there,she was only 12 months old at the time

Dear me, scentia. I do hope you don't use that sort of language in front of your grandson, otherwise he might grow up as foul mouthed as his grandmother.

I have already said that once I have professional guidance I will do the best thing. I just can’t see how it is safe to keep them apart, they “ABSOLUTELY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER” so lucky girl unless you are a dog behaviourist keep your shouting to yourself. By all means comment with your answers to my question but do not feel you have the right to shout at me with your judgements.