This is a serious matter to deal with. If you are having extreme difficulty you should seek out a professional.
Did you know that back in 90’s and early 2000’s that ACS had a lot of cases where dogs were killing kids.
I don’t say this to scare you, but this is no joke.
If you need help with training click on the link below.
Now a lot of people trust their dog enough to leave it with their kid alone and then an accident happens.
Keep in mind, babies are small and do weird things to dogs like riding them like a pony or pulling their tail.
Dogs do not usually intentionally want to hurt your kid, but something might of triggered it.
I’d invite you to look up the story of a family pit bull that killed a 5 day old infant.
This happened in Dunnellon, FL. The mother told investigators that she was in the other room when the family dog leaped up and attacked the infant. The infant died sadly.
75% of the victims of dogs attack on humans were under 1 years old.
Imagine if you were in this situation.
I don’t even want to think if this was my child.
And I don’t want you to have to either.
This story is not unique as this has happened to a lot of families.
Now I didn’t just go looking up this info.
I kinda stumbled upon this idea while I was working out at the boxing gym.
Everybody who knows me knows I can talk about dogs forever. In this case, the manager asked me a simple question about her dog being aggressive at weird times. Her dog even bit her son and this worried her.
He was upset because he thought that if he took care of the dog then why didn’t the dog love him.
I see a huge flaw in this thinking.
You must teach your dog to respect you. The loving part can come after.
How you live with your dog
This is what it all comes down to.
Many people live poorly with their dog and wonder why their dog doesn’t listen.
Hey! back up off my child!
That won’t be you though because after this article you will know what to do.
Structure
This is one of the most important thing you can give your dog. A lot of anxiety in dogs comes from not knowing what to expect. If you have a different routine everyday then your dog will never learn what to expect.
It is very important that you have a schedule for your dog.
What time does your dog eat breakfast?
Where does your dog supposed to go after you guys go for a walk?
Are they allowed on your bed?
What time do you put them in the crate?
These are some questions you should ask to get a better idea of structure.
Not only will it make it easier for your dog, but also easier for you.
You probably are busy and have enough things going on in your life.
Am I right?
I want your mind to be eased just like your dog’s mind.
If you are okay, I know your dog will be too.
Desensitizing before the baby gets here or around the kids slowly
If you leave things to chance then there is a chance bad things can happen.
It is important to teach your baby or child how to be around your family pet, but also teach your family pet how to behave.
Get your dog used to strollers. Take your dog near an area where there will be a lot of babies, but not in direct contact, such as outside of a schoolyard.
Also get your dog used to a baby whining.
This is the most annoying noise for me, so I’m sure it will irritate your dog.
No worries!
Just put your dog around a lot of baby noises. You can even buy or play a recording on your computer.
Also get your dog used to kids pulling on your dogs tail( although I do not advise your child does this).
Someone mentioned to me that they grabbed their dogs tail, put their fingers in their dog’s mouth, and would frequently take the bowl away from their dog to densensitize him to these things.
My response to that is that the dog will respect you , but maybe not your child.
What happens if you kids grab your dog’s bowl away and your dog gets upset. There is nothing your child can do to defend themselves.
Would you take this chance?
We have to go beyond this and teach your dog something I will explain below.
How to get your dog to respect your kids
KIds are off limits.
I know this is the obvious, but few people actually teach their dogs this.
Most people pick a dog with a easy going temperament and expect them to be calm around the baby.
I have yet to see someone who has a hyper dog think its okay to leave their dog with their child.
This is why accidents occur.
Become relevant to your dog and claim the space around your dog.
This is so important and many people don’t realize this.
Instead of claiming space they want their dog to be a walking pinata or something to keep their couch warm.
When you claim space you are telling your dog what they can and cannot claim.
If this sounds confusing I will give you some examples to help you.
Ex#1: When the mailman comes to your front door and your dog barks to send the mailman away- your dog is claiming your home as their space.
Ex#2: When your dog is on the couch and you tell them to get off, but they growl at you-you dog is claiming the couch as their space.
Ex#3: When you and your dog are on a walk and your neighbor walks up to you, but your dog lunges at them and shows teeth- your dog is claiming you as their space.
These are just a few examples, but i know you get the point.
At the simplest level, it comes down to claiming the space of the child.
There are 3 things you want to do when you are claiming space for your child.
Nurture calmness
Do not get your dog so excited.
Also be mindful of objects that gets your dog excited.
These could be balls, ropes, water bottle, your kids’ toys, etc.
If they excite your dog I would put them away so they don’t get too aroused.
Create a bubble around your child that your dog can not enter
You are not going to let your dog play with you baby. (maybe with your older child you would)
Create an imaginary circle around your baby. When your dog heads over in that direction, remind them that the baby is off limits while at the same time nurturing calmness.
How do you do this?
Become so relevant in your dog’s life
You should be able to move your dog when they are in the middle of the doorway. As soon as you walk toward your dog they should back up.
This is called respecting space.
If you dog just stands there or challenges you, then you need to work on teaching the dog how to yield to you. Check out the picture above again and you will see how this is done.
If you have any more questions click on the link below.