Dog issue?

vintagevix2016

My husband has had his bulldog for 8 years. She has always been a great, though sometimes super needy, dog. Her aggression level is very low except when she feels a dog is getting out of line (playing too rough, being too annoying, acting aggressive, etc.). In those situations she will growl, bark, anr sometimes snap at the other dog. She has never bitten a dog or person, ever. All that said, I've never left her alone with Damien and any interaction between the two of them is closely supervised. I always think of those stories you hear about the loveable family dog hurting the baby/toddler. Thus far she has been wonderful with him, so affectionate and protective. She just wants to be near him whenever she can and it's been super sweet. We always tell her to be gentle (she knows that command very well) and also tell/show Damien how to be gentle too (he'll understand as he gets older). He loves to touch her face and holds on to her jowls and she just licks away at his hands. 

Well tonight my husband admitted to me that during my nap yesterday, he had the two of them on the floor together. While holding Damien's hand, he was showing him how to pet her and stroke her fur. Apparently she growled at him (Damien), like her warning growl that she gives to other dogs. I figure she kinda views Damien has a puppy so perhaps she was warning him that she was annoyed or something. Or could it be that she likes interacting with him only when it's on her terms (she goes to him, not him coming to her) and feels he was invading her space. Either way, I don't like that she did that and it makes me even more nervous. My husband said that it makes him nervous as well. He suggested that maybe we need to set aside 5-10mins a day for Damien-Meaty interaction time so that he can be there to sit by her and keep her in check and I can be holding Damien so that I can protect him in the worst case scenario. By doing these interactions, he hopes that it will teach her how to behave with him and vice versa. I just don't know, maybe I am being too overly cautious and sensitive about the whole thing but l like I said, it makes me even more nervous for them to be around each other now that I know she has more of a potential to react aggressively toward him. Am I overreacting? (I was very calm about it when my husband and I talked about it, I'm not one to fly off the handle.)

rlbrooks84

Could he have pulled her hair by chance? My German shepherd is not a huge baby fan, she doesn't like to be pulled on and has sensitive skin, I can only use certain brushes on her. She does how ever love the age my boys are because they can play with her. That said she will tell them when she's had enough play time or doesn't want to be pet by growling at them. They also know better then me a okay boys I've had enough vs I'm grumpy and aggressive growl. She doesn't like strange men and really doesn't like them around my boys and will do her angry growl then. At this point I'll leave her alone with them but honestly the only time I don't really supervise them is when they play outside at lot during the summer and the dog doesn't like heat so she'll stay inside for the most part. She's 10 for reference. I think being aware of what the dog doesn't like is important to know so you can prevent your son from being a negative experience for her. They are animals and it's important to be aware when our little ones are interacting with them, also I don't think you're overreacting it's our babies and we are naturally protective. 

vintagevix2016

rlbrooks84 said:

Could he have pulled her hair by chance? My German shepherd is not a huge baby fan, she doesn't like to be pulled on and has sensitive skin, I can only use certain brushes on her. She does how ever love the age my boys are because they can play with her. That said she will tell them when she's had enough play time or doesn't want to be pet by growling at them. They also know better then me a okay boys I've had enough vs I'm grumpy and aggressive growl. She doesn't like strange men and really doesn't like them around my boys and will do her angry growl then. At this point I'll leave her alone with them but honestly the only time I don't really supervise them is when they play outside at lot during the summer and the dog doesn't like heat so she'll stay inside for the most part. She's 10 for reference. I think being aware of what the dog doesn't like is important to know so you can prevent your son from being a negative experience for her. They are animals and it's important to be aware when our little ones are interacting with them, also I don't think you're overreacting it's our babies and we are naturally protective. 

I'd have to ask my husband if he grabbed her a certain way. It initially sounded like just stroking but Damien is definitely at the "yank your hair" phase so that could be it. This will be a learning curve for sure because she doesn't have issues with us playing with her ears or having her butt slapped (sounds harsh but this dog actually presents her butt to us for it. She loves it. Weirdo.). I told my husband that while she might be okay with us doing things or playing rough, she may not like Damien doing them. We are ranked higher in the pack, so to speak, so maybe right now she views Damien as lower than her (being the "puppy"). I'm hoping that growling will be as far as it goes but you are definitely right that we need to pay closer attention to what she deems acceptable/unacceptable.

By the way, I grew up with German Shepherds, they're my absolute favorite dog! 

meggyme

All of our up close dog/baby interactions have been with Jackie in my lap, but since she's crawling she does occasionally sneak up on our 6 year old pit mix. I try to keep her away from his dog bed so it's a safe space for him to go if he's had enough of her. I would definitely supervise closely and if it happens again, correct the dogs behavior with a stern "no" and even a firm rap on the nose. That way you might be able to change that idea that Damian is below the dog in the pack order.

tucrew

We almost always let our dog initiate playtime. He is a very gentle, but very formerly abused 3-yr-old cattle dog mix with boundless energy, so he can get hyper and anxious when Cora shrieks at him and lunges. He is also the biggest momma's boy ever, so he still gets upset that he can't get in my lap while I'm nursing. The only time I call him over is if she is crying, because she loves the dog more than us and always smiles at him. I hold her when they are together; we practice petting, where I hold both of her hands so she doesn't grab his eyes or ears, and the dog kinda thinks he's getting pets from me. It will be trickier when she crawls, but he has a safe bed under the dining room table, and also likes to hide under our bed. I trust him, but I still wont

vintagevix2016

tucrew said:

We almost always let our dog initiate playtime. He is a very gentle, but very formerly abused 3-yr-old cattle dog mix with boundless energy, so he can get hyper and anxious when Cora shrieks at him and lunges. He is also the biggest momma's boy ever, so he still gets upset that he can't get in my lap while I'm nursing. The only time I call him over is if she is crying, because she loves the dog more than us and always smiles at him. I hold her when they are together; we practice petting, where I hold both of her hands so she doesn't grab his eyes or ears, and the dog kinda thinks he's getting pets from me. It will be trickier when she crawls, but he has a safe bed under the dining room table, and also likes to hide under our bed. I trust him, but I still wont

I usually let Meaty initiate too and from the details my husband told me this evening, they didn't let her initiate contact. That could definitely be a factor, that she wasn't in the mood for it. I suggested that when we want to do interactions between the two of them, we should wait until she domes to him. He thought that sounded like a good idea. I think we should be more diligent about one of us holding Damien while the other holds Meaty.

@meggyme Yea, I definitely think letting her know right away that that behavior is not okay is a smart move. My husband said that he didn't punish her when it happened because he didn't want to let go of Damien. I get it, so next time since we will both be there, so one of us can do that if it is needed.

rlbrooks84

I love the name Meaty!

vintagevix2016

rlbrooks84 said:

I love the name Meaty!

My husband wants to get another one and name it Beefy haha.