I would like to use my get out of jail free Tuesday card please (long)

johannaknip

So H and I have two Weimaraners. Piper is two Jinx is one. Piper was the runt and, I cannot lie, I spoiled the heck out of her because she was so small. (plus she was the first pet H and I got together) She has no idea that she is a dog and is very, very much my girl. Since we got Jinx she has been a little aggressive if he gets more attention than she does, at least from me. She stands between he and I and will occasionally snap at him if they have been playing. Mostly she is a very sweet and social girl, loves Jinx and loves people. Ok, there is a bit of the background.

My best friend and her 2 year old came over on Saturday. In the past, when he was younger, less talkative and less mobile, the dogs just stayed away. For the most part they would do a little 'sniff and run' to check him out. No aggression and no problems. They even finally let him feed them a cookie a few months ago. Saturday was different. My BF, and little boy, myself and Piper were all on the couch. Gabe (the 2 year old) was squealing, bouncing around and making a ruckus. He loves hanging with me and in the middle of his squeal, bounce, enjoying being 2 he got right in Piper's face and also up on my lap. Well, she snapped at him. NEVER have I ever seen her do that. Immediately we put her outside and gave her a swat. Normally when we put her outside she claws the door and acts like a brat until we let her in. This time she just sat there until we finally let her in. I think she knew she effed up. She was very calm when she came back in and there were no more issues.

OK, I promise this is the point. My H's brother, sis-in-law and their one year old are staying with us for a week at Christmas. If you were me, would you be worried? I am hoping because he is one, less mobile and a more quiet little boy in general it should be OK. I have thought about putting up a baby gate to put the dogs behind as a precautionary measure. But, Jinx weighs 100 pounds and I am scared they will just rip it out of the wall or jump it. I am hoping this is an isolated incident, especially since we want children someday. I guess this isn't really a question, I am just upset about it and worried. I would love feedback. I am sorry I don't have a better Tuesday question.

pnwjess

This really has nothing to do with BOTB, so it doesn't count as a Tuesday question. Put the dog outside if there is a problem.

DesignsOnYou

Oh my gosh this is WAY too long!!!

I skimmed but I think the basic point is if your dogs have shown agression to a child recently it would be in everyone's best interest to keep them away. Unless you would like to risk it which I think is irresponsible.

heather_09_15_07

Are your dogs that wild that you are scared they will rip down a baby gate? Put them in crates. Get some training for them and stop spoiling them.

Kriszta

I agree with what other say.  I am not in the mood to read a book right now.

lo45fd98wq32

Wow, this is long. I guess I would say this. Dogs get jealous, just like people. My dad's dog tried to bite me when I was born, so he had to get rid of him. Not saying that is your course of action, but put the dog in the crate when she isn't welcome, or keep her away from the kid.

johannaknip

No, they are not wild, they have been crate trained and are normally great. I am just thinking with a lot of people in the house they will get excited and knock it down.

Tonto12

You could of written this post in one paragraph and saved everyone time.  I ditto what JessicalovesTrevor said..... put the dog outside. 

margarita1365

What Heather said.

Best to keep them away entirely if the aggressive behavior is unpredictable.

Nickie_M84

You have to realize that bringing another dog into your house when you have another dog can be very tramatizing to your older dog. It takes some training to get them used to eachother, esspecially when you have one as territorial as your older dog obviously is. If she has snapped before its almost a promise she will snap again. I would consult a dog trainer on what to do to break her of this habit.   

mrsmacias2008

I'm too lazy to read this.

Shell*

You need to deal with your dog's aggression but in the meantime you need to keep your dog away from kids. Do not put another child in harm's way to see if it is a one time thing. 

hockeypirate

If it were me, I'd probably use the baby gates and introduce the baby slowly. Another thing I've read about with getting dogs ready for a baby in a family is to introduce toys now like what the baby might have--meaning, loud, rattling, etc. You could also find out what baby lotion they use and I've read it's recommended to start applying that to your own skin so when the dog sniffs the baby, they know the smell already.

 You might have to deal with some jealousy on your dog's part since the baby's probably going to be getting all the attention. I'd just make sure to give her a good amount of attention too and make sure she's getting plenty of exercise during that week especially.

 For when the two of you have a baby, I'd be sure to research this topic. There's an expert on the subject somewhere on the boards too...I remember seeing a post about this recently.

pmarie33

We have Weims as well and they are very protective of their humans and jealous of others that take away attention.  We've even had phone calls from the Vet asking us to adopt a few weims over the years because their humans had a baby.  They were very jealous of the baby and started acting out.  

In most cases it's fine.  But there are cases where you might have to pick and chose.

We had our dogs around babies and children from the get go and we've not had a problem (yet) thank goodness.

You might take them to a  obedience trainer to try and resolve this.

armandos_girl

I think you need to take it very seriously.  I would put the dogs behind a gate until they got used to the baby, and then would only let them out around the baby when someone is there (like next to him) to closely supervise.  Or better yet, in addition, make it clear to her that the baby is off-limits, i.e. if the baby is on the couch, she is not allowed to be.

JessicaAlice

Keep them separated for the near future visit and then possibly consult a behaviorist if you and H are thinking of having kids and want to keep your dog.  The behavior can be changed and/or helped but you have to put in the time, effort, and probably money to help out your dog and re-train yourself.

johannaknip

I hope since the dogs are one and two training will make all the difference. My H thinks I am nuts and that she won't do it again. Thanks for all the ideas! Sorry it's long, if you have trouble falling asleep tonight you can just re-read my post.

weelass24

I refuse to read on the basis that this is too long.

 

lo45fd98wq32

johannaknip:

I hope since the dogs are one and two training will make all the difference. My H thinks I am nuts and that she won't do it again. Thanks for all the ideas! Sorry it's long, if you have trouble falling asleep tonight you can just re-read my post.

 

Tell your DH the problem with this approach is the next time, a child could get bitten. It happened to me. It was heartbreaking for my dad to give up his dog, but it would have done worse if it stayed around. Again, this might not be the case, but it's always better to err on the side of caution.

ashdonne

I think you need to put the dogs outside if you are worried or in a crate or something---sounds like a one-off incident but you never know!