Category: Top Dog

To be clear, the baby is completely fine. It was more of a nip resulting in a small scratch. However it's on my baby's face and I don’t want to ignore what happened or minimize the issue.

Context:

I have a 3 month old baby, and two dogs, a 6 year old Lab and a 3 year old Golden. This happened with the Lab. I was feeding the baby on the couch and the Lab was sitting next to me, curled up and resting. I moved the baby to my shoulder to burp him and the dog sat up and started leaning forward to sniff the baby. I should have stopped it there, and probably shouldn't have been next to the dog at all. The dog looked curious and was moving towards the baby slowly, and he had every opportunity to leave the couch. Then he growled and made contact with the baby's face and got off the couch. Afterwards he sat at my feet. I wanted to rationalize that maybe they just collided heads and it was an accident, but the dog growled and showed his teeth.

The dog’s history:

He has been around children in the past with no issues. We've had puppies and he was gentle and attentive. He loves people and has never been aggressive towards anyone. He doesn't guard food or toys, but will guard bones. He will allow me or my partner to take the bone, and allows even our other dog to take it from him. We discourage this and give them bones in separate rooms and generally let him have space. He plays with the other dog outside, and they sleep together, but he otherwise keeps to himself in the house. He goes to doggy daycare every week and they love him there.

He is a nervous guy. He shakes at loud noises and doesn’t love his feet being touched. He loves the vet but does get scared when they move him, take blood, etc. Never growled, never put up his hackles. Just shaking and licking, which they are cautious about, obviously.

He's very much MY dog and loves me very much. He seeks comfort from me when he's scared and shows signs of depression when I'm gona from the house for more than a few days. I know he's an animal and we wanted to be cautious of that with the baby no matter what was their disposition. Overall this dog has always just been incredibly sweet and happy most of the time.

Our prep:

Since bringing the baby home we have focused on two things, #1 we kept them separated, and #2 we maintained the dogs' routine and tried to keep up with their exercise. The dogs were not allowed to sniff or be near the bassinet, or any baby items. There is a gated off area in the living room where we (normally) feed the baby, he plays on the floor, and sits in his bouncy chair. We have allowed the dogs to sniff the baby's feet a few times while we hold him, always surpervised and only if they're curious and approach us willingly. Alos only for a few moments before we redirect them and usually give them treats to encourage leaving the baby alone, and just positive interactions while the baby is around.

We have a huge gated backyard where they get daily play, fetch, and run around. And they also go to doggy daycare regularly, which we made sure to take them to, even during the newborn stage. It was hard, but they seem over all happy.

What to do now?

I am already going to take my dog to the vet to see if he's in any pain, has anything going on, and to maybe address his nervousness with meds if they suggest it.

I already have a trainer we've worked with in the past who helped us with barking, walking on leash, positive reinforcement, etc. I plan to call them immediately and see what they can help us with.

I have the resources and the time for training, keeping them separate, and getting medical care for the dog if needed. My partner and I work from home, and he is also willing to do whatever it takes. My mother helps with the baby in the house during the day. She loves dogs, and has fostered multiple reactive resuces in the past. She also can take my dog to her house from some baby free time.

HOWEVER… in my brief searching here on Reddit, it seems like there's so many stories of people doing everything right with great dogs, and still their children get bitten and hurt. Does any one have any success stories? I know it will only get harder when my baby starts crawling, walking, eating food at the table, and generally being a kid. Part of me thinks that the internet is only doom and gloom, and we can work it out. But the other part of me thinks it's inevitable. My dog is going to bite my baby again only worse. Then it will be even harder to rehome him or I'll have to put him down, which will abolsutely break my heart. My baby's safety is obviously my first priority. I'm willing to rehome my dog becuase I want him to have the best life, but do I have any hope at all of things getting better?

