Dog help

Meggypoo821 · February 2013

My DD is a little over a month old and our rat terrier dog does not like her at all. He will sniff her and thats about it. When DD cries he will run and hide somewhere until she is done, he freaks out if DD touches him and the worst part of it all is when we go out and DD is with us of course we come home and the dog has gotten into something in her room. Like today I went to lunch with DH and Target, so I was gone for 2 hours or so. I get home and go into DD room and her changing table drawers are all open and diapers are all over the place chewed up, her laundry bin is turned over and clothes are everywhere. A few times we have come home to poop on the stairs leading to her room. Im not to sure what to do with the dog. Do I ignore his bad behavior or do I yell at him? Any help would be great

Strozyk Hayes · February 2013

First shut the door, or put a gate on the stairs or get the dog a kennel that it stays in while your gone. The kennels give them a place of security that is theirs. All yelling, spanking or anything of that nature does is scare and confuse the dog. A kennel is your best bet the vet will most likely suggest the same. The only thing is you cant put it there as punishment or it will think the kennel means he did something wrong. Hope it helps

ArmyWife114 · February 2013

I'd suggest crating your dog while you're not home. At first, he will probably hate it, but over time dogs develop attachments to their crate, it's their safe place. We have to crate our dog when we're gone or she'd pee ALL OVER. If you're not comfortable with crating, I would definitely close DD's door when you're not home. Does he have enough toys to chew on/play with when you're home?

You really do need to discipline him for it, when you catch him doing stuff like you've mentioned, disciplining dogs after the fact has never worked for my family (dog didn't know what was going on). But, keep in mind, it does take dogs a little while to adapt to changes.

My FIL used to give their dog positive attention everytime DH or one of his siblings was in the room, their dogs have always associated babies and children with positive attention. It's difficult to do while you're at home by yourself, but when you SO is home, they can definitely help you with that.

cowgirltu · February 2013

Are you still giving him attention? Dogs can act out just like kids when they need attention. He was probably used to getting all of your attention and now he has lost it. Make sure you make sometime to play with him, or even just pet and talk to him a little. If we find we dont make sure to give our dogs positive attention every day (and it only takes a few mins) our dogs get depressed and start to act out.

ForeverEverAfter · February 2013

Our dog and cat have adapted to LO pretty well. At first our dog hid under the bed when we brought her home, but after a day or so he came around and would lick her feet or sniff her and sit by us. The cat kept trying to climb on our lap when we held the baby. Now she just sits next to us and nuzzles the baby. What worked for us was loads of positive reinforcement and attention. The dog got extra walks, rides with DH when baby stayed home with me, and praise and scratches whenever he sniffed the baby. Also, we removed any temptation to misbehave. All baby clothes and small toys were put away where the pets couldn't reach, and the nursery door stays shut. Ignore the bad behaviour unless you catch them in the act. If its not easy to barricade the baby's room a kennel is a good idea.

pinato · February 2013

I'm no expert and I can't say what the dog is missing in it's life but I think if you were to spend additional time exercising (ie LONG walks, fetch, mentally challenging game, etc) the pooch it may exaust some of the energy spent on making a mess in the house. How old is the terrior? I think that breed is prey driven and something so small that isn't prey might confuse the dog a bit.

Was there anything done in an attempt to prepare the dog for baby?

eb1113 · February 2013

When you leave, make sure to either crate the dog, confine him to an area (with gates), or close the door to DD's room. Make sure you and DH are giving him attention still, when baby is ad is not around.

FWIW, our dog always runs when both my girls are crying. He hates hearing it. He will also run and hide when DD1 has a tantrum. He does come back when the fit/crying is done.

drpayne · February 2013

Ditto crating the dog.

Chappy_jr · February 2013

I second trying a kennel - our dog is always in her "bed" when we are not home and it definitely helps keep her out of trouble (and calm). It might be tough if he is an older dog but it is worth a try.

Also, on our first few days home with the baby we made it a point to positively reinforce good behaviors and indicate to her what are unacceptable behaviors. This should start with the humans discussing what behaviors are acceptable and which are not - for instance, my DH and I agreed that sniffing LO, jumping up (on the swing, dresser while we were changing a diaper), and barking when baby cried was NOT acceptable and would be reprimanded with a "NO" or Dog-Whisperer-like "shht". However, we did not mind the dog coming to look at the baby when he cried or looking, calmly, at the baby in his swing or in our arms so one of us would take care of baby's needs while the other told the dog to "sit" and "stay" and handed out training treats or reprimands, as her behavior dictated. More importantly, we had to maintain the dog's schedule as much as possible (her potty, play, and bed times are roughly the same) and continue to play with her.

My dog is a rescue, whose previous owner gave her up when she had her own child, so I had committed a lot of work during my pregnancy getting her as prepared as possible. So far, she has been fantastic - she no longer barks when LO cries or jumps up to sniff him. Only this week, 3 weeks in, have I started letting the dog really sniff and a few times lick the baby - that is because she has proved to me that she can be calm around him.

Good luck.

EandIMommy86 · February 2013

Meggypoo821:
My DD is a little over a month old and our rat terrier dog does not like her at all. He will sniff her and thats about it. When DD cries he will run and hide somewhere until she is done, he freaks out if DD touches him and the worst part of it all is when we go out and DD is with us of course we come home and the dog has gotten into something in her room. Like today I went to lunch with DH and Target, so I was gone for 2 hours or so. I get home and go into DD room and her changing table drawers are all open and diapers are all over the place chewed up, her laundry bin is turned over and clothes are everywhere. A few times we have come home to poop on the stairs leading to her room. Im not to sure what to do with the dog. Do I ignore his bad behavior or do I yell at him? Any help would be great

I have a rat terrier as well. They are easy to train. Mine was not used to being around kids. I taught him the command "touch" and he HAS to let whomever touch him without growling or backing up and he gets a treat. When i first brought my daughter home I put her in the pack and play and let him sniff around to get used to her noise, smell etc. Then i would sit on the couch with her and tell him to wait. If he was quiet and didnt growl or jump he would get a treat. I never leave her unsupervised with baby, but if you need to, gate him off in an area or crate him. You just have to slowly introduce him to the new baby. He doesnt necessarily have to touch him, but just being around him and getting used to him will help.

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