Dog and baby

Gsm how weird! I don't have dogs now.I never thought it was fair when I was working and out all day and I've never gone back to them. They were an important part of my childhood and I remember an Aunt's Jack Russell who I thought was cute and wanted to carry about but I was told she was a tremendous ratter They lived in the country and kept her for that purpose. I think people forget why dogs were part of our lives once and that they still keep those instincts.

I was a small child in the 60s. Many families/freinds/relatives had dogs that were treated as members of the family.

We were all taught to treat them with love. Never tease. Keep away when they're eating etc etc

My 6 month granddaughter sits on her dad's knee and laughs endlessly at one of our pups.

Much loved members of the family. And they're a lot safer than some human members of families as well. Just today in the news a young lady left her toddler alone for 6 days whilst she partied. Child died.

We always had cairn terriers. When our first grandson was born my daughter brought him to see us when he was about 3 weeks old. She put him in the middle of a double bed whilst we all had lunch.
To this day I don't know how this happened but we suddenly noticed the dog was missing. We ran upstairs and the dog was on the bed next to the baby protecting him. He always adored our grandson and walked next to his pushchair.
However, the outcome could have been tragically different.It was a lesson well learned and it still makes my heart stop when I think about it.

My current rescue was sent to the shelter because his owners had a new baby and the dog was "showing signs of jealousy". Now after having this amazing dog for the last 8 years I don't think he has a jealous bone in his body and he adores young children, either visiting us or ones he meets on his walks. I can only assume they couldn't cope with him and felt that the jealousy excuse was a more acceptable one! I had a middle aged dog when my elder child was born and I don't recall any issues at all, other than he used to take sons toys into the garden constantly! Also in my experience the smaller the dog the more bad tempered it is!!

DD recently went to a Dogs Trust course on having a dog for an autistic child. She said it was lovely having endless puppies to play with but it had reminded her what hard work a puppy would be.

We inherited an incredibly well trained Border Collie from a friend. He wasn't keen on small children, especially noisy ones, and we always knew when he'd had enough because one side of his lip would start to turn up. That was our sign to remove the child.

I had cats whilst working trisher, absolutely agree it’s not fair to leave a dog if you’re out at work. Cats are much more independent and can be left for the day if they have a cat flap, water and dried food to nibble between meals. We had dogs once one of us was at home all day. Unconditional love plus protection!

I do think dogs are getting a bad press here, maybe opinions are being given in some cases by people who haven’t been dog owners themselves? Does nobody remember Jungle Book? They are pack animals, and the vast majority of them will love and protect babies that are part of their own family. Of course you have to be careful, I’d never leave a new baby with any animal unattended, but I’d be confident my spaniel would never hurt any human - he might lick you to death, but that would be it. I was actually more worried about my cats accidentally smothering my children when they were young babies because of their tendency to sleep in warm places, they both kept jumping in the pram.

Casdon It's not dogs who are at fault, it's owners who treat a dog as if it is human.

Do you think many people do that in reality though trisher, maybe those who have never had children do, but I think most dog owners are responsible, and would know the character of their dogs, and treat them accordingly. I do think though that dogs are a lot more perceptive than people give them credit for.

I treat my dog like another child. A great many people do. I know my dog wouldn’t hurt me or the adult and teenage family members she’s used to, but if she perceived a threat to one of us or to her security I have no doubt as to what she is capable of doing. Yes she’s a big and powerful dog but I would never trust any dog with a young child. One false move by a playful child can be seen as threatening by a dog and if you've seen a dog kill you will know how quickly and instinctively they act . I’m afraid you can’t equate a story such as Jungle Book with reality. Yes, by nature dogs are pack animals which hunt together but they wouldn’t hesitate to kill one another if they felt they or their food was threatened.

I don’t think the majority of people do treat their dogs like children though, they treat them like dogs, and would not leave them alone with a baby. However, that doesn’t mean the dog would attack a baby. As I said, they are pack animals, they don’t just hunt together though, they know their place in the family, and most will love (and protect) a baby as part of their family. Jungle Book is an example, but there are true stories about human children raised by wolves as well. There are of course breed traits to take into account, but generally people do know their own dogs - if they don’t they shouldn’t be dog owners.

Never leave a dog alone with a baby, even the best behaved dog will not understand the sounds and smells. They don’t know it is a little human and their prey drive might kick in. They can be fine together, just don’t take any risks.

New babies are very hard work. Puppies are very hard work.

Both need a tremendous amount of thought and care.

Why on Earth would you saddle yourself with that all at once?

One will lose out and not get the attention needed. That almost certainly will be the puppy and as a result not become the dog it could be with care, training and attention.

Not a good combination.

So my answer is definitely NO.

Be patient wait until your baby is older and can help with the training etc the puppy will need.

Grannybags

We got our first dog (Airedale) when our boys were about 8 and 10. He became part of the family and was very good at football!