TLDR; it seems like from searching here that even if the bite was small and the dog is generally well behaved, that it will happen again and I have no choice but to rehome my dog. Does anyone have any success stories with a dog and baby living amicably in their home? I don't need them to be best friends at all. I just want everyone to be safe.

by which I mean I'm looking for international/european certification boards and organizations that give certifications to COURSES/SCHOOLS, not single trainers that pass their exams etc. all I've found so far is directed at trainers themselves. any and all help is welcome, thanks a bunch in advance💛

Hi Everyone, I’m hoping for some advice. I live in an apartment and put my dog in a crate while I’m at work (he goes in around 7:00 AM, and I’m home between 11–12). My dog has separation anxiety, and while we put him on two anxiety medications, he still barks nonstop when I’m gone. Recently, I saw a post in our community app about a dog in the building barking all day starting around 8:30 AM, and I think it might be ours. I thought the meds were helping, but clearly, he’s still stressed. I really don’t want to cause issues with neighbors or risk eviction. I’m wondering if he might have confinement anxiety in addition to separation anxiety. I’ve tried giving him Kongs or bones and leaving the TV on, but nothing seems to stop the barking or distress. I’m considering whether letting him free roam in the apartment might help.

Has anyone dealt with this? Any advice on managing this behavior I’m at a loss at this point and this is making me stressed, keeping him calm, and making sure he’s not stressed while I’m at work would be so appreciated.

We got a puppy about a month ago when we had 2 senior dogs (both 10) one of them was not a fan of the puppy (oldest) and the other was mostly indifferent. The eldest dog passed last week and now the other is not attacking, but lunging at and barking at the puppy. Is this my life now of having to manage between the two? We love the puppy, BUT my elderly dog comes first and if this is stressing her out that bad I don't know if keeping the puppy is a great idea. I don't want her to have to live her last few years of life like this. I do separate them when necessary, crate the puppy if he's doing too much or send her to the bedroom to rest. They play together at the park fine and go on walks together fine also. Could this maybe just be a phase of her grieving her sister? She will go after him even when he's across the room and not bothering her at all. Her and her sister would occasionally fight, but until the older one developed dementia it was rare. She's never been aggressive towards other dogs. I worked in vet med, rescue, and pet sit when she was younger and recently started again after having kids so she's been well socialized. She is on joint supplements and pain meds. All bloodwork was good. Kidney function was just checked and it was also within normal limits.

I don't think it's fair to either one to have to spend time being "cycled" through the house. Other people can and have, but I don't want her spending her last years that she should be relaxing to be full of stress. I also have young children and have had a reactive dog before so I know management can and will fail. I don't fear for my children at all and she's not attacking the puppy per say. I would almost say correcting, but she does it when there's nothing to correct just if he's walking in the same room. I partially think that she wants to protect the kids because he jumps on them and is normal puppy nippy.

To start, I read the wiki and it was unclear on my question. I just got an adult Shih Tzu mix. I need to house train him. I installed a dog door and he's learned how to use it. I currently work 13 hour shifts and cannot reliably come home during my shifts. No one else lives in the house and the closest person I know lives 30 minutes away. I currently have a very large 30×48 kennel for him and I butt it up against the dog door, so he has access to the entire yard plus that little area inside the house.

The wiki says to watch him like a hawk and crate him whenever I can't watch him, but that's simply not possible for me, as I can't crate him 13+ hours straight. So when he goes potty while I'm at work, he receives no feedback. Im off work 3-4 days a week. Will I be able to house train him by supervising him just part of the week? The goal is to eventually be able to let him have the entire house and yard while I'm at work. ​

My wife got a mini Australian Shepherd a couple years before we started dating. The dog is about 6 now. She’s very chill with my wife, but whenever I try to leave the house she completely loses it—barking like crazy, biting my ankles to try to pull me back inside, even pushing the door closed before I can open it.

My wife suggested I start a routine before leaving, like sending her to “place” and giving her treats right before I head out. Is that generally the recommended way to handle something like this?

I’m assuming I’d need to do it every time I leave, even if it’s just stepping out for a minute to check the yard. If anyone has dealt with something similar, how long did it take before your dog got comfortable with you leaving? We’ve read that she might just see me as unpredictable and is trying to guard/control the situation.

Any recommendations on a food dispenser that my dog can activate? This is the first dog ive had that eats sporadically, whenever he's hungry, throughout the day. So, his food often just sits in his bowl for long periods of time. I didnt mind this at first but its beginning to attract bugs and other pests. Almost all dispensers I see require me to activate it remotely or set a timer and I'd rather train him to be able to use it when he's hungry.