I would never leave a dog and young child alone

Grannybags I'm another Airedale owner. We bred Airedales for many years and had them before we had our children. One of the dogs did not want to leave the side of the baby for 3 weeks, she watched over him in his playpen, when being fed and when he was bathed, of course we were there to supervise.

It is not just the dogs that need to be "trained" how to behave around children, it is just as if not more important that the child is taught how to behave around the dog. I see so many photos of a child sitting on a dog or invading it's space in some other way. Clearly the dog is not happy, shown by it's expression or manner but people think it is cute and are then surprised if or when the dog snaps.

Personally and in my experience a little dog is more likely to be an issue as in many cases they are treated like a child substitute and so become more jealous of a new baby. Granted they are less likely to do as much damage as a bigger dog if they do attack.

I've always had lots of rescue dogs, cats and children about - and the golden rule is safety first and close supervision. If you can't supervise, they need their own separate areas.

We used cat nets on prams, baby gates and stable doors - and training is needed (for pets and children) so that they behave nicely together. Visiting children may not know the rules, so extra caution is needed.

The only difference with size of dog is size of jaws. Larger dogs can quickly inflict greater injuries (although, I agree, small dogs tend to be snappier).

Even with all the above precautions - there's still a small risk. Example:

My daughter, distracted by her phone, failed to notice my clumsy four year old granddaughter stray too near a sleeping fostered Golden Retriever. She stepped on his paw and fell. Hurt, he swung his head round and barked a warning.

Unfortunately, his tooth met her neck! Just a large scratch, really, not deep -but very near her jugular! We were horrified.

At the hospital, police were called (routine), the wound was cleaned (no stitches needed) and I received a police call to tell me that the dog and child should never be in the same house again.

They didn't come and take him - as he was an 11 year old, good natured Goldie - the breed made a difference. Technically, though, it was still classed as a bite, however accidental.

He was already away at the dog sitters house and I redoubled my efforts to rehome him. Luckily, I soon did find him a home in a house with other dogs - and no children.

I have no experience here but I’ve always wondered about the muck (I assume) a dog brings in? They do their business and then come in and sit on the floor or furniture with their mucky bums. Sorry but that’s how it looks to me. Also hair drops and dog food scattered around the bowl? I can’t imagine putting a baby in amongst that. I put my hands up - I’ve never had a dog - it’s just my observation?? And they smell too. (Tin hat on) ?

Polarbear, IMO it’s called boosting immunity. DS and one of our dogs shared DS’s dummy with no ill effects. He is now a healthy 42 year old. If the dog is well looked after and regularly groomed there should be no smell.

Whitewavemark2

New babies are very hard work. Puppies are very hard work.

Both need a tremendous amount of thought and care.

Why on Earth would you saddle yourself with that all at once?

One will lose out and not get the attention needed. That almost certainly will be the puppy and as a result not become the dog it could be with care, training and attention.

Not a good combination.

So my answer is definitely NO.

Be patient wait until your baby is older and can help with the training etc the puppy will need.

What happens if you already have a dog before a baby? People are allowed dogs before they start a family.

We ended up taking in a rescue Jack Russell when I'd just had a baby. The dog had been hit by a car and it needed foster care.

We were told she was pregnant which wasn't the best of news but then our vert said it was a phantom.

Easter Monday we woke up to 3 puppies and exhausted Mum.

We had a 7 year old, a new baby and 5 dogs.

We were all fine. Fine and happy. Nobody was hurt.

As for treating dogs like humans, who on earth does this? Think of the words and understand that nobody treats a dog like a human.

Valuable part of the family? Absolutely. But they're not humans . Thank goodness.

Dogs tend to be much nicer

DH breeds (has done so for over 25years) cocker and Springer spaniels and won’t house / sell pups to households with a child of under 5 years. Says it not fair to dog or child as pup is like having a baby initially and child doesn’t know not to swing on ears / tail etc and that pup is not a plaything. Pup gets exhausted and ‘says so’ by snarling or worse snapping so adults think pup is aggressive and get rid of it

I know of two children who were badly bitten on the face by dogs that had been in residence before the children arrived. I’m sure it is a matter of training, but I wouldn’t risk it until the baby was much older.

When I was a community midwife so many clients got a puppy and had a new baby .I could have had a houseful of dogs as they struggled to cope with both

Breed is less important than training and never leaving them unattended together. I have a 6 year old puggle who is loved by all my grandchildren (1-10) but I would never trust the children or the dog alone together.

We got our dog when I was 8 months pregnant. I’d always said I’d wait until I gave up work to have a dog and we wanted the baby & him to grow up together. It was perfect (the only problem was getting down to the floor to mop up accidents when heavily pregnant!).
He was a Labrador & he & my two boys spent their lives together until he sadly died when he was 17.
He was part of our family and brought nothing but love & joy, our children learned to love all animals because of their relationship with Micky ❤️

To answer your question....no. Not any size dog, until the child is at least upper juniors. Just my opinion though.

I grew up with dogs as did my daughter. There have never been problems. But I would never leave a dog and baby alone, even for a minute.